Chapter 20

“Miss Reed, don’t go too far.” Tina was frustrated, but she had to endure it. “My father already apologized to you about the video. Why are you still reluctant to give up? You even want to snatch the marriage proposal necklace my boyfriend gave me?”

Sonia raised an eyebrow and laughed. “You got together with President Fuller a few days after I divorced him. I wonder if you’d been coveting him because you couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Fuller!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re obviously the one—”

“And Miss Gray, I have no intentions of snatching anything from you,” Sonia interrupted before Tina could say much. “You’re the one who wants to give me a thank-you gift. I only have eyes for the Ocean’s Heart.”

Tina was rendered speechless. Biting her lips, she stood there as her face grew increasingly pale, like a white flower about to wither.

As he watched on, Charles felt particularly good, and he almost applauded Sonia.

“President Fuller, you have to say something. Don’t be silent,” Charles called out. “Is it possible that you’re not a man of your word?”

Toby’s gaze darkened.

After a moment of silence, he handed the jewelry box containing the Ocean’s Heart to Sonia.

Tina panicked when she saw this, and she pulled on his sleeve. “Toby, this is the necklace you proposed to me with. Don’t—”

“Your father specially organized today’s banquet to celebrate your recovery and discharge. It won’t be good to ruin the atmosphere.” Toby calmed her down. “It’s just a necklace. After this, I’ll ask Tom to find a better one and propose to you with that.”

When the guests heard this, they all became envious. “You’re so blessed, Miss Gray. No matter how rare the piece of jewelry is, President Fuller would have a way to buy it for you!”

After complimenting Tina, they satirized Sonia once more.

Tina’s expression improved when Toby said this, and she nodded obediently. “I’ll listen to you.”

As Sonia listened to their conversation, all she felt was the irony of the situation.

She had been married to Tony for six years. Forget jewelry; he had never even bought her a piece of clothing. Even their wedding ring was bought by her.

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

Sonia suppressed the sadness in her heart and accepted the jewelry box with a bright smile on her face. “This is such a rare piece of jewelry, yet you’re giving it to me just like that. President Fuller, it seems like you love Miss Gray so much that you can’t bear to let her suffer any grievances at all.”

The woman spoke so enigmatically that it made Toby uncomfortable, so he replied lightly, “I’ve given you the Ocean’s Heart, and President Gray has apologized to you. Sonia, don’t pursue the matter of the video anymore.”

“Okay!” Sonia readily agreed.

She picked up a glass of red wine from the table, then tipped it toward Toby. “President Fuller, Miss Gray, may you live a long and happy life together, and I hope you have plenty of babies.”

With that, she cocked her head back and drank the wine. After setting down the glass, she turned and left.

“President Fuller, I have to thank you too.” Charles grinned. “If it weren’t for your indifference, my baby wouldn’t have come to her senses. Thank you for being so kind as to let my baby go. She deserves the best.”

Charles picked up the butterfly handbag on the table, which Sonia forgot to take, then said warmly, “Let’s go.”

“Let’s go!” Charles held Carl’s shoulders and they left together, all the while complaining, “The air here is too filthy. I’d feel sick if I stayed here for one more second!”

As Toby watched them leave, his brows furrowed, and there was an indescribable feeling of irritability in his heart that wouldn’t go away.

Sonia was a low-key person; it was a surprise that she had such an outstanding suitor.

……

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

“Baby, you did a great job just now. Tsk, did you see the look on Tina’s face? She looked like she wanted nothing more than to eat you up.” Charles got into the driver’s seat, fastened his seat belt, and burst out laughing. “It felt so good watching you that I wanted to applaud you!”

Carl entered the back seat and handed the butterfly handbag to Sonia. “You left it on the table and forgot to take it.”

“I left in a rush and didn’t notice.” Sonia spoke as she retrieved her handbag.

Carl glanced at the jewelry box placed next to the seat, then asked Sonia, “Sonia, do you… still care about Toby? Did you want the Ocean’s Heart because you didn’t want to see him and Tina together?”

Charles was driving as he looked at Sonia in the rearview mirror, waiting for her answer.

“We’ve gotten a divorce, so why should I still care about him?” Sonia smiled. “I didn’t expect that Tina’s mind would work so fast. She diverted everyone’s attention from the video by trying to give me a thank-you gift.”

As she spoke, she opened the jewelry box and showed it to Carl. “I’ve checked, and the jewelry industry’s famous ‘k’ is the one who designed the Ocean’s Heart. The value is estimated to exceed 100 million. How can I not want such easy money? Don’t you agree?”

Charles snorted. “A necklace worth 100 million? Baby, you’re awesome. You took a huge chunk out of Toby!”

“Of course I know that I’m awesome,” Sonia hummed, then covered the jewelry box and threw it to him. “Find a good channel and sell it for me. 100 million. Keep the extra money as my payment to you for your hard work.”

“Okay!”

When Carl saw Sonia’s capricious expression, his brows eased, because it didn’t seem like she was lying. “Sonia, seeing you like this, I’m relieved.”

“Baby, why don’t I find you another boyfriend?” Charles smiled, then he glanced at Sonia in the rearview mirror. “Tell me about your requests, or you and I can get together too. After all, my mom quite likes you—”

“No way!” Before he could continue, he was interrupted by Carl.

“Why not?” Charles rolled his eyes, then bragged, “Not only am I handsome, I’m also multi-talented. I grew up with Sonia, so I’m the best candidate to be her husband!”

Carl pursed his lips together, and the aura he exuded was a little cold. “You don’t care about family.”

“Huh? How would you know if I care about family? You’ve never lived with me!” Charles looked at Carl’s expression in the rearview mirror, then suddenly smiled. “Hey, do you fancy Sonia too?”

Sonia was taken aback. When she recovered, she immediately reached out and punched Charles. “Shut up. He’s only twenty-two! He’s a child!”

“He’s a twenty-two-year-old man. He has nothing to do with the word ‘child’ anymore.” Charles proceeded with a smirk. “Carl, tell me: Are you a virgin?”

No matter how gentle Carl was, he was still a little embarrassed by Charles’ question. He coughed. “Yes…”

“Do you have any intentions toward Tina?”

Seeing as Charles was getting bolder with his questions with no sign of shutting up, Sonia caught sight of the chocolate bar in the middle row’s armrest compartment, then she immediately tore it open and stuffed it into his mouth.

Charles ate the large piece of chocolate and whimpered, almost choking to death.

“That’s how he is. He speaks without a filter,” Sonia said to Carl. “Don’t mind him. Don’t let his questions get to you.”

Carl hummed an answer but kept his gaze on Sonia’s face.

After hesitating for a moment, he was about to say something to Sonia when the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

Carl glanced at his phone after taking it out, and his expression changed slightly. Then, he moved to the other side of the car and lowered his voice. “What’s the matter?”

After the phone call ended, Carl told Charles, “I have something to deal with. Just drop me at the intersection up ahead.”

“Was it your agent?” Sonia asked. “How about you let Charles take you there?”

Carl gave a faint smile, then in a warm and soft voice, he said, “That’s okay. My car is on the way. Charles should send you home early so that you can have a good rest.”

Upon hearing the young man’s statement, Sonia nodded reluctantly.

Soon, Carl was out of the car.

When the car drove away, Sonia poked her head out slightly and saw Carl standing tall and straight by the roadside with a well-defined profile…

As she studied him, the person in her eyes seemed to turn into Toby from eight years ago.