Chapter 22

“The mango juice is very sweet.” Tina smiled sweetly at Toby, then placed the cup on the table. “Thank you for remembering what I like.”

Toby’s thin lips twitched slightly. “I remember all the things you like. There’s a fruit farm with decent fruits. Tomorrow, I’ll ask the boss to send two boxes of mangoes to the Gray Residence. If there are other fruits you’d like to eat, you can just tell me.”

“Okay,” Tina responded forcefully. She started to feel uncomfortable, so she pushed her chair aside and stood up as her face became paler. “I’m going to the restroom. Toby, you can carry on chatting with my dad.”

Lifting the hem of her dress, she turned and hurried off. Tina had been allergic to mangoes since she was a child, and having just a little bit would be life-threatening. Before she got to the restroom, she felt her breathing becoming uneven, then she twisted her leg and nearly fell down.

“Tina! Tina!” Julia rushed over and hurriedly held her daughter.

When Julia saw the discomfort on Tina’s face, she grew anxious. “Are you out of your mind? You’re allergic to mangoes! Why did you drink the mango juice Toby gave you? Do you have a death wish?”

“Mom, I-I’m not feeling well…” Tina was breathing hard and panting as she tightly clutched Julia’s hand. “Call for a doctor. You must never let Toby know. If he asks you, you must say that I love mangoes.”

“How can you still talk about this at such a time?!” Julia rebuked, trying to help Tina to the lounge.

But, after taking a few steps, Tina felt so sick that she fainted.

“Tina!” Julia was panicking so much that she was almost in tears, and she was all over the place. “Help! Someone help!”

In the banquet hall, Toby and Titus talked for a long time. Toby checked his watch, only to realize that twenty minutes had passed, but Tina hadn’t returned yet.

Tina had just recovered, so Toby was afraid that something else had happened to her body. Pushing his chair back, he got up. “Mr. Gray, I’m going to look for Tina.”

“Don’t worry. Tina is fine.” Julia happened to return, and when she heard what Tony said, she chuckled and assured him. “She’s just a little sleepy after busying herself with us today. I’ve brought her to the lounge to rest.” Then, she added, “Toby, you’ve also worked hard today. Go back and get some early rest. When Tina wakes up, her father and I will bring her back.”

The banquet had come to an end, and Toby was indeed a little tired.

“Then, I’ll have to trouble you with that, Mrs. Gray,” Toby said solemnly. “When you’re not so busy with company affairs, I hope you and Mr. Gray can honor me with your presence and have a meal with my mother.”

Julia smiled. “Sure. Be careful on your way back.”

Toby then retrieved his coat and left. When he got to the door and turned around, he saw Julia tell Titus something before they walked to the back of the banquet hall in a hurry.

At the side of the hotel, Tom was already waiting. When Tom saw Toby coming out, he hurriedly opened the back door of the car. The car drove smoothly to the Fuller Residence.

Now that everything had quieted down, Toby felt even more irritated as scenes of Sonia turning up at the banquet crossed his mind. Not to mention, there was that gentle and handsome young man beside her.

Toby tugged on his tie. After a while, he asked Tom in a deep voice, “Have you found out Carl’s family situation?”

Tom reported his findings truthfully, “Yes. Carl was born in Jordain County. It’s a slum area, and it’s close to the mountains, so the transportation system there isn’t developed. There’s only one school, and it’s ten kilometers away. Six years ago, Miss Reed went to Jordain County to visit the poor children and provided Carl with financial aid. After he left, he was scouted by Vashine Entertainment on his way to work during summer vacation, and now, he’s their most expensive male model. Carl’s also particularly smart. Miss Reed was able to become a shareholder of Paradigm Co. so quickly because he helped her.”

After hearing all that, Toby said bleakly, “Sonia is controlling Paradigm Co. with her shares, but if the shareholders disagree with her, Paradigm Co. won’t last long. She hasn’t dabbled in the industry before, so she doesn’t know anything.”

“Indeed.” Tom agreed. “President Fuller, although you were forced to marry Miss Reed, I can see that you treat her well. Knowing that she has just taken over Paradigm Co., you must be afraid that President Gray would take revenge on Miss Reed in the business world for his daughter’s sake, so you gave her the Ocean’s Heart to get her to leave.”

Toby closed his eyes to rest for a while. A moment later, he said, “She often goes to the Fuller Residence to accompany Grandma. She’s taken care of her for so many years, so I’m just doing it for Grandma’s sake.”

Tom smiled. “Yes. Old Mrs. Fuller likes Miss Reed very much.”

Toby could also tell that Rose liked Sonia very much. Every time he and Sonia returned to the Fuller Residence, Rose would hold on to Sonia and talk to her non-stop. However, when he brought Tina to visit her, Rose had her dislike toward Tina clearly written on her face.

As Toby thought of the fact that Rose didn’t like Tina, he got a headache. As such, he said coldly, “Why are you so talkative today?”

Hearing that, Tom immediately kept his mouth shut. At this moment, the phone in Toby’s suit pocket vibrated twice. When he reached for it, he came into contact with a small hard object.

Toby looked at his phone first and saw that Tina had sent a message asking if he had arrived home. After responding to her message, the man looked at the ring in his hand under the glow of the light in the car. Soon, he remembered that he and Sonia went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to sign the divorce papers the other day. After they came out, he took off his wedding ring and threw it into his suit pocket. The servant must have presumed it was a valuable item and dared not remove it, so they placed the ring back after cleaning his suit.

After staring at the ring for a long time, Toby asked, “Did I buy this wedding ring?”

Tom looked at Toby in the rearview mirror, then at the ring in his hand before saying carefully, “When you married Miss Reed, you said it would be hard to explain to Miss Gray if you bought Miss Reed a wedding dress and the other necessary stuff, so there was no wedding dress or grand ceremony. The wedding ceremony was simple. Also, you asked Miss Reed to pick the ring on her own, but…” After a pause, Tom continued, “You didn’t give Miss Reed any cards, nor did you ask me to handle it, so Miss Reed bought the wedding ring herself.”

After hearing what Tom said, Toby stared even more intensely at the ring. He thought back to how carefree and proud Sonia looked on the day they got divorced. During their six years of marriage, Sonia never asked anything from him, and she left the marriage with nothing as well.

Tom noticed that Toby was silent for a long time. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking, so he asked after careful consideration, “President Fuller, do you want me to deal with the ring for you?”

“After you arrive at the office tomorrow morning, sort out Continental Co.’s information,” Toby instructed. “Since Zane’s company has a cooperation with Paradigm Co., you can send this information to Paradigm Co. under his name.”

“Okay.” After working for Toby for several years, Tom instantly understood the meaning behind his words. Then, he said, “Paradigm Co. is already dying. If they can successfully win over Continental Co., they might be able to start over, but the only concern is that Paradigm Co. might not have enough funds.”

Toby replied, “Then, it depends on how Sonia handles the Ocean’s Heart. The victory or defeat of Paradigm Co. lies in her hands.”

Tom couldn’t help but add, “I think Carl is quite incredible. He could easily make Miss Reed a new shareholder of Paradigm Co. If Miss Reed asks him to help Paradigm Co., then their future…”

As he spoke, Tom noticed a sudden drop in the atmosphere in the car—it was suddenly so cold that it caused him to shudder. He immediately shut up and drove quietly.

Toby’s gaze fell on the ring again. He thought about how when he wore the wedding ring while attending various receptions over the past few years, he managed to stop many women from throwing themselves at him. At that thought, he figured his wedding ring wasn’t just a meaningless accessory after all.

A few seconds later, Toby put the wedding ring back into his suit pocket, then said to Tom, “If Paradigm Co. can’t acquire Continental Co., bring someone in to help.”

Tom responded, “Got it.”