Charles and the others had also returned from their race. The three of them were sweating profusely, but their eyes were bright from the exercise, and it was hard not to notice the enthusiasm on their faces. It was clear to see that they had a good race.
“Here’s some water, President Lane,” Rebecca said as she took up two bottles of water and tossed one of them to Charles.
He took it over and quipped, “Thanks.”
“What about me?” Zane regarded Rebecca unhappily when she did not give him bottled water like she did Charles. “I was the one who drove you here. Why is he the only one who gets water?”
Rebecca rolled her eyes at him. “Okay, here you go!” She took another bottle and tossed it to him.
It was only then that Zane broke into a satisfied grin. He twisted open the cap and took a few gulps, then doused the remaining water over his head and face. “That’s the stuff!”
“Feels pretty good,” Charles agreed heartily as he shook water droplets from the tips of his hair.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Tina handed a bottle of water to Toby as well. “Here you go, Toby. Have a drink of water.”
“Okay.” Toby took the bottle and twisted the cap, but he did not drink and instead gave the bottle back to her. “You can take the first sip.”
At the sight of his warm chivalry, Tina broke into a dazzling smile. “Thank you, Toby.”
He dismissed this and bent over to take another bottle of water, then drank deeply. He had only just taken several gulps when a panicked shriek came from the other side of the field.
Everyone paused in whatever they were doing. Charles looked into the distance and saw that Sonia’s horse was thrashing wildly.
Sonia, on the other hand, was scared witless as she tried to keep herself steady on the saddle. Her body tipped back and forth uncontrollably. She might have a tight grip on the reins now, but if this were to go on, the horse would shake her off at any given moment.
“Baby!” Charles yelled and threw his water bottle down, then ran over to his horse so he could go to Sonia’s rescue.
However, he had only just mounted his horse when a figure on another horse dashed past him, beating him to the scene.
It was none other than Toby, and at the sight of this, Charles frowned. Nonetheless, he wasted no time in digging his heels into his horse’s sides, swiftly catching up to the other man as they both rushed to save Sonia.
Right now, only Zane and Tina remained.
Rebecca had just left for the restroom, and Tyler had yet to come back from the other track.
Zane was highly amused when he saw Tina grimace, and he chortled as he asked, “Oh my, it looks like Toby is going to rescue Sonia. Does that make you unhappy?”
Tina knew that he was trying to get on her nerves by making a joke out of her. She forced out a tight smile, though her hands were clenching the bottle tightly as she said, “Of course not. It’s only natural that Toby saves Miss Reed from trouble. Why would I be unhappy?”
“Really? But judging from the way you’re behaving, I think you’re lying,” Zane teased, his smile growing ever more wicked as his eyes fell on the distorted water bottle in her hand.
She stiffened when she heard this and quickly loosened her grip on the bottle, then chose to remain silent.
Zane chuckled at her reticence. “You’re as two-faced as usual, Miss Gray. I can’t believe someone like you has managed to win Toby over; he must have been blind. That being said, it looks like he’s getting better.”
He cupped his own cheek as he watched Toby, who had successfully saved Sonia from danger. “You know, there’s no hiding the panic on Toby’s face earlier, which means he still cares about Sonia. It’s just that he has yet to realize this, but when he does, I wonder what might happen to you, Miss Gra—”
“That’s enough! Stop talking!” Tina snapped icily, cutting him off. She dug her nails into her palms and stood up.
He quirked a brow at her. “What, are you mad?”
She glowered at him mutinously as she warned, “Mr. Coleman, I know that the incident with my father has greatly offended your family, but there is no need for you to be so hostile as to try and pick on my relationship with Toby, is there? Aren’t you worried that Toby would be unhappy if he were to know about this?”
“Why would I be worried?” Zane grinned at her ferociously. “He’s my friend, after all. I have his best interests at heart, and if I were to ask him to leave you because I think you aren’t good enough for him, then surely he would not blame me for it.”
“You—” She broke off, her face turning white, then red with fury.
Zane, on the other hand, looked like the cat that ate the canary.
He hadn’t wanted to do something as underhanded as picking on Tina’s relationship with Toby, given that they did not get in his way, regardless of how they turned out. However, the Gray Family just had to be unethical and nearly dragged the Coleman Family’s plans—which were carefully curated over many years—through the mud. Naturally, following such an incident, Zane had no intention of going easy on Tina. But such is the philosophy of a vengeful person like me.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the riding track, Toby was holding a trembling Sonia in his arms. She was clearly still traumatized after what had happened earlier.
He could feel the fear that emanated from her. Patting her back gently, he comforted her in a soothing voice, “There, there. Everything’s alright now. Don’t be afraid.”
However, Sonia made no reply, but she was shrinking into herself from all the violent trembling.
At that moment, Charles strode over, and his eyes were stormy when he saw Toby holding Sonia in his arms. Nonetheless, he said courteously, “Thank you for saving her, President Fuller.”
He was reluctant to thank Toby, but the truth remained that the latter beat him to Sonia’s rescue; the truth remained that he was much slower than Toby.
“It’s no big deal,” Toby plainly answered as he gave Charles a brief glance.
Charles got down from his horse with grace. “Well then, could you perhaps let my darling go now? Don’t forget that she’s my girlfriend; it’s inappropriate for you to keep holding her like that, considering your fiancée is still watching.”
Upon hearing this, Toby abruptly stopped patting Sonia on the back, and it was only then that he registered that the woman in his arms was his ex-wife, not to mention somebody else’s girlfriend.
It was inappropriate indeed to hold her the way he did.
At this realization, Toby turned to look at the lounge area, whereupon he met Tina’s red and watery eyes. He pursed his thin lips, then released Sonia unwillingly from his embrace.
As soon as he did so, Charles reached out to grab Sonia by the wrist and pulled her into his arms, then asked anxiously, “Baby, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
She was still in a stupor as she shook her head and answered in a quivering voice, “I’m fine.”
She had been close to dropping off the horse’s back when Toby showed up in time to save her, so she narrowly escaped getting hurt.
But Charles was still worried as he appraised her from head to toe, and when he was sure that she was free from injury, he let out a sigh of relief. “Well, as long as you’re okay. I thought my heart was going to stop beating just now. I was that shocked. I mean, the horse was completely fine, wasn’t it? Why did it go crazy all of a sudden?”
The question hung in the air as Toby turned to glance at the now-calm horse that was in the distance. His eyes glimmered darkly.
“I don’t know either,” Sonia confessed feebly, shaking her head.
She had been perfectly fine as she rode the horse, but before she knew it, the creature picked up its pace and started to thrash around wildly. She had been scared witless, and there was no way she had the mental bandwidth to figure out a plausible reason behind the horse’s mood swing.
“It’s fine; I’ll look into this matter. Baby, why don’t you go back into the room and take a break. Look at how your legs are still shaking.” Charles was staring at her legs, which were trembling.
Sonia merely nodded her head in agreement.
At the sight of this, he wrapped an arm around her, supporting her weight as he guided her toward the villa.
Toby, on the other hand, only watched with his lips pressed into a thin line as the two of them walked away from the tracks.
It wasn’t until half an hour later that Charles returned from the upstairs, only to see Toby and the others sitting in the living room, having returned from the riding tracks.
Tyler was the first to notice Charles descending the stairs. He rose quickly from his seat as he demanded urgently, “Hey, is it true that Sonia got into an accident with the horse? How is she doing now?”
While everyone waited for Charles’ answer, Tina noted the panic and concern on Tyler’s face, and she lowered her gaze to hide the sinister gleam in her eyes. She recalled how much Tyler had hated Sonia back in the day. Why is it that he seems to have taken a liking to her and shows his concern for her now that she and Toby are divorced? What kind of spell has that wretched girl cast on Tyler?
“Yeah, President Lane,” Rebecca interjected. “Is Sonia alright?”
Rebecca had been occupied in the restroom during Sonia’s accident. It was only after her return that Zane told her about the story of the horse going wild, nearly toppling Sonia over to the ground.
Presently, Charles ignored Tyler as he addressed Rebecca, saying, “There’s nothing to worry about. Sonia’s fine, but she’s still experiencing the after-shock. She’s asleep now.”
Rebecca let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to know.”
Tyler, on the other hand, was unhappy to have been ignored by Charles, but upon hearing that Sonia had escaped danger and was recuperating, he decided to brush off the pointed snubbing.
