“Things don’t have to be so complicated, you know. I think I have an idea,” Charles drawled with a low chuckle.
Sonia eyed him warily. “What is it?”
“Did you forget that you gave me your wedding ring and the Ocean’s Heart two months ago? You wanted me to sell them off and donate the proceeds to the rural areas, remember? The jewelry pieces are still with me and I figured you could donate them for the auction.” As he said this, he put his hands out like he was holding the solution he came up with.
She gaped at him with wide eyes. “You didn’t sell those off?”
“Yeah.” He nodded and went on to say, “The Ocean’s Heart fetches a hefty price on the market, so it’s not exactly affordable for most. More to the point, everyone knows that it was specifically made under Toby’s orders. They’re terrified that they might offend him somehow if they were to buy the Ocean’s Heart off the market like that. And as for your wedding ring…” He trailed off as he gazed at her thoughtfully. “I was planning to sell it off but only after the Ocean’s Heart was sold. Seeing as that never happened, though, I’ve been keeping the wedding ring as well.”
“Okay.” Sonia processed this in a daze and lifted her chin by a fraction as she asked, “So, where’s the ring now?”
“At my place. Are you going to donate it for the auction then?” Charles asked.
She hummed in response. “You have said so yourself that the Ocean’s Heart fetches an extravagant price, so even if I were to donate it, there’s no guarantee that anyone attending the auction might bid for it. Besides, Toby will be there too. Anyone who bids for the Ocean’s Heart would greatly offend him one way or another. Donating the ring would be a wiser choice, and it’ll still fetch a couple hundred thousand for the cause.”
“I guess you’re right. In that case, I’ll donate the ring in your name after your operation,” he offered as he rubbed his chin.
The both of them headed for the hospital after lunch that afternoon. Upon their arrival, she had only just stepped out of the car when Zane approached her, waving his hand in greeting.
Hostility radiated from Charles as he glared at the other man. “What are you doing here?”
As if paying no mind to Charles’ animosity toward him, Zane grinned and replied, “I’m here for moral support, seeing that Sonia’s going for surgery and all.”
Charles tore his gaze away with mild disgust and shot a glance at Sonia. “I can’t believe you told him about this, baby.”
“He asked and I answered without thinking too much of it,” Sonia explained good-naturedly.
“I thought we agreed that I’d be the only one here for you, darling,” Charles protested as he looked wounded.
“Huh?” A blank look passed over her face. “When did we agree on that?”
Zane guffawed at this exchange. “Dude, did you hear that? She had no idea that you were supposed to be the only one here, so just take my presence as it is. Anyway, there’s no harm in having an extra pair of hands to help out in case of any emergency, right? I mean, what if Sonia needs someone to head over to the dispensary for her after the surgery? At least one of us could stay with her while the other collects her medication.”
Charles could come up with no retort, given how sensible the explanation was. As much as he hated having another person present, he knew it was for Sonia’s best interest, and he decidedly refrained from arguing any further.
Zane, on the other hand, let out a small breath of relief and thanked the heavens for his brilliant acting skills, without which he would not be able to hide his feelings for Sonia. Charles was a perceptive man and he would undoubtedly drag Zane away if he were to find out the truth.
After all, Charles was secretly in love with her as well. He had kept his feelings hidden and she went on to believe that whatever affection he had for her was strictly platonic.
Ah, what a terrible affliction it is to have so many knights fighting with me over the same fair maiden, Zane thought tiredly, but his eyes glimmered with hard determination. But I don’t care how many men I have to fight against to win over Sonia’s heart. I won’t back down so easily, not when a love like this rarely happens.
“Okay, we should go in,” Sonia announced to the two childish men in front of her after checking the time and noting that it was nearly 2:00 PM.
The two men nodded their heads in unison. “Let’s go in then.”
With that, the three of them proceeded through the hospital doors.
Meanwhile, in a sleek black car idling by the nearby pavement, Toby watched darkly as the three figures disappeared through the hospital entrance. There was an icy look on his face that made one look away out of fear. I can’t believe you have two men in your company when it’s just a surgery, Sonia. Should I congratulate you?
His fists, which were resting on his lap, were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Tom presently noted how angry Toby was when he glanced into the rearview mirror and shook his head in exasperation. I’d say you deserve this, President Fuller. You had plenty of chances to cherish Miss Reed back in the day, but you chose to give her the cold shoulder so often that even I couldn’t bear to watch it. I hardly think there’s a point in getting jealous now that you’re separated from her. You should have loved her while you could, and now some other men are realizing her worth.
However, Tom did not make such remarks to Toby. Instead, Tom turned around to look at Toby as he asked, “President Fuller, should we go in too?”
Toby did not respond but he immediately opened the door. Then, he stepped out of the car with his crutch supporting half his weight.
Tom raised his brow at the man’s sudden gesture. Guess he’s entering then.
In the hospital, Tim saw Sonia from the very moment she walked in. It was more of a coincidence than anything else that he saw the three familiar figures, seeing that he was passing through the lobby after he had done his rounds at the ward.
When he was sure that she and her two companions were no longer within earshot, he took out his phone and dialed Tina’s number.
“Hey, Tim. What’s going on?” Tina asked flatly when she answered the call.
Tim’s gaze flickered over to the direction in which Sonia and the others were headed. Then, as he adjusted his glasses, he spoke into the line, “Sonia’s at the hospital.”
She had been slicing fruit prior to this news. Upon hearing what he said, she paused and straightened her posture. Her face brightened with a sinister glee as she quipped, “That’s right. I just remembered that her surgery is today!”
“It is,” Tim affirmed with a nod.
Because she was so excited, she stood up. “How wonderful. I shall await your good news, Tim.”
He was just about to answer her when he caught something that made his eyes narrow in surprise.
Tina, on the other hand, became unhappy when she did not receive an immediate response from him. As he had treated her as his savior all this time, he agreed to whatever she asked of him. He would always respond to her and this was the first time he fell silent on her.
What is he doing? Is he trying to get on my nerves? With a frown, she demanded scathingly, “What’s wrong, Tim? Why are you ignoring me all of a sudden?”
She was forced to wear a gentle and compassionate front whenever Toby was around, but such pretenses were unnecessary when it came to Tim. She didn’t care what Tim thought of her; it wasn’t like he would expose her true colors anyway.
On the other end of the phone, Tim bristled at the snide tone of her voice and pursed his lips. Nonetheless, Tina was his guardian angel and with forced patience, he replied, “Nothing, it’s just that Toby is here too.”
“Toby?” Tina immediately sprang up from the sofa and urged in a shrill voice, “What is he doing at the hospital?”
“I’m not sure, but he came in a wheelchair, so I guess he’s here to have his dressings changed,” he proffered as he stared in Toby’s direction.
Upon hearing this, Tina heaved a sigh. However, her relief disappeared as quickly as it came when there was a sharp difference in Tim’s tone. “No, wait—his assistant has just wheeled him in the direction of the OB-GYN.”
“What?” She faltered. “He’s headed for the OB-GYN? Does that mean he’s found out about Sonia’s pregnancy?”
Tim’s eyes narrowed as he pondered on that possibility. “It’s possible. There’s no other explanation as to why he’s here at this hour and why he’s headed specifically to the OB-GYN.”
“Damn it, when did he find out about it?” Tina’s body trembled as fear and panic seized her. If Toby knows that Sonia is pregnant with his child, is he there to try and persuade her to keep the baby? When he succeeds, will he tell her that the child is his? Would he try to reconcile for the child’s sake?
Panic rose within her like an icy wave as her thoughts snowballed and the grimace on her face grew even more menacing. With every passing second, her trembling increased with force.
She tightly clutched her phone and her voice was close to a vicious snarl as she snapped, “I want you to personally operate on her right now, Tim! I want her dead before Toby can stop her from entering the surgical theater, and I want her to die an extremely painful, extremely agonizing death!”
Tim was not pretentious enough to say he wasn’t wicked, but even he couldn’t help being shocked by Tina’s words.
Can someone as cruel as her really be the angel who saved me that fateful year? The doubt surfaced in his mind, but it was quelled the next minute when he thought about the distinct red spot which marked her wrist—the incontrovertible proof that she was indeed his savior.
