Zane turned to look at Sonia, who shook her head cluelessly. “It beats me too.” After all, she was also curious about how the situation turned out this way.
Soon, Charles chipped in and said, “That’s right. Darling, both of us can tell that Tim was being serious just now. Moreover, he said he will make everyone who has ever hurt you suffer so much that they wish to go to hell, and Tina is one of them, so is he going to do her any harm as he promised? Because they have always been on the same side, haven’t they?”
While Sonia knitted her eyebrows in silence, Zane asked another question. “By the way, why did Tim hug you?”
“Oh, come on. Wasn’t it obvious? He must have fallen for my darling’s beauty, of course,” Charles angrily replied. Soon, something seemingly crossed his mind as he patted his lap and added, “I know what’s going on now. The reason he wants to protect Sonia is that he lusts after her.”
When Zane and Sonia heard his words, they both helplessly rolled their eyes upward. “That makes no sense.” Zane continued to justify his point, stating, “If Tim really had feelings for Sonia, he would have done something to her in the operating theater. Why would he wait until she was transferred to the general ward?”
Sonia nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Moreover, I could feel that Tim was hugging me because of his agitated emotion, as if he had just found someone who was important to him. It’s just like running into a long-lost friend whom you hug in a loving manner because you can’t help it.”
“Well, now that you put it that way, there is something that just springs to my mind.” Zane was suddenly seen with his eyes wide open.
Sonia and Charles turned their attention to him. “What is it?”
Zane answered, “Do you guys still remember what Tim just told Sonia? He said, ‘You have a kind heart indeed, which is something that has never changed at all.’ That means he must have known Sonia at some point in the past, and their brief reunion merely just reminded him of their old days.”
“Wait a second…” Sonia stood straight, subconsciously rubbing the red mole on her wrist.
“Is there something you’re not telling us, Darling?” Charles pressed on with his question.
Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and said, “Right after you all left, Tim asked me how I got the red mole and whether I rescued a drowning boy from the pond. It seems that Tim was the poor little boy who was being bullied back then.”
In fact, when Sonia was 10 years old, she went through her mother’s pictures on the latter’s death anniversary day but unknowingly angered her step-mother, who subsequently got physical with her. Heartbroken, she ran away from home and made her way to her mother’s favorite park, where she later heard someone screaming for help.
When she got closer to investigate what was going on, she saw a drowning boy who was about her age in the pond. Without a second thought, she grabbed a wooden stick and stretched it out to the boy, saving his life. Needless to say, the rescue wasn’t easy due to her limited physical strength, as she nearly fell into the pond as well. While everything fortunately played out well in the end, she didn’t think the boy she rescued was Tim.
It was only after hearing Sonia’s words that Zane and Charles caught on to the truth behind the whole story. “Oh, I see. So, you were indeed Tim’s savior. No wonder he seemed so agitated when he hugged you, not to mention his promise to protect you.” Zane stroked his chin.
With a little grunt, Charles said, “Well, I wouldn’t believe that he will take on Tina for Sonia’s sake even if he was telling the truth.”
Zane nodded. “You have a point. He treats Sonia pretty well indeed. In fact, it almost looks like he could do everything for Tina.”
Sonia smiled in response. “Why are you guys so worried? Tim and I are not close in the first place. I might have saved him in the past, but I’ve never wanted him to repay me. Never ever. In fact, I don’t even plan to consort with him any longer, so what he does isn’t going to concern me.”
“Yeah, maybe.” The two men nodded.
Not long after that, Sonia left the hospital just when Toby received a call. “Alright, I got you.” Toby hung up his phone and sent for his assistant, Tom.
“President Fuller, how can I be of service?” Tom asked after he showed up.
Toby rubbed his temples and asked, “Paradigm Co. borrowed some funds from a few banks earlier. So, have you taken care of the transaction?”
“Yup, I have. The borrowings from those few banks are approximately 1.2 billion in total, but when interests are included, they’ll be 1.5 billion,” Tom answered.
Toby nodded slightly and said, “Pay all the debts for Paradigm Co. and—do it with an offshore account.”
Well, that should avoid her suspicion.
While Toby was planning to use that money to make it up to Sonia, he was going to give it to her after that day, although he knew she wouldn’t accept it. Furthermore, Toby was aware that Sonia’s unborn child was still with her, but he was certain that her abortion would be inevitable when her health improved. Therefore, he insisted on going ahead with his plan and gave her the money.
“Understood.” Tom nodded.
“Hmm… Tina is here, isn’t she? Bring her here.”
“Well, about that… Miss Gray is gone.” Tom rubbed his nose.
“Gone?” Toby knitted his eyebrows.
“Yes.”
Fiddling with his pen, Toby said, “Well, I guess I should have let her come here sooner. Otherwise…”
“No. She left right after she got a phone call.” Tom shook his head.
“Whose call?” Toby asked, but Tom shrugged his shoulders cluelessly. “Um, I’m not too sure about that, but Miss Gray didn’t seem so good after she answered the call, so I guess it was probably some bad news.”
Toby responded with a grunt for a few seconds as he jutted his chin. “Alright, I heard you. You may excuse yourself now.”
“Alright.” With an affirmative hum, Tom turned around and walked away.
After he left, Toby grabbed his phone and dialed Tina’s number shortly before the call was picked up. Then, Tina’s voice was heard. “Hi Toby, what’s the matter?” She spoke with a gentle voice, as if nothing ever happened.
However, Toby was somehow disgusted by her fake behavior as he pursed his lips and asked, “Tom told me you got an urgent call. What happened?”
“Oh, it’s nothing serious. Don’t worry about me, Toby.” Tina stood in front of a lounge, responding with a smile despite her darkened gaze.
“Hmm… Okay then,” Toby replied.
Rendered speechless by Toby’s straightforward answer, Tina angrily grumbled to herself on the inside about his nonchalant attitude. Where is his chivalry? I might not have revealed what it was, but I really did answer an urgent phone call. So, is he really not going to ask me about that? Why didn’t I realize he was this straightforward at all? Despite her annoyance, Tina restrained herself from complaining to Toby.
Although Tina wanted to ask Toby why he didn’t show his concern about the urgent call, she didn’t do that because she didn’t want him to think that she was trying to play on his sympathy. After all, she was the one who reassured him that the call was about nothing serious. Therefore, she took a deep breath and swallowed her bitterness with a brittle smile. “Alright, Toby. Is there anything else important? If there isn’t, I’m going to hang up now. My friend is waiting for me.”
“Okay.” Toby nodded and ended the call, pissing Tina off as she wondered why he didn’t bother to ask whether she was meeting a guy or a lady. Does he really have so much faith in me? Tina stomped the ground angrily and pushed the door open before entering the private lounge.
At that moment, Tim stood up from his seat and greeted her with a fake smile. “Here you are, Tina.”
Nonetheless, Tina failed to notice the man’s unusual behavior and closed the door behind her before approaching him. “Tim Lancaster, do you want to tell me what was going on? How on earth did you fail this simple job?”
“Something unexpected came up,” Tim avoided eye contact with Tina and replied.
Upon hearing his words, Tina put down her bag in a cranky manner. “So, Sonia is still alive even though her child is gone, right?”
“Nope, her child is still with her. I didn’t perform the surgery on her.” Tim adjusted his new glasses while looking at her. Seeing her eyes widen in disbelief, he only found her expression to be somewhat ironic and absurd. After all, he would have tried to appease her right away had he not learned about the truth. In fact, he wanted to snap her neck there and then for posing as his angel.
“What did you just say, Tim? You didn’t perform the surgery on Sonia?” Tina clenched her fists and shot an eerie look at Tim. “What were you doing, Tim? Why didn’t you do it when you had the chance? Is this how you’re going to repay me?”
