“You can’t just simply say that these young men are slandering Miss Gray or not. You need proof. What do you think, everyone?” Brenda asked with a thoughtful smile. She then released Michael’s arm and took a step forward.
Seeing that she had a point, everyone nodded, and Tina’s heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach when she saw the smile on Brenda’s face. Immediately, she had a bad premonition, which made her tense up.
Sensing the abnormality in her, Toby lowered his head and asked in concern, “What’s wrong?”
“I-I’m alright,” she uttered stiffly. “It’s just that I’m hurting a little from the fall earlier. Can you please bring me to a doctor, Toby?”
Her instincts told her that she had to leave this place as soon as possible, or something beyond her control would probably happen.
Subconsciously, Toby wanted to tell her that he could take her to the doctor after this issue was resolved, but when he looked into her pleading eyes, he nodded in agreement in the end. Then, he helped Tina up and was about to turn to leave when Sonia saw them.
She narrowed her eyes and stopped them emotionlessly. “Wait a minute, why are you leaving before everything is cleared up?”
“Exactly. Sonia is the person you guys accused of pushing Tina, and she’s still standing here without any plans of leaving. So, why are you guys in such a hurry to go instead? Could it be that you’re guilty of crying wolf?” Charles said.
As Zane and Carl nodded, a hint of sarcasm appeared in Brenda’s eyes.
Tina turned around. Her eyes were red and she whimpered, “We’re not leaving. I just want to go to the doctor’s because I’m hurting. Toby can vouch for that.”
Nodding in acknowledgement, Toby said, “We’ll be back after a visit to the doctor’s.”
“Who knows how long it will take you at the doctor’s.” Carl pointed that out, and he folded his arms across his chest.
“He’s right. You don’t have to visit the doctor yourself. What will you do if it worsens the injury? It’s better to just call a doctor here. Is that all right, Mrs. Laughlin?” Zane turned toward Brenda.
“Of course it’s all right,” Brenda said as she waved for a server and instructed him to get a doctor here.
There was no time at all for Tina to stop her, and she could only watch in vain as the server left the room. She was burning with rage. I knew it! These people here are picking on me and putting me on the spot on purpose!
“Miss Gray, you don’t look too happy. Are you unhappy that we called a doctor for you? That’s not right. It’s fine if you don’t thank us for trying to take care of you, but you’re even getting mad at us now. That’s too much of you.” Charles criticized Tina directly while looking at her as though she was an insensible child.
Even the onlookers chirped in. “Yeah, Miss Gray. You’re in the wrong this time.”
“You…” Tina muttered. She was hopping mad with anger.
Beside her, Toby patted her shoulder and said, “That’s enough, Tina. They’re right, you shouldn’t be angry over this.”
“I…” She trailed off, her body shaking with anger. Am I angry because of this? The reason I’m so mad is because these people stopped me from leaving! Nevertheless, she couldn’t say what was on her mind, so she shut her mouth as she tried to suppress the anger inside.
Soon, the doctor arrived. With so many pairs of eyes on her, Tina couldn’t turn the doctor away, so she had to let him inspect her.
After giving her a checkup, the doctor said, “There’s nothing serious with this young lady. Just a minor scratch on her arm. Nothing a band-aid can’t do.”
“I got it. Please send the doctor out,” Brenda instructed the server who brought the doctor in.
After they left, Sonia flipped her hair and said, “All right. The drama is over now. Since there’s nothing serious with Miss Gray, let us continue from where we left off earlier and figure out exactly how she fell so we can be done with this sooner.”
Cynthia snorted and pointed at Sonia’s nose. “No matter what you say, the truth is that you’re the one who pushed Tina.”
Toby threw a frosty glance at Cynthia, thinking that she was a detestable person, but he simply couldn’t explain why he disliked all these people who accused Sonia.
“Cynthia is right,” Titus added. “There’s nothing much to be said about this. Mrs. Laughlin, you must have sent her the invitation since she was able to get in here, but I think you should throw out people like this who are lacking in ethics, lest they ruin this banquet.”
With furrowed brows, Toby said, “Mr. Gray, we still haven’t gotten to the bottom of the matter yet.”
“Of course we already did. Cynthia already said it so clearly, and so many people here had also seen it with their own eyes. Are you trying to cover up for your ex-wife, Toby?” Titus asked. His eyes were widened with disbelief, while Tina sniffled sadly beside Toby.
Feeling frustrated, Toby loosened his tie and replied in his husky voice, “I’m not covering up for anyone, but you need proof for everything. So what if someone had seen it? Where is the evidence?”
When Sonia heard it, she looked at him in surprise. She was shocked that he could actually say something that was actually fair. But this is unlike him, she thought. Doesn’t he always trust Tina unconditionally?
Titus snorted. “Toby Fuller, I think you’re just trying to protect your ex-wife.” Turning to Sonia, he continued sarcastically, “I really didn’t know that you can be that good at your ways with men. You already have so many men by your side, but you’re still trying to get your ex-husband—”
“What did you say, old fart? Don’t make me hit you!” Charles roared. He was fuming mad as he raised his fist and was about to lunge forward.
“Don’t do it, Charles!” Sonia shouted.
Zane held Charles back as he tried to reason with him. “Don’t act impulsively, Charles. I know you’re angry, because I’m angry as well. Still, that’s not reason enough to hit someone else. We didn’t see how Tina fell, but everyone will witness it once you hit someone, and that will just mean more trouble after that.”
Even though Carl found it a pity that Charles wasn’t able to teach Titus a lesson, he already decided that he would do it himself after returning.
Still oblivious to the fact that he had been targeted, Titus staggered backward fearfully and then pointed his finger at Charles furiously. “The nerve of you to raise your hand at me, you b*stard. Mrs. Laughlin, didn’t you go through the guest list before sending out the invitations? Why did you invite these sorts of people?”
Brenda chuckled. “You’re right. It’s my fault that you guys are invited because I didn’t go through the guest list beforehand.” All of a sudden, her smile faded and her face turned stern. “Someone, throw the Grays out of here!” she ordered loudly.
Upon hearing that, everyone was shocked, and there was soon an uproar. Why were the Grays being thrown out instead of Sonia and her friends?
Even Sonia and her friends were puzzled. When Brenda first started to speak, they thought that they would be the ones to be thrown out, but not even in their wildest imagination did they think that it would be Titus and Tina instead.
After Toby stole a look at Brenda, he lowered his gaze as though he had understood the situation. Rubbing his forehead in exasperation, he then released his hold on Tina. “I’m really disappointed, Tina!” he said abruptly.
“Toby…” Tina muttered. Panic-stricken, she tried to grab his sleeve, but he avoided her grasp, and her heart sank. My instincts were right, she thought. There was something off about Mrs. Laughlin’s smile earlier, and sure enough, the situation now has completely spiraled out of my expectations and control.
With a crestfallen expression, Titus asked, “Are you kidding, Mrs. Laughlin?”
“Of course not,” she answered with a smile as she met his eyes.
The muscles on Titus’ face twitched. “May I ask you for the reason, please? We’re the ones who suffered an injustice, yet you want to chase us out instead. If you don’t give us a reason, your family will lose its footing in society and our families will be enemies from now on.”
“Is this a threat to me, Mr. Gray?” Brenda asked in return, a frosty smile plastered to her face.
“I wouldn’t dare to,” he answered stiffly. “But I just find it unfair.”
“Don’t worry. I’m always fair in everything I do, so I have my reason for chasing you out, and one of it is your daughter,” she answered, then she turned to gaze at Tina.
