Tina felt her heart sinking—she had no idea why Rose would pose her such a question. “Y-Yeah…” She forced a smile.
A thoughtful smile surfaced on Rose’s lips. “That’s odd. Toby told me that the both of you used to be pen-pals and that the both of you knew each other’s preferences and interests. Yet, you’re telling me that you don’t know what Toby’s favorite flower is. Are you sure you’re his pen-pal?”
Tina’s pupils shrank as she immediately lowered her gaze to conceal the panic and uneasiness in her eyes. “Of course. However, the six-year period I spent being in a coma really affected many parts of my memory—Toby knows about this as well.” She tried her best to remain calm and firm as she spoke. In some ways, Tina had tied the situation back to Toby, as if to show Rose that Toby wasn’t bothered by her memory loss. In that case, Rose wouldn’t be able to hang on to this matter even if she still suspected Tina.
“Is that so?” Rose raised her head a little. It wasn’t clear if she trusted Tina’s words. At that moment, someone threw the door open with great force. Jean stormed in while cursing, and Rose’s expression darkened instantly. “What’s with all the fuss? Don’t you know this is a hospital?” Rose barked.
When Jean realized that Rose was in the room, all hints of hatred and anger disappeared from her face as she put on a smile. “I just forgot about it for a moment, Mom.”
“Hmph. You’ve been in the Fuller Family for tens of years now, yet you’re still as loud and rough as ever. You haven’t improved at all,” Rose uttered angrily. Although Jean wasn’t pleased to hear this, she didn’t have the guts to go against Rose.
“Madam White,” Tina greeted with a smile.
“Ah, you’re here too, Tina.” Jean looked more pleased when she saw Tina around.
“Yeah. Toby got into such a huge accident—of course I have to pay him a visit. I’m his fiancée, after all. My parents would’ve dropped by if they hadn’t been too occupied with work,” Tina said with a faint smile as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Jean walked over and sat down next to Tina before she patted the younger woman’s hand gently. “You’re a good girl. Toby’s lucky to have you around,” Jean uttered. She was thoroughly satisfied with Tina.
“Madam White…” Tina’s cheeks were flushed as she lowered her head bashfully.
Rose sniggered when she saw this. “Luck? I don’t think so. I just pray that she doesn’t ruin the whole Fuller Family with her presence.”
Upon hearing this comment, Tina’s expression stiffened. She could no longer put on a bashful look—her gaze was filled with hatred instead. This old hag just loves to pick on me, huh. Even Jean seemed rather displeased. “Tina’s the fiancée Toby chose for himself, Mom. I don’t think it’s nice of you to say that.”
“What’s wrong with what I said? It’s the truth, isn’t it? Everyone knows about what happened at the Southfield Family’s party last night; everyone knows that your son’s fiancée is more than a simple woman. She’s going to deal with you once she officially turns into Toby’s wife,” Rose uttered in a sharp and mocking tone.
“You’re too much, Mom. How could Tina possibly do that to me? Am I right, Tina?” Jean sounded rather uncertain as she turned to look at the younger woman beside her.
Tina nodded hastily. “Don’t worry, Madam White. You’re Toby’s mother and someone I respect; I would never do such a thing to you.”
“Did you hear that?” Any uncertainty that Jean had felt earlier was thrown to the back of her mind as she shot Rose a gloating smirk.
What a dumb b*tch, Rose thought in her head. Rose couldn’t be bothered to interact with the both of them anymore.
“By the way, Madam White, what’s up with your clothes? Why are they so damp and wrinkled?” Tina ran her fingers across Jean’s sleeve as she spoke.
Jean’s face turned sour immediately. “It’s all because of Sonia, that b*tch. She splashed water all over me! I swear, if—”
“You went to see Sonia?” Rose smacked her hand on the bedside table as she interrupted Jean’s words.
Jean’s eyes roamed the room to avoid Rose’s gaze. “I…”
“Stop mumbling. Tell me—did you go to Sonia’s place or not?” Rose asked with a grim expression.
Jean had no choice but to open up about it. “That’s right. I went to look for her! It’s all her fault that Toby got into an accident, after all!” she uttered with her muscles tensed.
Tina clenched her fists upon hearing Jean’s words. What? Sonia’s the one who caused Toby’s accident?
“Who told you that his accident is Sonia’s fault?” Rose was fuming as she glared in Jean’s direction.
Jean scoffed. “Toby got into an accident outside Bayside Residence, which is where Sonia lives. I’m certain that Sonia isn’t over Toby—she must have called him over at night because she wants to get married to him again. That was why he ended up in an accident. Whose fault is it if not Sonia’s?”
Half of Tina’s face was covered by her shadow as she hung her head low to conceal the hatred written all over her face. When she woke up that morning, her father told her that Toby had gotten into an accident at about 11.00PM the night before, so Tina had rushed over to the hospital after getting the news. She hadn’t bothered to ask where the accident had happened. I can’t believe his accident was just outside Bayside Residence. That explains why he refused to come and visit me—he was going to meet Sonia. Tina’s body trembled at the thought of it.
“What is it, Tina?” Jean was quick to notice Tina’s actions. When Tina lifted her head, her eyes were red and watery. “I’m fine… I just…” she croaked.
“You’re just unhappy after hearing that Toby went to Sonia’s, huh?” Rose smirked. Tina went speechless for a moment.
Jean smacked her own thigh out of anger. “That nasty b*tch!”
“I think Sonia went easy on you if all she did was splash water on you.” Rose shot Jean a cold glare.
Jean wasn’t pleased by this. “Why are you always siding with an outsider, Mom?”
“Why is Sonia an outsider? Even though she’s no longer my granddaughter-in-law, she feels like a granddaughter to me. I’m much closer to her than I am to you guys,” Rose uttered scornfully.
Tina got to her feet then. “I’ll leave now, Madam White. I don’t think Old Mrs. Fuller welcomes my presence in this room.”
Rose let out a snigger, but she didn’t bother to say anything else. Jean got to her feet as well. “Aren’t you going to wait for Toby to wake up, Tina?” Jean asked.
“I’ll just come over when Toby’s awake. I’ll need you to let me know when that happens, Madam White.” Tina sent a longing gaze in the direction of the man on the bed before she grabbed her bag and left. She was afraid that she would accidentally strangle the old woman to death if she didn’t leave soon.
Once she left the ward, Tina took a deep breath. All signs of sadness evaporated from her face—all that was left was a bone-chilling, hateful look in her eyes. She pulled her phone out and tapped on it a few times before placing it against her ear. “Hello, Tim. I need to see you!”
In a dim basement somewhere, Tim’s glasses reflected the light in the room as he smirked and responded to Tina’s words. “Okay. I’ll meet you at the same place we last met.”
After ending the call, Tim held the phone in front of his face and made another call.
…
Meanwhile, Sonia and Carl were having a chat at Paradigm Co. Sonia poured him a cup of coffee. “Don’t you have work today? Aren’t you worried that your manager would be looking for you after you come here?”
“I just completed two months of filming at the glaciers, so the company specially arranged for me to get one week off from work. They want me to get some rest and readjust myself to the time zone here,” Carl explained in a gentle voice after he took a sip of coffee.
“I see.” Sonia nodded.
“I hope I’m not bothering you. You aren’t trying to shoo me away, are you?” He gazed at Sonia with puppy eyes.
She chuckled. “Of course not. You’re like a younger brother to me—I would never see you as an inconvenience to me.”
A joyful look returned to Carl’s face for a while, but his smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes. A younger brother? But I’m all grown up now.
“By the way, did you see the news today?” Carl asked abruptly.
Sonia had been glancing through her documents, and she tilted her head puzzledly when she heard Carl’s words. “Are you referring to the accident that Toby was involved in?”
