“No.” He stared down, hiding the laugh in his eyes. Nicely done.
Tina stared at him in disbelief. “What? Why?”
Carl and Sonia looked at him as well. Yeah, he didn’t even help her when we insulted her. I thought he loved her and would do anything for her. Why did he let us do what we wanted? Odd.
Toby could guess what Sonia was thinking from the change in her expression. He wanted to tell her he didn’t love Tina, so whatever happened to her wasn’t his business. However, he had a hunch that something bad would happen if he said that, and the feeling was too strong for him to ignore. In the end. Toby let Tina go and put his hand in his pocket so he could clench it without anyone seeing. “Because it’s a bit hard to handle,” he said coolly.
“Why?” Tina was curious.
Sonia arched her eyebrow. She too wanted to know his answer.
Toby pursed his lips and lied, “Sonia didn’t call you a dog. You did it yourself. If I defend you, that means you’ll be really nothing but a dog.” He deliberately emphasized the word ‘dog.’
Sonia thought she was hearing things. Is he emphasizing the last word? What? Why? Does he think she’s a b*tch too? Sonia was amused by that thought, and she shook her head. Impossible. I must be hearing things. He loves her more than anything. There’s no way he thinks she’s a b*tch.
Tina didn’t notice the emphasis, so she bit her lip and nodded. “I see.” She thought something was off, but she couldn’t put a finger on it, so she put it behind her.
Now that she wouldn’t throw a tantrum, Toby stopped frowning. I get the gist now. As long as she stays calm, I won’t have to follow her every whim and desire, nor will I get punished for disobeying her. Toby rubbed his fingers. “Since we can’t solve the mystery, we’ll let the cops handle it. As for you guys…” He looked at the manager.
The manager stood up straight. “We’ll cooperate with the cops.”
Toby nodded, then he looked at Sonia, his gaze mellow. “What do you think?”
Sonia didn’t answer, for she was surprised.
Carl nudged her on the shoulder. “Sonia?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else. What is it?” She snapped out of it and smiled apologetically. However, she was shaken to her core, for she could see the old Toby for an instant when he was looking at her earlier.
Carl didn’t notice her shock, and he answered gently, “President Fuller said to let the cops handle this since we can’t solve the mystery ourselves.”
“That works. Sure.” Sonia nodded.
The manager went to call the cops. After they came and took Sonia, Carl, Tina, and Toby’s testimonials, they let the four of them go. Carl and Sonia left first, while Toby and Tina waited for Toby’s driver.
Toby was staring at Sonia as she left, and Tina was jealous about it. She wanted to turn his head and tell him to only have eyes on her, not anyone else. Not even Sonia. Especially not Sonia. However, she didn’t do it. If she did that, he’d give her the silent treatment again. She didn’t want it, not after they finally patched things up.
When she saw Toby’s car, she took a deep breath and held her fury down. She forced a smile and called out to Toby, snatching his attention back to her. “The car’s here, Toby.”
In response, Toby merely nodded and hobbled toward the car.
Tina stomped her foot, since Toby didn’t even call her to go together with him. “Wait for me, Toby.”
Toby pretended he didn’t hear her. After he handed the crutch over to the driver, he went into the car. Tina sat beside him and closed the door. “Why didn’t you wait for me, Toby?” She looked at him, slightly annoyed.
“Quiet. My head hurts.” Toby closed his eyes and told her to shut up.
Tina wanted to argue, but when she remembered how Toby almost fell twice in the restaurant, she shut up.
An hour of silence later, they arrived at Tina’s house. Before she got out of the car, Tina looked at the man beside her. His eyes were closed, seemingly because he was in a deep sleep. Toby showed no signs of getting out even after the car had stopped. Tina bit her lip. She wanted to wake him up and tell him they were at her home. But when she realized he was frowning, she gave up and got out by herself. Fine. He gets a pass, since he’s unwell. I’ll get him to love me more after this. That thought made her feel much better.
Thud. The moment she closed the door, Toby opened his eyes, his gaze as cold as Helheim. “Drive,” he ordered.
The driver felt a chill running up his spine. He quickly turned away and drove into the distance.
The exhaust smoke enveloped Tina. She didn’t expect that coming, and she almost puked, but more than that, she was furious. What the heck? How dare that driver do this to me? I’ll get Toby to fire him tomorrow! She wiped her face off angrily before going into the mansion.
Julia was going through her skincare routine in the living room. When she noticed her daughter coming in looking furious, she quickly took her mask off. “What happened, Tina? I thought you were on a dinner date with Toby. Did you patch things up with him? Are you guys okay now?”
Tina sat down beside Julia. “Yes.” She didn’t get an affirmative answer, and Toby didn’t tell her either. But since he was acting nice again, she thought they had patched things up.
“That’s great, then. So why do you look so down?” Julia looked at her in confusion.
Tina gritted her teeth. “It’s his driver. Got the exhaust smoke all over me.”
Julia gave her a glass of honey water. “That’s nothing to trouble yourself over. Just tell Toby to fire him. Don’t waste your time getting angry over that. Here, have some water.”
Tina took it and had a sip without even saying thank you. “Where’s Dad?” she asked.
Julia pointed upstairs. “Working in his study.”
Tina nodded. “I see.”
Then a servant came downstairs. “Madam, the room’s ready.”
“Are we expecting guests today, Mom?” Tina put her glass down and looked at Julia.
Julia touched her necklace, smiling gently. “No. It’s for your sister.”
Tina was shaken, and she asked stiffly, “Rina’s coming back?” Dammit. They couldn’t have found her, right? Why else would they set a room up for her?
“No.” Julia sighed. “No news yet, but I want to set it up so she can live in it right after she comes back.”
“I see…” Tina forced a smile, “celebrating” the occasion.
