Chapter 415 One Chance
Sonia nodded, a little surprised by Toby’s argument. “It makes sense if you put it that way.”
“Just wait and see. Titus will agree to their terms in no time,” Toby insisted with a thin smile.
She did not say anything else and waited quietly. Sure enough, it was just like he had said—Titus conceded to Hal’s demand for a million in compensation toward the end of their heated exchange.
As things were, Titus’ hands were tied. He couldn’t very well risk Hal and Greta humiliating the Gray Family by making a scene at Triforce Enterprise and the Gray Residence.
Hal and Greta’s beady eyes were twinkling with greed. Titus bridled and shot them a baleful look, but he whipped out his checkbook and pen from his pocket nevertheless. He scribbled the one million sum on the check and tore it before he begrudgingly handed it to Hal and Greta. “Take the money and get out of my sight! I don’t ever want to see the both of you in Seafield ever again, much less bother Rina! If you so much as show your faces around these parts, I have a thousand and one ways to make you regret it. You’re more than welcome to try your luck!”
“Don’t worry about it. Consider us as good as gone!” Hal and Greta clutched the check happily as they promised this while nodding earnestly.
They were no fools, after all; they knew how hard it could be to deal with these rich folks, and to manipulate them into surrendering a small part of their fortune was no easy feat, nor was it one to be repeated. Peasants like them could never beat the blue bloods—something that Hal and Greta were more than aware of.
That being said, getting a million out of Titus this time proved easier than they had thought and they couldn’t help wishing they had asked for double the price instead.
“What are you still doing here?” Titus growled, his face stormy as he glowered at the gleeful couple.
“We’re leaving right now!” Hal and Greta kept the check and fled the testing facility, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.
Rina saw how incensed Titus was and she reached out to tug on his sleeve. “Dad, I’m sorry that you had to pay a million because of me. It’s all my fault.”
“It’s fine. You’re worth every penny. Anyway, we should be heading home.” He consoled her on the shoulder to ease her guilt, thereafter leading her and Julia out of the facility.
When they were waiting for the elevator, Julia glanced at Titus in askance. “Honey, are we just going to let Sonia get away with this?”
He gritted his teeth. “I don’t have a choice, do I? Toby is set on protecting her, so we can’t even lay a finger on her.”
“This isn’t fair. She had Rina thrown into jail without difficulty, but here we are struggling to do the same to her!” She seethed while she dug her nails into her palms.
Titus sighed. “We can’t do anything about it now. She certainly has some tricks up her sleeve; she has Toby wrapped around her finger, and for as long as she is under his protection, she will be untouchable. The only way we can get our revenge is if the Fullers become bankrupt overnight, but that’s never going to happen.”
The Fuller Family came from old money, with Toby’s grandfather being a prominent politician back in the day. His grandmother was a force to be reckoned with as well since her ancestors had all been landowners.
In fact, Fuller Corporation was built on the wealth of Toby’s grandmother’s in-laws. It thrived under Toby’s grandfather’s political influence and while the old man had since passed away, the Fuller Family still maintained their connections with both the army and the government. Consequently, the family had amassed a fortune so large that they could go bankrupt a hundred times over and still remain standing.
“Well, desperate times call for desperate measures,” Julia said as she narrowed her eyes.
Titus snapped out of his thoughts as he and Rina turned to look at her. “What do you have in mind?”
Julia flashed a smug look as she drawled with feminine mystique, “A woman’s strategy is something men could never come up with. Now, when a man loves a woman, it’s almost always superficial; if we can find someone prettier than Sonia to seduce Toby and make him fall in love, then Sonia would be left without her precious shield, right?”
In retrospect, she hadn’t been so infuriated when Sonia repeatedly went after Tina. Now that she wants to take Rina away from me, I simply won’t let her get away with this! I have missed out on twenty-six years with my own daughter; Rina is my baby and I will not lose her again!
When Titus heard Julia’s plan, his eyes lit up before he lowered his voice as he approved, “I must say, that sounds like a pretty good idea. We should give it a shot.”
“And so we shall, right after we go back and work on the details.”
The three of them walked into the elevator and their conversation continued behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, in the lounge, Toby gave Sonia a triumphant look after the ruckus earlier had arrived to an end. “See? I was right; Titus coughed up the money.”
“And? Do you want me to praise you?” she asked him witheringly.
He chuckled. “No, but I won’t refuse a compliment or two.”
“Yeah, you’re getting nothing,” she said as she turned with her nose in the air. However, that didn’t last long as she turned to face him once more, and she looked a little pensive as she muttered, “Thank you for what you did earlier.”
“Hmm?” He didn’t seem to understand what she meant.
Sonia elaborated with a resigned sigh, “Thank you for speaking up for me.”
“It’s nothing. I can’t just let Titus pick a fight with you.” Toby sat down on the sofa and gazed at her with a sentimental look in his eyes.
She couldn’t see him, but she felt his piercing gaze on her all the same and it made her skin prickle. With a frown, she pointed out, “You didn’t have to speak up for me, though. I know what Titus was going to do. He probably wanted to mock my pride with those DNA test results before sending me to jail for defaming him. I could have handled it on my own without your interference and I’d still leave him helpless.”
When she was done speaking, he pressed his lips into a grim line. Is this her way of telling me that I put my foot in where it didn’t belong? “And what would you have done?” he asked, the challenge clear in his tone.
A stubborn Sonia shook her head. “I can’t tell you that; it’s a secret.” With that, she took her phone and passed it to him. “Could you help me to dial Wanda’s number, President Fuller? It’s getting late and I should head home.”
She had come here to expose Taylor as a fraud, but seeing as the girl unexpectedly turned out to be the real Rina, there was no point for Sonia to linger around anymore.
Toby took her phone, but he did not make the call and instead crouched down in front of her. He looked up at her and his eyes were dark with emotions as he asked, “I take it that you’ve heard my earlier conversation with Titus?”
Sonia hummed in response and nodded, but she was a little flustered as she asked, “Why are you asking me this, President Fuller?”
He set her phone aside and reached out to clasp her hand in his.
She jumped at the sudden gesture and demanded, “What are you doing?”
Although she tried to withdraw her hand, his grip was tight, but it surprisingly didn’t hurt her. That being said, his palm was extremely warm and it felt like he might burn a hole through the back of her hand if he held on any longer. Now that she was growing uncomfortable, she snapped with furrowed brows, “Let go of me, Toby!”
Toby did not oblige. “Sonia, I meant every word that I said earlier. I’m truly in love with you, so could you please give me one chance to make things right with you and let me be in your life once again?”
In the six years that they had been married, she was always the one who chased after him. Now, it was only appropriate, and somewhat ironic, that he should do the same.
A chance? Sonia let out a small laugh and responded, “Sorry, President Fuller, but I don’t think I can give you that chance. First of all, we’re divorced and reconciliation has never been on the table in the first place. Secondly, why would I give you a chance to pursue me romantically when I don’t even love you? Would you do the same if you were in my shoes?”
Toby’s lips twitched, but he found himself at a loss for words.
She took advantage of his speechlessness and ended the conversation curtly. “That’s enough now, President Fuller. Give me back my phone; I’ll call Wanda myself.”
He handed her the phone. “I’ve already texted Wanda and she said she’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Having said that, he nodded at Wanda, who had been standing silently in the corner all this while.
With light footsteps, she traipsed over to the doorway and gently opened the door, acting as though she had only just returned. She bowed at Sonia and apologized, “I’m sorry, Miss Reed. There was an emergency I had to attend to, so I left for a bit. Please understand.”
“It’s fine, just bring me home.” Sonia waved her hand dismissively and she didn’t seem to mind the fact that her caretaker had left without notice earlier.
Wanda repeatedly thanked her before she shot Toby a knowing look before she wheeled Sonia out of the lounge.
Toby walked behind them, but he had only just stepped out of the lounge when he stopped abruptly.
