Meanwhile, in the Fuller Residence, Tyler was doing some letter-reading as well. Even after going through the letter a few times, he still managed to find something new each time. Specifically, he realized that most of the daily routines and hobbies that John described in the letter sounded similar to Toby’s. The most obvious similarity between them was John’s handwriting. However, John’s handwriting looked just a little messier than Toby’s neat and straight words.
If Tyler weren’t aware of the fact that Toby’s pen pal was Tina, he would’ve thought that the person Toby used to write to was actually Sonia. After a while, Tyler folded the letter and put it back into the envelope to keep it away. Sonia must’ve told me to throw it away only because she was angry that I took the letter without her permission. I’m not going to throw it away; I’ll just return it to her in the future. Tyler let out a scoff as he placed the letter into his drawer.
Someone knocked on his door right after that. “The food’s ready, Young Master Tyler.”
“I’m coming!” Tyler replied as he stood up from his chair.
He was greeted with Tina’s gentle smile once he got downstairs. “Tyler.”
“You’re here, Tina.” Tyler returned the smile.
Tina nodded while she spoke. “Madam White invited me over for a meal.”
“I see,” Tyler said as he shot Jean a glance. “Mom,” he muttered flatly. Jean simply let out an uninterested grunt. She ignored his greeting and walked off to the dining area. Tyler shot Toby a helpless glance, and Toby responded with a slight nod.
Tyler’s eyes lit up immediately. “Great! Thanks, Toby!” He jumped in excitement. Toby’s the best indeed—I knew he’d be able to convince Mom about this.
“You should thank Tina as well. She spoke up for you too,” Toby said as he held onto Tina’s hand.
Tyler froze for a moment before he turned around to stare at Tina with a look of disbelief. “Did you speak up for me as well, Tina?”
Tina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she flashed Tyler a warm smile. “I simply gave Madam White a few words of advice.” Tina was secretly pleased that Tyler enjoyed playing basketball—that way, he wouldn’t fight for the family inheritance with his elder brother. She would be Toby’s wife in the future, and she would never allow the Fuller Family’s wealth to fall into the hands of someone else. Not even if that someone was Toby’s younger brother!
Meanwhile, Tyler was still stunned over the fact that Tina had been willing to help him. Although he couldn’t believe it, he obediently thanked her for the help. For some reason, I still feel like she’s a little fake. When I last asked her to help me sign the contract for the basketball team, she rejected me and said that she didn’t want to make Mom unhappy. Yet, she voluntarily spoke up for me this time. Isn’t she afraid that my mom would feel unhappy this time?
Tina sensed that Tyler wasn’t genuinely thankful toward her because of his rather monotonous ‘thank you.’ She scrunched her face into a sad expression as she felt rather uneasy. “Are you displeased by the fact that I spoke up for you, Tyler? Why do I feel like you’re not actually happy about this?”
“What?” Tyler was confused. Since when did I say that I’m displeased? Since when did I put on an unhappy expression?
Tina bit onto her lower lip when Tyler didn’t respond to her immediately. Then, she turned to look at Toby with a helpless expression on her face. “Did I do something wrong, Toby?”
“No, of course not.” Toby stroked her hair before he shifted his gaze to his brother. “I think you owe Tina an apology, Tyler.”
“But… Why should I apologize to her?” Tyler was utterly dazed. I didn’t say or do anything wrong. She’s the one who’s overthinking it—what has that got to do with me?
“It’s fine, Toby. Forget about it.” Tina tugged on Toby’s sleeve to hint him to drop the matter. Toby patted the back of her hand before darkening his expression and addressing Tyler in a stern tone. “I told you to apologize. Do you hear me?” he barked.
At that moment, Tyler felt wholly misunderstood. However, he couldn’t go against Toby’s strong aura, so he ended up apologizing to Tina. “I’m sorry, Tina.”
She waved it off. “It’s fine.”
“Is that good enough for you?” Tyler hissed as he shot his brother a glare. He then stormed off into the dining area. Tina clung onto Toby’s arm tightly. “It’s all my fault, Toby. I’m the reason both of you ended up fighting; I placed you guys in a tough spot.”
“It’s nothing. Come on; let’s have our meal.” Toby massaged the space between his brows while speaking in a rather tired voice. Tina nodded and smiled at him.
Tyler was silent at the dining table—he was evidently still mad about what happened earlier. He couldn’t understand the situation at all. Tina was the one who misunderstood him, yet she ended up being the victim while he somehow turned into the perpetrator. Toby even expected him to apologize to Tina. What logic is this?! Tyler couldn’t help but feel rather annoyed at Tina at that point. He even felt rather conflicted toward the idea of having her as his sister-in-law. He was certain that these odd incidents—like the sudden apology he had to make earlier—would become more frequent if she actually became his sister-in-law.
Tyler lost his appetite at that thought. He slammed his utensils onto the table with a loud smack. Everyone was shocked by this sudden gesture, and all their gazes turned toward him immediately. “What is it, Tyler?” Tina blinked a few times before questioning him in a concerned voice. “Are you feeling unwell? You seem really pale.”
“That’s none of your business!” Tyler spat at her.
Tina’s face dimmed for a moment before she put on a forced smile. “Okay. I won’t ask about you anymore…”
“How could you treat your sister-in-law like that, you brat?!” Jean smacked Tyler on his shoulder. Right after that, she turned to beam at Tina. “Don’t get mad, Tina. This boy just needs to be taught a lesson or two.”
Tina shook her head as she smiled. “Don’t worry, Madam White. I won’t take it to heart.” Despite uttering such nice words, Tina was secretly sneering in her heart. Tyler is an ungrateful brat indeed. I can’t believe he treated me that way when I was just trying to be nice to him. Well, just you wait, Tyler! I’m going to limit your allowance once I get married to Toby.
“That’s great, then.” Jean heaved a sigh of relief. She definitely did not wish to lose a daughter-in-law as wonderful as Tina. “Why aren’t you apologizing to your sister-in-law?” Jean urged Tyler to speak up.
Tyler parted his lips to protest—he wanted to point out that Tina wasn’t his sister-in-law. However, his words remained stuck in his throat when he saw the ice-cold look on Toby’s face.
Toby looked away once he was sure that his brother had gotten the message. “Have some of this. It’s your favorite, isn’t it?” Toby scooped some mango salad into Tina’s bowl as he spoke. For a split second, Tina’s expression hardened at the sight of the mango in her bowl. Even her grip around her chopsticks tightened along with the change in expression.
When Toby noticed that she had stopped eating and looked rather uncomfortable, he narrowed his eyes and checked on her. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I just can’t have mangoes because it’s the time of the month for me,” she uttered in a rather shy voice. Tina took a sip of water to contain the panic and nervousness she felt within her.
“I see. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t eat it then.” Toby didn’t suspect her words—he simply took the mango salad out of her bowl. Tina finally heaved a sigh of relief then.
After the meal, Jean fixed her gaze on the couple in the room. “You’re not leaving tonight, are you, Tina?”
“Yeah. I’ve already told my mom that I’ll stay the night here,” Tina replied with a smile.
“Well, what should we do then?” Jean twisted her face into a rather troubled look.
An icy look flickered across Tina’s gaze at that moment. “What do you mean, Madam White?” This old lady isn’t going to chase me out of the house, is she?
“I’m talking about the room that you stayed in in the past, of course! I’ve got someone to renovate and refurbish that entire room, and it’s not completely ready for someone to stay in there.” Jean let out a long sigh as she spoke about her troubles.
Tyler was munching on an apple, but he felt the need to interrupt their conversation. “Mom, when did you— Ouch!” Before Tyler could finish his words, Jean had already sent a flying kick in his direction.
After shooting Tyler a cautionary glare, Jean quickly schooled her expression into a kind and sweet one. “How about this, Toby? Why don’t you let Tina sleep in your room tonight?”
