Back in the venue of the press conference, Sonia continued to target Cynthia as she went on, “Miss Stone posted about me pestering my ex-husband after our divorce, being a third wheel in President Fuller and Miss Gray’s relationship six years ago, as well as forcing President Fuller to marry me. I would hereby declare that except for the final point, everything she said is false!”
The crowd was surprised as soon as they heard her statement. A journalist stood up and asked, “Miss Reed, does this mean you really forced President Fuller to marry you?”
“Yes.” Sonia looked at the journalist before nodding in admission.
On the side, Charles was all jittery. “Darling, what are you talking about?” Is this something that you should be announcing in public?
Meanwhile, Toby, who was in Fuller Group’s office, couldn’t help but frown. Even Zane couldn’t fathom Sonia’s decision. “Although it is true, isn’t she worried that the onslaught of public opinion might just lead to Paradigm Co.’s downfall if she admitted to it just like that? Toby, what the hell do you think she has in mind?”
Zane raised his head to glance in Toby’s direction, only to see the latter wordlessly pulling his lips into a thin line.
Meanwhile, Tina was also watching the live broadcast in Gray Residence. Seeing Sonia admit to threatening Toby brought a smile to her face, for she assumed that Sonia was digging her own grave.
Back on the scene, Sonia remained impassive despite the fact that the press were buzzing with excitement. She was aware of the consequences of bringing her past actions to light, but she had no regrets.
The journalist followed up with another question. “Miss Reed, why did you do that?”
“Why, you ask?” Sonia lowered her gaze before replying with a cool voice, “Because I love him.”
Toby’s pupils shrunk, and his body straightened subconsciously. He knew he was the person whom she loved, for he had witnessed it in her gaze during the past six years. However, he didn’t expect her to actually open up about her feelings for him. While rubbing his fingers together, pleasure filled his heart.
However, the euphoria didn’t last long, for it was dissipated by what Sonia said next. As Sonia stared at the camera, she declared, “But that was a long time ago, and I no longer love him now!”
Toby’s expression changed slightly, panic surging within him as if he had lost something. At the side, Zane whistled. “Toby, do you think what she said is true?”
“It has nothing to do with me, be it true or false!” Toby clenched his fists, his voice cold and hard.
Aware of Toby’s dishonesty, Zane smiled cheekily. “Is that so? From what I can see, you don’t look like it.”
“Go get your eyes checked.” Toby glowered at Zane.
Zane shrugged. “Okay, I guess I’ll shut up.” With that, he hung his head low and continued watching the live broadcast.
Meanwhile, the journalist asked again, “Miss Reed, despite your love for President Fuller, isn’t forcing him to marry you by holding the fact that you saved Miss Gray against him crossing a line? Besides, President Fuller was already with Miss Gray back then, so—”
“As I said earlier, I never stepped in between them. Those are just baseless rumors.” Already knowing what the journalist was about to ask, Sonia cut her off while holding the mic up. “It’s because I had no idea back then that they were together. When I was in university, I asked Miss Gray about her relationship with Toby. The reply she gave was that she saw Toby as her brother, which was the reason I went after President Fuller. As for my request for him to marry me…”
Sonia took a deep breath. “I admit that it’s not the right thing to do. Back when I saved Miss Gray after she got involved in an accident, President Fuller asked if I had any requests. When I told him to marry me, he agreed to that, so that’s what ended up happening. If…”
“If?” The journalist pressed for answers.
Sonia raised her voice. “If I’d known back then that they were together, I would’ve never made such a request. As someone who hails from a prestigious family, I’m not one to stoop as low as interfering with other people’s relationships. My pride and honor would never allow me to do that.”
“Does this mean that she never knew about your relationship with Tina?” Zane looked toward Toby in surprise.
Similarly, Toby was in shock, as what Sonia told the public affected him greatly. He knew Sonia was Tina’s roommate when they were in uni, so he had assumed that she was aware of Tina’s relationship with him. Therefore, the fact that she insisted on marrying him was the reason he hated her so much.
However, he never thought of the possibility that Sonia never knew he was Tina’s boyfriend. By that point, Toby pulled his lips into a cold, thin line. Why did Tina not admit that I was her boyfriend, and opted to tell Sonia that she saw me as a brother?
At the same time, Tyler was also watching the livestream after training with the national team ended. When he heard what Sonia said, a look of shock was written all over his young face.
“What? Sonia didn’t know about Tina and Toby’s relationship?” Tyler yelped in surprise. “If that’s the case, it means I misunderstood Sonia!” He gripped on his phone tightly while watching Sonia on the screen with a look of guilt in his eyes. It was because he assumed that Sonia was a third wheel in Toby and Tina’s relationship that Tyler despised her, but it turned out that everything was a misunderstanding.
“Besides.” Sonia rubbed a finger in between her brows before continuing, “I was merely proposing the idea of marriage to President Fuller, and wasn’t expecting an affirmative response from him. After all, we were strangers back then. Hypothetically speaking, nobody would agree to marrying a stranger just like that.”
“Yeah!” The journalists present in the venue and the audience watching the livestream nodded subconsciously. If a stranger were to propose to any of them, they would never agree to it. In fact, they would consider the one who proposed a nutjob.
“But didn’t President Fuller agree to it in the end?” the journalist said.
Sonia pursed her lips. “Yes, he did. I was stunned yet elated then. Despite knowing that he didn’t love me, I married him happily, because I thought he would come to love me. However, I was dead wrong. I was married to him for six years, only to fail miserably at touching his heart.”
“Aren’t things bound to turn out like that since President Fuller had always been in love with Miss Gray?” the journalist questioned.
Sonia nodded. “Yeah, he loves Tina, but my past self had no idea. Therefore, I led a harsh life during the past six years. I even wondered why he didn’t turn me down directly if he didn’t like me. I would’ve never forced him into a marriage.” Sonia wasn’t an overbearing person, so she wouldn’t insist on marrying Toby if he’d turned her down then.
Upon hearing that, the crowd finally understood the situation. Yeah, since President Fuller didn’t love Miss Reed, he could have turned down her request. Miss Reed wasn’t holding him at gunpoint. Why did he not turn her down?
Zane was curious as well. With his chin resting on his hand, he observed Toby. “She’s right. Why didn’t you turn her down?”
Toby lowered his gaze to hide the emotions it contained. Back then, I was indeed going to turn her down, but I somehow agreed to her proposal when I met her gaze. When I snapped back to my senses, it was already too late.
“By the way, I bet all of you must be interested in learning more about my married life.” Sonia swept a glance at the crowd. Upon noticing the nods in the crowd, Sonia smirked. “Let me tell you all about my blissful marriage. I had to endure my husband’s silent treatment, my mother-in-law’s pedantic nitpicking, and my brother-in-law’s incessant fault-finding with me. How does that sound? Wonderful, isn’t it?”
In the ensuing silence, people were seen wearing an awkward expression on their faces. Blissful? That sounds more like hell.
There were even comments in the livestream. ‘So Miss Reed had been enduring the silent treatment. It seems that President Fuller isn’t that nice of a man either. To treat Miss Reed like that despite the fact that he married her, he sounds like a typical scum.’
