Chapter 103

“It’s not you I’m looking for; I want to speak to Sonia. Is she there with you?” Grace asked on the other line, prompting Charles to glance over at Sonia.

“She’s here,” he answered.

“Pass the phone to her.”

Having made a noise of agreement, Charles handed Sonia his phone while saying, “Here, it’s my mom.”

Sonia took the phone over and greeted pleasantly, “Mrs. Lane.”

“Sonia! I’ve missed you so much.” Grace beamed as soon as she heard Sonia’s voice on the other end of the call.

Sonia, on the other hand, smiled as well. “I’ve missed you, too, Mrs. Lane.”

“You could always drop by to see me, you know.” Grace pointed out, feigning dejection.

“Sorry, Mrs. Lane. I’ve been tied up with tons of stuff recently. I barely have time to breathe,” Sonia winced and said apologetically.

few of my best recipes for you,” Grace cajoled kindly.

Sonia was just about to say something when Charles-who had been eavesdropping

-spoke up instead. “Mom, I’m bringing my darling for seafood.”

Grace, however, was insistent as she countered, “You know how restaurants never run a quality check on their seafood supplies, and it’s not as if they could do better than me when it comes to cooking.”

Sonia interjected, “Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Lane. We’ll go over to your place in a bit!”

“Oh, please, no need for the formalities. See you soon!” Grace chortled happily, elated that the younger girl had agreed to drop by for a meal.

When the call ended, Charles put his phone away and gave Sonia a resigned look. “Well, it looks like we’re going to have to give the seafood restaurant a miss.”

“It’s fine; there’s always next time, anyway. Now, we should probably go and pick out gifts for your parents.” With that, she linked arms with him and led him toward the car.

After they made their rounds through the boutiques in the mall, they finally picked out an elegant cloak for Grace and a tasteful necktie for Curtis. Then, they made their way to the Lane Residence.

the Reeds, and their relationship was more family than anything else. In particular, Grace had been best friends with Sonia’s mother. As far as Sonia was concerned, Grace

wasn’t long before Charles and Sonia pulled up in front

noted that the house looked the same as it had before. As such, she did not feel

of the car pulling up. Her eyes lit up at the sight of

Lane,” Sonia greeted

both women embraced, Charles stood by the side and drawled sarcastically, “Don’t mind me, Mom. I’m just your biological son,

“I see you every day, and believe me when I say I’m getting tired of it. My attention is on Sonia now. Come here, Sonia, let me take a

somewhat amused by the remark. “No, I haven’t,

insisted. “Your face is all

so

Sonia placated. “Alright, that’s enough fretting, Mrs.

by the hand and led her into

at home but them, and she couldn’t help

Sonia, why don’t you tell me how you‘ve been for the past six years.” Ever since Grace watched the press conference, she had been wanting to

had had with the Fullers, though she kept it

Grace was still furious when she heard the last of the story. She slapped the edge of the coffee table in a physical show of frustration and snapped, “I knew those Fullers were rotten! You should have told us how badly they were treating you, Sonia. If you had told us, then we would

as he bit into an apple. “That’s what

fact that she had kept mum about her abusive marriage wounded him, and the rage he felt never went away. That being said, he was less angry with her than he was pitiful

concern, Sonia felt warmth course through her. Tears pricked her eyes as she

for her throughout her marriage to Toby, but they couldn’t come to her defense all the time. Besides, they weren’t actually related to her, which meant her troubles would only grow to become an unnecessary burden for them. She would rather give them a peace of mind than

Grace gently prodded the younger girl’s forehead

but she smiled good-naturedly as she wrapped the latter’s arm like an affectionate

gesture and smoothed Sonia’s

he sniffed the air curiously. “Mom, what do you have on the stove?

with panic. She rose to her feet

salvage the chowder simmering in the pot, and thankfully, she made it in time to keep the chowder

and said, “Here you go, Sonia. Have some juice while you watch a bit of television; I’ll be in the kitchen whipping up a couple more dishes,

Sonia nodded with

a look. “Come and help me out in the

Charles blinked. He could hardly believe what he had just heard as he

face was dark as she

dare reject her. Resigned,

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