“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.

“Well, you could come over for a meal right now if you have the time. I’ll bust out a 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.

was more family than anything else. In particular, Grace had been best friends with Sonia’s mother. As far as Sonia was concerned, Grace was like a second mother to her, having taken care

before Charles and Sonia pulled up

the house looked the same as it had before. As such, she did not feel out of place at all and rather felt a

heard the sound of the car pulling

greeted with

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

I say I’m getting tired of it. My attention is on Sonia now. Come

by the remark.

have,” Grace insisted. “Your face is

appear a little more slender than usual,” Sonia placated. “Alright,

along, then.” Grace took her by the hand and

at home but them, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Is Mr.

past six years.” Ever

she had had with the Fullers, though

Fullers were rotten! You should have told us how badly they were treating you, Sonia. If you had told us,

he bit into an apple. “That’s

wounded him, and the rage he felt never went away. That being said, he was less angry with her than he was pitiful

Grace’s outward concern, Sonia felt warmth course through her. Tears pricked her

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 have them resent her in

gently prodded the younger

knew that Grace was frustrated, but she smiled good-naturedly as she wrapped the latter’s arm like an affectionate

softened at this gesture and smoothed Sonia’s hair with

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

of her thoughts, and her eyes lit up with panic. She rose to her feet in a flurry and exclaimed,

rushed toward the kitchen to salvage the chowder simmering in the pot, and thankfully, she made

chowder was saved, she brought two tall glasses of juice over to Sonia 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, and we can dig

Lane.” Sonia nodded

look. “Come and

as he pointed at his nose. “Are you serious, Mom? What could I possibly

face was dark as

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