“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.

their relationship was more family than anything else. In particular, Grace had been best friends with Sonia’s mother. As

before Charles and Sonia pulled up in front

Sonia had dropped by in six years, though she noted that the house looked the same as it had before. As such, she did not feel out of place at all and rather felt a warm sense of

the house to greet her guest when she heard the sound of the car pulling up. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Sonia, and she approached the latter with

greeted with a bright

stood by the side and drawled sarcastically, “Don’t mind me, Mom.

rolled her eyes as she said pointedly, “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 good look at you!” She clasped Sonia’s hands in hers and slowly spun her around, then concluded plaintively,

the remark. “No, I haven’t,

“Your face is all

slender than usual,” Sonia placated. “Alright, that’s enough fretting, Mrs. Lane. Shall we head into

her by the hand and led

villa, Sonia noted that there was no one else at home

with his buddies. No matter. Sonia, why don’t you tell me how you’ve been for the past six years.” Ever since Grace watched the press conference, she

detail the life she had had with the Fullers, though she kept it brief

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

he bit into an apple. “That’s what

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

through her. Tears

the Lanes. She might have been able to get them to stand up 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

am I going to do with you?” Grace gently prodded the younger girl’s forehead and

was frustrated, but she smiled good-naturedly as she wrapped the

at this gesture and smoothed

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

eyes lit up with panic. She rose to her feet in a flurry and exclaimed, “Oh, no! My

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

brought two tall glasses of juice over to Sonia and said, “Here you go, Sonia. Have some juice while

Sonia nodded with

and help me out

you out?” Charles blinked. He could hardly believe what he had just heard as he

coming or not?” Grace’s face was dark

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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