“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.

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

before Charles and Sonia pulled up in front of

looked the same as

she heard the sound of the car pulling up. Her eyes lit up at

Sonia greeted with a bright

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

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!”

by the remark. “No, I haven’t, Mrs.

“Your face

now I appear a little more slender than usual,” Sonia placated. “Alright, that’s enough fretting, Mrs. Lane. Shall

took her by the hand and led her

no one else at home

been for the past six years.” Ever since Grace watched the press conference, she had been wanting to know all that

nod and began to detail the life she had had with the Fullers, though she kept it brief

snapped, “I knew those Fullers were rotten! You

into an apple. “That’s what I told her,

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 said, “I

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 give them a peace of mind

Grace gently prodded the younger girl’s forehead and

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

at this gesture and smoothed Sonia’s hair with

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

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

toward the kitchen to salvage the chowder simmering in the pot,

Sonia. Have some juice while you watch a bit of television;

nodded with a warm

look. “Come and

just heard as he

or not?” Grace’s face

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