Chapter 252
Tim’s eyes were as cold as a viper’s when he heard what Tina had said, but he kept his voice light as he countered gently, “There is no need to kill her; sometimes living can be far more torturous than death.”
“What does that mean?” Tina frowned on the other line, obviously displeased to hear that he refused to kill Sonia.
The white light refracted off Tim’s glasses as he explained with forced patience, “What I mean is that we could rustle up a couple of men to ruin her completely while recording the process. That way, the child she’s carrying will be as good as gone, and she would be so agonized that she’d beg for death.”
Tina lit up at this. “You’re right. Killing her would be doing her a favor, so we might as well let her suffer in purgatory for the rest of her life. I must say the plan is a very appealing one indeed.”
When all was over and done with, Toby wouldn’t think about loving a tainted and ruined Sonia anymore, even if he were to discover that she was Maple.
Sonia’s life, on the other hand, would be completely destroyed. She would never be able to keep her head high in society anymore, and she would live the rest of her days being ostracized by everyone. Even Paradigm Co. would become the laughingstock of the industry because of her disgrace.
Indeed, killing her would be too easy on her, especially when she deserves far worse punishments than death. Tina was practically trembling with twisted anticipation as the thought cemented in her mind.
On the other line, Tim mused with a dark and unreadable expression, “Am I right to presume you’re on board with the idea?”
“Yes.” Tina nodded decisively. She was much more than agreeable to the idea; she could hardly wait to see it come to fruition! Seized with newfound excitement, she urged, “When do you plan on striking?”
“Tomorrow. Would you like to come over and see the plan in action?” Tim asked slowly as he turned his scalpel this way and that.
Tina looked dazed for a moment, then deviously smiled as she quipped, “Of course. I want to see Sonia dragged into prison personally!”
Bored, Tim flicked his thumb against the edge of the blade of his scalpel and drawled, “Very well. I’ll lure Sonia over to Bay Street tomorrow. There’s hardly ever a crowd, and you can wait for me there.”
Tina hung up the call, and she grew giddy with excitement as malice filled her eyes. “You’re done for, Sonia!”
“Ah-choo!” In the presidential office at Fuller Group, Sonia had only just opened her notebook
when she felt a sharp prickling sensation in her nose, and before she could stop herself, she let out a sneeze.
Toby placed a cup of tea in front of her and asked casually, “Feeling cold?”
“I’m fine,” Sonia replied, sniffing as she drew her fitted blazer tighter around herself.
The thermostat in the office had been turned on. The temperature was fine, but there was a moment earlier when Sonia had felt a chill running down her spine and raising goosebumps along her skin.
Meanwhile, Toby pursed his lips in mild dismay when he saw Sonia’s gesture and cranked up the heating by a fraction. “That should keep the room warm,” he declared.
“Thank you, President Fuller.” Sonia flashed him a courteous smile. She didn’t think that he was doing this out of concern for her. Rather, it was a considerate gesture on his part to make sure his business partner didn’t catch a cold. She would have done the same thing if she were in his shoes.
Presently, Toby hummed in response and made no other remark, then set the thermostat remote aside before taking up his seat next to her.
As he did so, Sonia could smell the faint scent of peppermint that lingered on him. She stiffened, and her thoughts drifted far away as she was transported back to the day she had first met him, which was well over ten years ago.
Images of a young girl standing underneath a large tree flashed in Sonia’s mind. The girl was secretly taking photos of the boy she liked, and when the breeze picked up, it carried with it the boy’s crisp peppermint scent. Pulled back into reality, Sonia realized how this exact moment in the office mirrored her memories, but she no longer felt the butterflies in her stomach as she once had.
The peppermint scent was still there, but the boy she liked was a whole different person now.
She drew in a sharp breath and steadied the emotions that stirred within her like a tempest, then gazed up at Toby with an unreadable look as she said, “You should think about switching up your cologne, President Fuller. The one you’re wearing hardly suits you, and if I may be so bold, I think something more ocean-breeze would be perfect for your type.”
Upon hearing this, Toby felt his heart twist.
He had been using the peppermint scent for over a decade, and he never stopped because it was Maple’s favorite. This was the first time anyone had told him so forthrightly that the scent did not become him.
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