Rose wanted to knock some sense into Toby's head so that he could swoop in and completely cheer Sonia up immediately.
When Toby regained his composure after Rose's reminder, she assumed that he would humor Sonia with some sweet talk. Still, to her pleasant surprise, he immediately embraced Sonia, which exceeded her expectations.
A hug was far more effective than sweet talks.
Indeed, she was now old, so her ideas were somewhat conservative, but it didn't matter as long as Toby was bold and straightforward.
Rose grinned from ear to ear when she looked at the couple hugging each other.
Mary noticed the delightful smile on Rose's face. Although she didn't know why Rose was so happy, she felt relieved and reassured.
On the other hand, Sonia finally came to her senses in Toby's arms. She raised her arms and nudged Toby, attempting to push him away, but unlike her shove when he kissed her earlier, she pushed him very gently this time.
After all, Rose and Mary were watching them, and she couldn't push Toby away with all her might. Hence, she patted his back lightly with a flushed face, signaling him to release her.
Frankly speaking, she was quite embarrassed when he decided to shower her with affection with an audience.
However, Toby had no intention of letting go of Sonia, although he sensed the silent implication behind her actions. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and snuggled her close.
Sonia's body stiffened. Then, she sighed in resignation, leaned over, and whispered, "Toby, what are you doing? Let me go. Mary and Grandma are watching."
"No, I don't want to let you go." Toby wrapped one arm around her waist and stroked her hair gently with the other hand. "You don't have to envy me. You have a family too. I'm your family, so my family is yours too. You told Grandma that you wished she could treat you as her own granddaughter. Have you forgotten? So, we are your family, and you can treat her as your grandmother too."
Sonia suddenly froze when she heard his remark, and her hand suspended mid-motion.
"C-Can you read minds?" Her slightly widened eyes were full of astonishment.
Toby chuckled. "I knew what you were thinking just by looking at your eyes. Also, the way you looked at me carried such an obvious longing, so it was only natural for me to be able to guess what you were thinking."
Sonia leaned her head on his shoulder and chuckled. "You know me so well. I feel like I can't hide any secrets from you."
"That's about right. It shows that we can be honest with each other, isn't it?" Toby ran his fingers through her smooth and silky hair lovingly.
"You're right." Sonia smiled happily. At this moment, she completely forgot about Rose and Mary.
When Toby hugged her, she was flustered because she didn't expect Toby to be so affectionate in front of Rose and Mary. Nevertheless, she was touched when she heard Toby's warm reassurance and wholly ignored her surroundings. All she could feel right now was the man hugging her and the tenderness she held for him in her heart.
Meanwhile, Rose and Mary were amused to see the couple snuggling up to each other.
"Mary, do you see how touched Sonny is? I wonder what Toby said to her to make her feel that way," Rose looked up and asked Mary, who was standing beside her.
Mary shook her head. "How should I know, Old Madam? But I guess it's some romantic words that can instantly cheer Miss Reed up."
"Perhaps." Rose nodded.
"Old Madam." At this moment, a servant walked in from the living hall.
Sonia recognized the person immediately. It was none other than Olivia, whom Toby had specially assigned to take care of her when she lost her sight.
Olivia walked in and greeted Rose first before turning toward Toby and Sonia and smiling at them.
The arrival of Olivia finally made her aware of her surroundings. Sonia reflexively looked at Rose and Mary, who looked at her with teasing eyes. Her face turned beet red in embarrassment, and she immediately pushed Toby away and sat back down.
Toby was still immersed in the comforts of holding a loved one in his embrace. So, he pouted as soon as she pushed him away. I'm still not done hugging you!
"Olivia, is lunch ready?" Rose asked Olivia with a smile.
"Yes, Old Madam." Olivia nodded. "Lunch is ready."
"Wonderful. Set up the table. We'll be right there," Rose instructed.
Olivia nodded and left.
Mary helped Rose up from the chair. "Sonny, let's go and have lunch with me." As she spoke, she offered Sonia her hand.
Sonia hastily got up and held Rose's hand, and the three ladies walked out of the living room side by side toward the dining room. They didn't even ask Toby to come along, as if they tacitly ignored him.
Toby had reasons to suspect that they were deliberately ignoring him.
Still, he shook his head with an amused smile on his face, shoved his hand in his pockets, and followed after them.
After lunch, Sonia formally said goodbye to Rose and left with Toby to the office. They had work to do, so they couldn't stay here all the time. Regardless, they could stay a few hours more at home because they purposely postponed their work to make time for family.
Despite Rose's reluctance, she knew that they were busy, so she urged them to leave for work. Only after Sonia promised to come over and see her often did she beam in joy.
Tom had been waiting for Sonia and Toby at the entrance of the old manor, and Toby's customized Mayback was parked behind him.
When he caught sight of the two walking out of the old manor, he greeted them and then opened the back seat door. Sonia got into the car first, followed by Toby.
After the two took their seats, Tom got into the driver's seat and closed the door. While he was fastening his seat belt, he gushed at Toby with an excited smile on his face, "Mr. Fuller, there is good news."
"What is it?" Toby tidied his cuffs, sounding somewhat uninterested.
Sonia, on the other hand, was intrigued. She put her handbag beside her and stared curiously at Tom.
Perhaps Tom felt that it was impolite and inconvenient to speak to them without facing that, plus Toby did not urge him to drive, so Tom unbuckled his seat belt and turned around to face them.
"The men we sent over to keep an eye on Connor have sent word that someone covered Connor with a sack and beat him up!" At this point, Tom's face grinning in glee, and even his eyes lit up with obvious delight. "They didn't know what Connor had done and who he had offended that the other party retaliated in this way. The retaliation was a bit of child's play, but it was practical and straightforward. He was beaten up! I bet that Connor must have felt so humiliated this time. He has never been treated like this before. This was a personal insult to him. It serves him right, haha! I must say that the person who did this is a genius!"
He was so thrilled when he spoke of this that he even slapped his legs and laughed.
Sonia assumed that the good news that Tom was referring to was something else, but this news wasn't in line with her thoughts. She felt a little conflicted about Tom's compliment because he was actually praising her and mocking her simultaneously.
How can he say that her method of covering Connor up with a sack and beating him up is child's play?! It's absolute genius!
Sonia couldn't help but pout in dismay.
Toby narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed Sonia's displeasure, and a hint of something flashed across his eyes. Then, he turned his attention to Tom and asked, "What did you say? Someone wrapped Connor up in a sack and beat him up?"
"Yup!" Tom, who was so excited that his face was flushed, nodded profusely. "When I received the news, I couldn't believe it and thought I had misheard it until the men sent me the photos of Conner's condition. Only then did I finally believe that he was roughed up. Of course, they didn't know who did it, but it is good news for us. It's a great pleasure to see how miserable Connor is after such an ordeal. Mr. Fuller, do you want to look at the photos?"
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Same story i read about Jarred and Amber Reed...