Ch. 331..340

Chapter 331 Sonia’s Selfishness

As he took a deep breath, Toby calmed down and looked at Sonia. “I admit that what I did in the past was wrong and I will make up for all my mistakes. However, now and the past are two different things, Sonia. You can’t mix them up. Carl poisoned you and caused the child to be deformed, so this already constitutes the crime of intentional homicide. Therefore, the police must be informed!”

“It’s just a child that I was ready to abort. So what if it was deformed? In any case, I absolutely won’t allow you to call the police to take away Carl!” She returned his gaze with an extremely stubborn attitude.

He exclaimed with an incredulous frown, “So what if it was deformed? What are you saying? Sonia, that’s your child!”

As a mother, was it appropriate for her to say that? Of course, she knew it was not, but it didn’t matter; she didn’t care what he thought. She released his arm and responded coldly, “So what if it was my child? It shouldn’t come into this world in the first place and his existence was a mistake. Furthermore, it was still just an embryo and not even a fully formed human yet, so how could it be compared to Carl’s position in my heart?”

However, although she had said so, there was a stabbing pain in her heart. At this moment, she realized that she in fact cared more about the child than she thought. Since Toby didn’t know what was in her heart, he took a step back and looked at her like she was a stranger. “Okay, even if you don’t care about that child, I do because it’s also my child. And as a father, I can seek justice for my child, right?”

Sonia snickered, “Justice? Toby, didn’t you know I was pregnant a long time ago? At that time, you didn’t behave like this. You couldn’t be bothered as to whether I aborted the baby or not. You were happy for me to proceed with the abortion and didn’t care if I didn’t because you wouldn’t admit it was your child anyway. At that time, you didn’t seem to care about the baby, yet you came to show your fatherly love at this time? Don’t you think it’s too late and hypocritical?”

Toby’s throat was dry. “Is this how you view me?”

“It’s not that I’m viewing you this way on purpose, but that’s what you originally did.” She sneered once again as she looked at him.

There was a dull pain in Toby’s heart. He wanted to say that it was not the case, but he could not seem to say the words at all. Maybe the reason why he couldn’t deny it was because he really was exactly how Sonia had viewed him.

After a long silence, he responded, “Are you really going to let Carl off the hook?”

Upon hearing this, she lowered her eyelids. “Yes.”

“Even if he poisoned you?” he asked again. “You don’t even care?”

Sonia formed her hands into fists. “Yes, I believe Carl’s behavior will change, so I’m willing to give him a chance.”

Everyone had their selfish reasons and she wasn’t an exception either. She even cared more about Carl than the unexpected child. After all, she harbored platonic feelings for him, so she couldn’t send him to prison just like that.

“A chance? Aren’t you afraid he will do this to you again in the future?” Toby stared at her

Her eyes flashed as she pursed her slightly pale lips. “I believe Carl won’t. He did it this time because he is ill.”

She was not going to tell Toby about the illness because that was Carl’s private matter. Anyway, Toby didn’t want to know either and merely gave a mock smile as he lowered his head. “Ill? If what I did to you before was also the result of being sick, would you forgive me as easily as you have forgiven Carl?”

“What are you talking about? You’re ill?” Sonia frowned.

Toby snorted a little. “Sure enough, you don’t believe my words.”

Apart from not wanting to take advantage of her sympathy, the reason why he hadn’t told her that he was hypnotized was because he knew that she wouldn’t believe him. She would only reckon that he had said that on purpose as an excuse for what he had previously done.

Sensing his disappointment, Sonia moved her lips and was about to say something when Toby resumed his usual cool look. Then, he gazed at her before asking, “Sonia, I’m asking you one more time: are you sure you won’t regret letting Carl go?”

“I am sure!” She nodded without any hesitation.

He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them, the look in his eyes was indifferent. “Okay then. Rest well and I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Toby had originally planned to spend the night here, but now he needed to calm down.

Sonia looked at his back and shouted in a hurry, “Toby!”

Although he stopped in his tracks, he didn’t turn around. “What is it?”

“A-Are you letting Carl free?” Sonia asked while grabbing the quilt.39192

The corners of Toby’s lips curved into a self-deprecating arc. Originally, he thought that she had changed her mind and called out to him as a result. It turned out that he was a fool all along.

“Even if I were to pursue the matter, in the end, you would issue a letter to prevent the police from prosecuting Carl for his actions, right?” He gave her a sideway glance.

She lowered her eyes and replied, “I guess so.”

“If that’s the case, what’s the point of me calling the police?” Toby turned his head to face her, his voice much colder this time. “However, this is the first and last time I’m letting him go, Sonia. You better pray that I don’t catch Carl being involved in other matters or I’ll make him regret it.”

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After saying that, he walked out of the ward. Sonia looked at the closed door for a few seconds before she sighed. She had a confused gaze as she glanced at the toxin analysis report that Toby had thrown on the floor. He had wrinkled the report into a paper ball, which demonstrated his anger at that time.0

She rubbed her temples and probed out loud, “I don’t know whether I am right or wrong to defend Carl so much.”

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Then, she reminded herself that she needed to persuade Carl tomorrow to receive treatment. Maybe when his psychological problems were dealt with, she would be able to determine whether her actions today were appropriate or not.

On the other side, after Toby walked out of the inpatient department, he took out his phone and dialed Tom’s number. “Come and pick me up from the hospital.”

At the moment, Tom was having a barbeque with his friends and he had just opened a bottle of beer. Before he even had the time to take a sip of it, he already received such a call, which dampened his originally bright mood.

Although he cursed in his heart, he asked with a smile on his face, “President Fuller, aren’t you going to spend the night in the hospital, though?”

Toby walked to a chair in the garden and sat down. “That’s not the case anymore. Hurry over.”

“Okay,” Tom answered as he nodded.

Once the call ended a second later, his expression suddenly changed as he stood up with a huff. “Well, tonight’s barbeque feast is over.”

“What’s wrong?” his friend asked as he ate his lamb skewer.

Tom picked up his jacket and wore it. “Well, my crazy boss has asked me to go over and pick him up. It must be because he was driven out by the one whom he’s interested in. Anyway, I’m leaving. Let’s get together next time.”

With a sigh, he walked toward his car by the curb and arrived to pick up Toby half an hour later.

When Toby entered the car, Tom couldn’t resist his curiosity and turned to ask, “President Fuller, are you and Miss Reed—”

Toby’s face darkened as he ordered, “Drive!”

Since Tom knew he was not going to get an answer, he reluctantly shrugged and turned to face the road to start the car. Toby then propped his hand on the door, but his expression was obscured as he was shrouded in the shadows. He had only let Carl off the hook this time because he didn’t want to make Sonia sad and bear more hatred toward him even more.

However, Toby would remember this incident and would have people keep an eye on Carl. As long as they manage to stumble upon something illegal that Carl was involved in, Toby would get even with him.

He admitted that he was not a qualified father, but only he and Sonia had the rights to decide on matters surrounding the child, not an outsider. As he was thinking, the phone rang. He took it out and shot a glance at the device before he answered, “What’s up?”

“Toby, where are you? Come back quickly! Titus came to the house and he demanded to settle accounts with you.” Tyler’s loud voice came from the phone.

This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 332 Toby Cheated

Toby’s brow furrowed. “Settle accounts with me? What accounts?”

“I don’t know. That guy refused to say and insisted on waiting until you came back, so you better hurry home,” Tyler urged.

“Got it,” Toby grunted. After he hung up the phone, he pressed his temples and ordered, “Drive home. I’m not going to the hotel anymore.”

He originally planned to stay at the hotel tonight so that he could come over to the hospital earlier tomorrow morning when Sonia was discharged. However, now that Titus was over at the Fuller Residence, Toby had to return there instead.

“Okay, President Fuller.” Tom nodded and answered.

They finally arrived at the Fuller Residence more than an hour later. When the servant heard the sound of their car, she immediately came out to open the door. “Young Master Toby, you’re back.”

“Titus hasn’t left yet?” Toby handed the jacket he held in his hand to her.

The maid shook her head. “Nope, Madam White and Young Master Tyler are dealing with him.”

He pursed his lips, but he didn’t say anything else. Instead, he simply changed his footwear before he walked toward the living room. Just as he entered the area, he heard Jean’s sharp voice in the air. “Gray, when are you leaving?”

“I won’t leave! I won’t leave until Toby comes back. Let me tell you right now, if Toby doesn’t give me an explanation, I won’t be done with the Fuller Family!” Titus’ evil laughter came next.

Toby’s face darkened as he interrupted, “Oh? Then, I would like to see what you are going to do with the Fuller Family!”

Upon hearing these words, the three people in the living room instantly fell silent. Almost immediately after that, a happy Tyler rose to his full height. “Toby, you’re back.”

“Toby, luckily you’re back! Hurry up and send this person off! He’s annoying!” Jean pointed at Titus seated on the couch, her plump face not bothering to hide her deep disgust.

When he saw this, Titus shivered with rage. This fat woman is such a typical snob!

A few months ago when the Gray Family was still one of the top 20 families in the city, the fat woman had enthusiastically buttered up to them every time she met them and addressed them as part of her family. Now that the Gray Family had hit rock bottom, she immediately turned tables and looked down on them, which pissed the hell out of him! How could that old man, Homer Fuller, have fallen for such a woman back then?

When Toby saw Titus’ twisted expression, his eyes turned cold and he raised his head to appease Jean. “I understand, Mom. Leave it to me. Since it’s late, why don’t you and Tyler return to your rooms to rest first?”

“I’m not going to rest; I want to stay and see what kind of account he wants to settle with the Fuller Family!” she answered, sitting down at once.

Tyler also repeatedly nodded. “I’m staying too.”

Upon realizing that his mother and brother weren’t leaving, Toby didn’t force them either. Instead, he walked toward Titus and sat across him. Then, he crossed his legs and coldly stared at Titus. “Spit it out then. What accounts do you want to settle with me?”

Titus huffed angrily, “Okay, since you are straight to the point, I won’t beat around the bush either. Toby, how could you do this to Tina?!”

Toby narrowed his eyes. “What are you referring to?”

He thought that the reason why Titus was looking for him at such a late hour was because of Titus’ dissatisfaction with business matters. Unexpectedly, it was actually about Tina.

At once, Titus stood up and pointed at Toby’s nose. “What about? Of course, it’s about your cheating!”

“Cheating?” Tyler was munching an apple and he almost choked when he heard this. As he patted his chest, he stared at Toby wide-eyed and asked, “Toby, didn’t you annul the marriage contract with Tina? How are you cheating on her then? Don’t tell me you have reconciled with her?”

“Yeah, Toby! Don’t scare me, please! Tina Gray is now considered a piece of useless goods. Plus, she’s exceptionally evil-hearted. How can she be worthy of you? You must not be rash and dumb!” Jean was quick to advise as she really didn’t want Tina to marry into the family.

As she previously didn’t know the young woman well, she thought that Tina was gentle and mild. Therefore, if Tina married into the family, she would not overstep her boundaries with Jean. Most importantly, she was from the Gray Family. At that time, the Gray Family only had one daughter, so if Tina married into the family, both the Gray Family and Triforce Enterprise would become the Fuller Family’s assets.

Thus, after Tina landed in trouble, Jean felt rather sorry to have lost this stroke of good fortune. However, when the extent of Tina’s viciousness was subsequently exposed, Jean no longer had any sympathy for her. Jean was aware that she herself wasn’t a good person, but she definitely wasn’t a bad one either. Otherwise, why would she treat Toby like her own son?

When it came to Sonia, she admitted that she had bullied Sonia, but that was only to the extent of treating Sonia like a servant and loudly scolding the woman. She had never once raised her hand on Sonia at all. It was only after the divorce and several incidents where Toby was injured that she became so exasperated that she looked for Sonia and slapped her.

Now that Jean compared Sonia to Tina, Sonia was much kinder. What Tina did was much scarier than what Sonia did. So, if Tina married into the family and disliked her mother-in-law later, Tina could do the same terrible things that she did on Sonia to Jean. Therefore, no matter what, she absolutely couldn’t allow Toby and Tina to reconcile.

Looking at the anxiety and disapproval in both his mother and brother’s eyes, Toby waved his hand slightly to signal them to calm down. Then, he looked at the smug Titus with narrowed eyes. “Oh? Cheating? When was that?” Is Titus referring to that night 3 months ago?

As expected, Toby’s suspicions were proven when Titus pointed at him and shouted, “It was 3 months ago! 3 months ago, you cheated with Sonia just after you confirmed the marriage contract with Tina!”

Toby tightened his fists as his thin lips were pursed in a straight line. It’s really about this, but how did Titus know about it? Could it be that Tina told him?

When he thought about how Tina knew that he was the father of Sonia’s unborn child, he realized that it was unsurprising if Tina was aware that he and Sonia had been together that night. However, as to how Tina knew about it, he still had to find out!

“You are talking nonsense,” Tyler interrupted after he threw the apple core away. “My brother had just divorced Sonia 3 months ago. And at that time, my brother hated her, so how could he have cheated with her?”

It was something that Jean concurred with. “Yes, who doesn’t know that Toby was completely in love with Tina 3 months ago? You’re crazy to think that he was cheating with Sonia. I think you are deliberately trying to find fault with Toby and slandering him.”

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Titus sneered, “I slandered him? Let him speak for himself! He knows well whether he has cheated or not!”

Tyler was hell bent on supporting Toby. “My brother definitely did not!”

Jean also did the same; she stood up and pointed at Titus’ nose. “You old son of a b*tch, how dare you say that Toby has cheated on someone? If it’s the truth, then you should produce the evidence! If you can’t, you are simply defaming Toby and I can call the police to arrest you.”

This was actually something that Sonia taught her. Every time she went to find fault with Sonia, Sonia would say similar words to her and now she was using it against others. In fact, she felt it was quite cool.

“Evidence?” Titus huffed. “Okay, since you want it, I’ll give it to you!”0

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When he heard those words, Toby’s eyes darkened. As for Tyler and Jean, they were even more surprised and it was reflected in their wide eyes.

Tyler opened his mouth and asked, “No way, does he really have the evidence?”0

After shaking her head, Jean looked at Toby. “Toby, did you really—”

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Titus. “Look, this is the evidence that you want!”

Then, he threw a document onto the coffee table.

“What’s this?” A curious Tyler picked it up and flipped the document open to read the information. “A pregnancy test report. 2 months and 17 days pregnant. And the patient is… Sonia Reed?”

This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 333 Regret

Tyler was so shocked that his voice turned shrill while the hand that held the document trembled. “S-Sonia is pregnant?” He swallowed and couldn’t calm down for a long time.

Jean pursed her lips. “Even if she is, what does this have to do with Toby? It can’t be that Sonia is carrying Toby’s child, right?”

What did the 10-week pregnancy mean? It meant that after having just divorced Toby, Sonia had already impatiently fallen in love with another random man. How could she still have the nerve to say how much she loves Toby? She’s really shameless!

“Mrs. Fuller, you’re right. The child Sonia is carrying is really Toby’s!” Titus looked at Toby with a smile. “Toby, am I right?”

Toby pursed his lips and did not answer the question.

When Jean saw it, she was aware that his lack of denial was indicative of his admission. “Toby, is the child in Sonia’s belly really yours?” she asked as she looked at him in shock.

He nodded. “Yes!”

Plop! The document in Tyler’s hand fell to the ground at once and he gave Toby a thumbs up before sighing with heartfelt praise. “Toby, you’re astounding!”

“Astounding?!” Jean slapped Tyler on the back of his head before she looked at Toby. “Toby, didn’t you dislike Sonia? How—”

“It was an accident.” Toby lowered his eyes and spoke in a light voice. Moreover, he didn’t dislike Sonia. Although he didn’t realize then that he had liked her, his heart already knew of his feelings. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have happened in the way that it did.

“Whether it was an accident or not, Sonia is now over 2 months pregnant and carrying your child, so the fact that you cheated is naturally an iron-clad fact,” Titus spoke smugly as he sat down and crossed his legs.

“So what if that’s the case?” Toby looked at him indifferently.

Upon hearing that, Titus frowned. The matter of cheating was now a fact, yet Toby wasn’t panicking.

Titus’ eyes narrowed while he asked, “So, how do you plan to compensate Tina and the Gray Family?”

With a sarcastic laugh, Toby answered, “This is the real purpose of you coming, right? You claim to settle accounts with me under the pretext of my cheating, yet in truth, you just want to obtain benefits.”

“That’s how it is, huh! You really are a shameless old dog!” Jean glared at Titus in anger and frustration.

However, the man ignored her and looked at Toby. “You’re right to say so, but it’s also a fact that you cheated, so I want you to compensate for it! It’s only fair!”

“It’s only fair, I suppose. So, what kind of compensation do you want?” Toby lowered his eyelids to hide the coldness in his eyes.

When Jean heard his words, she immediately cried, “Toby, you can’t—”

“Mom, please don’t say anything first,” he interrupted.

As she usually listened to what he said, she remained reticent.

When Titus saw this scene, he smiled. He originally thought that it wouldn’t be this easy and there would be more arguments before Toby would agree to compensate the Gray Family. However, he never expected that Toby would easily agree to his demands.

“Don’t worry, the compensation I want is not much. I just want you to resume the partnership with Triforce Enterprise and restore the marriage contract with Tina.” Titus then looked at Toby and added, “How about that? It’s not too much for you, right?”

Toby’s face was grim and his eyes looked fierce when he heard that. As for Jean, she flew into a rage and slammed the coffee table. “How is this not too much? Titus, how dare you ask for so much? Not only do you want us to resume cooperation with Triforce Enterprise, you even want us to restore the marriage contract with Tina? Everyone knows that she is a piece of scrap and you still want Toby to marry her? Who do you think the Fuller Family is?”

Tyler was just as exasperated, but because he was young, some of the words were obviously inappropriate for him to say. He rolled his eyes and took his phone before he quietly left the living room to inform his grandmother about the matter. I’ll let Toby resolve the matter with Titus on his own, but Grandma has to know about Sonia’s pregnancy. Maybe Grandma would be able to come forward and bring Sonia and Toby together again.

In the living room, after scolding Titus, Jean hurriedly persuaded Toby, “Toby, you must not agree.”

Although Toby was obviously ready to promise to compensate the Gray Family, she was petrified that he would agree to restore the marriage contract with Tina.

Since he was aware of Jean’s concern, he waved his hand to indicate to her to have a seat first. Thus, she fiercely glared at Titus before sitting down with a huff. Next, Toby raised his eyes to gaze at Titus.

Upon noticing Toby’s cold and emotionless eyes, Titus panicked before he coughed and elaborated, “Of course, if you care about Tina being a piece of scrap, you don’t have to restore the marriage contract with her. After all, I still have another daughter.”

He actually never intended on restoring Toby and Tina’s marriage contract. After all, no normal man would still want Tina. Titus had merely said those words earlier to test the waters because the one whom he really wanted to offer was Rina. If Toby didn’t want to accept Tina, Titus would then push Rina as a substitute. No matter what, the interfamilial marriage with the Fuller Family had to be continued.

“Huh.” Jean sneered. “Now that Tina cannot marry into the family, you want your new country bumpkin to marry Toby? Do you think the Fuller Family is a charitable family who will accept just about anyone? Do you think Toby is a garbage can who will simply marry anyone?”

The corner of Toby’s mouth twitched. “Mom…”

Although he knew she was speaking up for him, her words were inappropriate.

“What’s wrong?” She looked over with a confused face, apparently in the dark about the meaning of her words.

Jean is not a cultured woman anyway, he thought as he pressed his forehead and replied, “Nothing.”

A second later, he resumed his icy look and his gaze was cold as he looked at Titus. “Okay, now that you have said so much, it’s my turn to speak. I can tell you upfront that the partnership with your company will not continue and the marriage contract with the Gray Family won’t be restored either.”

Jean immediately laughed.

On the other hand, Titus looked irritated. “You mean to say, you don’t intend to compensate the Gray Family?”

When Toby heard those words, he didn’t deny the truth.

Titus was so angry that his face contorted. “Toby, aren’t you afraid that I’ll spread the word about your cheating? If I do, you and your family will be looked down upon by everyone!”

“You can go ahead if you want to publicize it. I don’t give a damn about it.” Toby stretched lazily and continued faintly, “Compared to Tina cheating on me six times, I have only done so once. It’s not a big deal anyway. Besides, with my status, even if you spread the word, will anyone dare to talk about it directly to me? They won’t and my family won’t be affected whatsoever. If you don’t believe me, you can give it a shot. Moreover, I can tell you now that once you spread the word, I’ll only be more offended.”

“You…” Titus’ face reddened. He had to admit that Toby was right. Cheating was not an uncommon thing in such a social circle. The reason being that most men in the upper echelons of society cheated on their partners, so at most, people would only talk about Toby’s adultery without any negative impact to both his reputation and the Fuller Group. Even those outside the social circle wouldn’t be able to condemn him much because first of all, being adulterous was not a crime and secondly, Toby’s status was so high that no one would be willing to boycott him due to their fear of displeasing him. .

When Titus initially came, he only thought about threatening Toby with the cheating incident, but he forgot about Toby’s status in Seafield. The more he pondered on this, a great regret rose in his heart as he now wondered where he had summoned the courage to presume that he could threaten Toby with the said matter. As a result, not only was Titus unsuccessful in his attempt, it even caused Toby to hold a grudge against him instead.

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This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 334 The Fuller Family’s Rule

As he looked at the panic and confusion on Titus’ face, Toby’s thin lips coolly curled upward. “Mr. Gray, do you still need me to compensate the Gray Family?”

Titus’ mouth opened, but it was ages before he hoarsely replied, “No, the Gray Family is not worthy of your compensation, President Fuller!”

Even if he had succeeded in blackmailing Toby and received everything that he wanted, Toby would only hate him more and could even resort to harming the Gray Family when they least expected it. Titus knew that he could no longer keep up with the younger generation on the advent of new technology and he simply wouldn’t be able to stop the extent of the damage once Toby made his move.

Most importantly, Titus couldn’t afford to have the Gray Family destroyed in his own hands. Therefore, he had no choice but to let this matter slide.

“It’s good that you understand this. Both of your daughters are unworthy to marry Toby as one is vicious and filthy while the other is too plain.” Jean rolled her eyes while he looked at her ominously.

Although she was frightened by the look in his eyes, the thought of Toby being here gave her the courage to return the glare. “What are you looking at? Not happy, huh?”

“Vulgar woman!” Titus snapped before he looked at Toby. With a cold and hard voice, he apologized, “President Fuller, sorry for disturbing you. I’m leaving!”

What else could he do if he didn’t leave? Things would only be more embarrassing for him!

“Take care, Mr. Gray.” Toby lifted his chin, his voice cold and bland.

Next, Titus walked toward the foyer, his back hunched as if he had aged a lot. Not only did he not achieve his purpose, he also clearly made enemies.

“I’m so angry! That old son of a b*tch actually called me a vulgar woman!” Jean was still shouting at the top of her voice with her arms crossed even after Titus had left.

Toby glanced at her and even wanted to agree with Titus. However, Toby bit his tongue when he remembered that she was much older than him. Then, he took his phone to dial Tom’s number before the call was quickly answered by Tom, “President Fuller.”

“There is no need to investigate Sonia’s poisoning. I already know who poisoned her, but find out for me how Tina was able to discover that the child in Sonia’s stomach was mine,” Toby ordered in a deep voice while tightly gripping his phone.

He had only learned that Sonia was pregnant with his child after he asked Tom to place a spy in Paradigm Co., so how was Tina able to know beforehand? Something’s wrong somewhere.

“I got it, President Fuller,” Tom answered as he nodded.

Toby then hung up the phone and kept it away. At the current moment, Jean was looking at him with a complicated expression. “Toby, Sonia is pregnant. What are we going to do about it?”

“What are we going to do about it? Of course, we will pick up Sonia and properly raise the baby!” An excited voice rang out before he could reply.

Both of them turned to look at the same time to see Rose coming from the entrance as she was supported by Mary and Tyler. As Jean was most afraid of the woman, she immediately rose up. “Mom, why are you here?”

Toby gazed at Tyler. Why is she here? It’s definitely you who tipped her off.

Upon sensing Toby’s chilly gaze, Tyler shifted and elaborated, “Toby, don’t blame me. Since it’s a big deal that Sonia is pregnant, we have to let Grandma know, right? And I know you’ve been pursuing Sonia lately, so if Grandma helps you out, you’ll have a better chance of reconciling with her, right?”

A surprised Jean raised her voice. “What? Toby is pursuing Sonia?!”

“Yes, Mom. Didn’t you know about it?” Tyler squinted at her. Even he knew about it when he was always spending his time outdoors and rarely at home, yet his own mother was clueless about the matter. However, she shook her head because she really was in the dark. Nevertheless, when she thought of the several times that Sonia had disrespected her, her expression turned ugly.

“I don’t agree!” Jean looked at Toby with disapproval. “Toby, I don’t agree with you getting back together with Sonia.”

Upon hearing that, he frowned.

Then, Rose pointed her cane at Jean as her cold eyes swept over Jean. “This is Toby’s business, so you have no right to say whether you agree or not. Don’t think that I don’t know why you aren’t in favor of their reconciliation. It’s because Toby and Tyler have treated Sonia differently, so you are afraid that when Sonia returns, they will side with her and no longer obey you in everything like before.”

As what Rose said was the truth, Jean’s plump face reddened and she was unable to form coherent words. Since Jean was his biological mother, Tyler yanked on Rose’s sleeve and pleaded, “Grandma, please stop.”

Rose huffed before she withdrew her gaze from Jean and turned to Toby, her face cold. “Why didn’t you tell me about Sonia’s pregnancy? If Tyler hadn’t just told me about it, would you have waited until Sonia gave birth before you’re ready to tell me?”

Toby’s thin lips moved for a few seconds before he replied, “I’m sorry, Grandma.”

“It seems like you really planned on doing that.” Rose let out an angry snort. Then, she extended her hand toward Mary. “Give that to me.”

A slightly hesitant Mary looked at Toby. “Old Mrs. Fuller, are you sure?”

Although both Tyler and Jean were curious as to what the two older women were up to, they didn’t dare to ask when they saw Rose’s icy expression. On the contrary, Toby’s eyes flashed and he tightened his fists as he knew what was going on.

“Of course!” Rose looked at Toby, her tone firm. “He did something wrong, so I as the grandmother would naturally have to properly educate him. Give that to me!” she repeated.

Mary sighed and took out something from the bag that she carried before placing it in Rose’s hand. Tyler fixed his eyes on it and immediately sucked a breath of cold air. “W-Whip?”

He was curious about the item in Mary’s bag, yet he did not expect that it was actually a whip! Next to him was Jean, who suddenly paled when she saw the whip.

With a soft glance, Rose asked, “You should be familiar with this whip, right?”

When Jean heard the question, she seemed to remember something grotesque as her face paled even more and made her body tremble with fury.

After Rose yanked the whip out, she coldly explained, “More than 10 years ago, Homer broke the family rule to marry you and was beaten close to death by his father with this whip. Today, my grandson, Toby, has also made a mistake, so I will also use this whip to teach him a lesson. Toby, do you accept the lecture?” She raised her eyes to look at Toby.

Toby lowered his eyes. “Yes, I accept.”

“Then, kneel down!”

He did not resist and obediently did as instructed.

What Tyler saw scared him out of his wits because in his eyes, his big brother was always in a high position. Thus, he didn’t expect that Toby would actually kneel down at this moment.

Upon noticing that Toby had obediently kneeled, she looked relieved for a split second before it quickly disappeared again. She grabbed the handle of the whip and asked, “Very well. I am satisfied with your attitude, but do you know what mistake you have made?”

Confusion emerged in his eyes as he remained silent. When she saw this, her expression fell. “It seems that you don’t know. Okay, I will tell you then. You made the mistake of playing with the feelings of others!”

As she spoke, Rose raised her whip and brought it down to flog Toby’s back. Toby gritted his teeth in pain while his face instantly turned as white as a sheet and beads of cold sweat broke out. From his reaction, it was obvious that she didn’t show any mercy in her whip.

The clothes on his back were ripped open, which exposed the skin that was split open as blood immediately seeped out from the wound. Upon seeing this, Jean screamed in fear and her eyes rolled before she fainted. This was because when she saw his wound, she remembered the way her husband was beaten 17 years ago.

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This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 335 Seeking Help From Sonia

Mom! Although Tyler was just as stunned by what happened, he quickly reacted when he saw Jean falling toward him. Then, he supported her before patting her face and pinching her. It seemed that she had fallen into a deep coma and didn’t regain consciousness even after he had shouted at her.

With an indifferent look, Rose said coolly, "Mary, send her to her room."

Mary nodded and walked toward him. "Young Master Tyler, please hand Madam White to me."

Oh, okay... Tyler nodded and allowed Mary to support his mother. Then, she supported Jean as she helped Jean up the stairs and into her room.

After that, Rose focused her gaze on Toby. "Toby, you fully know that all the men in the Fuller Family are loyal and devoted. They have never done anything like playing with other people's feelings, except for your father and you."

At that, her hand that gripped the whip trembled for a moment as if she was suppressing her emotions. After a moment, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she was calm once again. "I will not talk about your father as that was a special case. Your parents did not love each other and they married to fulfill their family responsibilities. However, you are different; since you promised to marry Sonia, you should be good to her and live a happy life with her. However, what happened instead?"

Snap!

She delivered another whip, which caused him to grunt in pain. A trace of heartache subsequently flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly suppressed. "After you married Sonia, you threw her aside, didn't care about her well-being and even gave her the cold treatment. In fact, you even allowed Jean and Tyler to bully her. Is this what a husband should do?"

Upon hearing these words, Tyler's face reddened with shame and he couldn't help but lower his head. He knew that he was at fault.

Nevertheless, Rose didn't even look at him as she was still staring at Toby. "I wanted to teach you a lesson at that time, but Sonia stopped me. I thought since this is a matter between you two, then you should resolve it yourselves. Since she is dedicated and has a warm, pure personality, I figured she could impress you, but I never expected your heart to be more apathetic than I thought."

It’s not like that, Grandma— Before Toby could even finish his words, another whip interrupted his response.

Shut up, you are not in a position to speak!

It was already the third whip and for each whip, she didn’t show any mercy. He could still endure the severe pain on his back and kneel for the first two lashes, but he could no longer stand straight this time. He fell to the ground from the impact and trembled due to the pain.

As Rose couldn’t bear such a sight, she looked away with a frosty face. "I can forget what you have done, but what really makes it difficult for me to stomach is your affair with Tina during the marriage. If you hadn’t quickly divorced Sonia, I would’ve beaten you to death instead. I asked you after the divorce whether you would regret your decision, to which you replied that you won’t. Look at what happened—you made Sonia pregnant!"

She was furious when she said this and lashed him with the whip twice. His body curled in intense pain as the cold sweat dropped from his forehead and dripped onto his eyelashes, rendering him unable to open his eyes.

Tyler was next to him in tears while grabbing their grandmother’s hand and begging, "Grandma, don't hit him anymore. He can't take it anymore!"

However, she didn't listen and shook off his hand. "Toby, before the divorce, you and Tina were entangled with each other to the point where you disregarded Sonia’s feelings. Yet, after the divorce, you had sexual relations with Sonia again; what exactly do you take her for? You are simply playing with her feelings! The Fuller Family didn't teach you this, did we?"

Rose's eyes were scarlet and watery as she brandished the whip again. As Tyler looked at Toby shivering in pain, he anxiously took out his phone. "Sonia, you must answer my call. Please, only you can save Toby now."

He quickly dialed Sonia's phone number.

Meanwhile, over at the hospital, Sonia had just finished reading the report that Daphne sent and was about to rest when the phone on her bedside rang. When Sonia saw that it was Tyler calling, she couldn't help but frown. It was so late; what was he doing by calling her? Without thinking much, she was ready to hang up, but she had accidentally slid the answer button the wrong way. As a result, his urgent voice soon spilled into her ear. "Oh, thank God! Sonia, you finally answered. Sonia, you have to save my brother!"

Upon hearing Tyler's cries, Sonia raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

G-Grandma is whipping my brother and his entire back is now injured. He’s on the verge of collapse, so please make Grandma stop, Sonia. She likes you a lot, so she’ll definitely listen to your words. Sonia, please, Tyler sobbed as he pleaded.

Even though he was tall and sinewy, he was only a teenager after all and grew up as a pampered child, so he had never witnessed such a bloody, violent scene before. He would naturally be scared to death upon such a sight. In addition, he was worried about Toby and didn’t know how to save him from his grandmother’s beating. Therefore, he naturally cried from anxiety.

What? Grandma has used a whip on Toby? She suddenly straightened her posture, her expression serious.

Sonia remembered that flogging was the consequence of breaking any family rule of the Fuller Family. Whenever a member of the family made a big mistake, they would ask to be lashed by the whip that was left behind by their ancestor. However, during the six years that she was with the Fuller Family, she heard that the old master had only used the cane to beat his son, who was Toby's father, more than 10 years ago. As for the reason, she didn’t know, which was why she never expected Toby to also be punished according to the family rules.

Yes, Sonia, he urged. "Please quickly come and save my brother."

She pursed her lips. "Can you first tell me what mistake Toby has made and why Grandma has brought out the whip?"

It's all because of you. He stomped his foot.

Sonia froze. "Because of me?"

Grandma knew about your pregnancy and the child was conceived after you and my brother divorced 3 months ago. She’s angry as she thought my brother played with your feelings, so she is punishing him, he explained.

Her eyes narrowed because she had thought that Toby was being punished for something else; she never expected it to be because of her. Since the matter was related to her, she really couldn't just stand by and watch. With a sigh, she pinched her brow and tried to shake off her exhaustion before she responded, "Got it. Give the phone to Grandma."

Okay. Now that Tyler knew that Toby was now being saved, he cried with joy as he hurriedly handed the phone to Rose. "Grandma, Sonia is looking for you."

Rose shot Tyler a meaningful look. This kid is quite smart; he knows the best person to look for to save Toby.

Hence, she cast the whip aside and took the phone. After replacing her indifference with kindness and benevolence, she greeted, "Sonia, it's me."

Grandma, Tyler said that you are whipping Toby? Sonia asked.

Yes, this boy deserves to be whipped. Rose nodded. "He betrayed you before the divorce and caused you grief. After that, he cheated after the divorce and impregnated you. I really don’t know what sins the ancestors of the Fuller Family have committed for us to end up with such a sinful descendant like him."

Before the divorce, Toby had insisted he only loved Tina and didn’t believe that he and Sonia were suited for each other, yet this mess occurred instead.

So, what is he taking Sonia as? Rose thought as she glanced coldly at the unconscious Toby on the floor. Then, she sighed in exhaustion. “Sonia, is the child okay?”

Thinking that the Fuller Family would soon be welcoming the fourth generation, her mood had slightly improved. However, in the next second, Sonia's answer instantly sent her good mood crashing to rock bottom.

Sonia touched her belly and replied, “Didn’t Toby tell you? The child was aborted.”

The phone in Rose's hand fell to the ground with a plop as she collapsed from the shock of the news. Before losing consciousness, there was only one thought in her mind: my great-grandson is gone!

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This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 336 Rina’s Relief

“Grandma!” Tyler yelled when he saw Rose beginning to topple over. Then, he rushed to grab hold of her before she collapsed to the ground.

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At this moment, Mary happened to be making her way downstairs. Upon seeing Tyler holding onto Rose, Mary demanded in shock, “Young Master Tyler, what’s going on? Is Old Mrs. Fuller okay?”0

“I don’t know what happened, but she fainted,” he explained with an ashen face.

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Mary hurried over and helped to lay Rose on the floor before performing CPR on the older woman. As she did so, she urged, “Call an ambulance, Young Master Tyler.”

“Oh, right!” He snapped out of his frantic daze and glanced around before he spotted the phone that had slipped from Rose’s grip and landed on the floor earlier. Then, he bent to pick it up.

Coincidentally, the call with Sonia was still ongoing and her alarmed voice filled the other line as she shouted, “Grandma? Grandma!” She had heard the phone clattering onto the ground as well as Tyler’s anxious cries on the other end and instantly knew that something had happened to Rose. She only grew more panicked when Rose didn’t make a single sound over the phone.

Sonia had no idea what was going on. Since she was not with Rose, it meant that she could only clutch her phone with trembling hands and anxiously call out for the latter while hoping desperately for some response. Alas, all that greeted her on the other line was not Rose’s voice, but Tyler’s trepidation as he said, “Sonia, Grandma has just fainted.”

“What do you mean she fainted?” Sonia bolted upright in bed. She was just about to press for details when the call ended with a decisive beep.

Thinking that Tyler might have accidentally hung up, she called the number once more only to find that the other line was busy.

Sonia let out a groan of frustration and set her phone aside. Worry and panic weighed on her as she wondered whether Rose had collapsed after learning that she had terminated her pregnancy. If that really is the case, then it would be my fault if anything bad happens to Grandma!

Meanwhile, over at the Fuller Residence, the ambulance Tyler called for arrived as quickly as it could. The paramedics eased Rose onto the stretcher before they brought her and Tyler to the hospital.

That night, it seemed as if the Fuller Family was thrown into predestined chaos; three out of the four family members had collapsed, leaving a helpless Tyler trying to shoulder the burden alone. If Mary hadn’t been next to him throughout the process, he had a feeling that he would black out too.

After all, he was only a boy in his late teens whom Rose, Jean, and Toby had sheltered. For the most part, he was coddled and free to do whatever he pleased. Never once had he thought all three of his pillars would crumble before him.

Presently, Titus was unsettled as he returned to the Gray Residence. At the sight of him, Julia’s eyes lit up and she hastened to greet him at the threshold. “Honey, you’re home.”

“Welcome home, Dad,” Rina said cheerily while walking up to him.

Titus nodded sullenly and as Julia helped him over to the armchair, he said, “It’s good to be home.”

“I’ll get you a drink, Dad.” With that, Rina poured tea into a cup and handed it to him.

He took the cup, his expression softening as he pointed out, “How very thoughtful of you, Rina.”

The girl smiled unassumingly and lowered her gaze, hiding the dark gleam in her eyes.

There was something incredibly gratifying about being praised. Rina had spent the last twenty-six years of her life being subjected to abuse and she never understood parental love until she arrived at the Gray Residence, whereupon she discovered how potent and enthralling it was to become the object of parental affection. Why can’t such wonderful parents be my biological family?

“How did it go, honey? Has Toby agreed to reinstate our partnership and the engagement?” Julia asked nervously, clutching her hands together like she was in prayer. “If the engagement were to resume, would he choose Tina or Rina?”

Upon hearing this, Rina became tense and watched Titus with wary eyes.

Titus, on the other hand, tightly clenched the cup in his hand as his features twisted into a grimace. If the cup wasn’t made out of glass, he would’ve squeezed it into pieces.

“No, he has not!” he finally bit out through gritted teeth, rage and spite coloring his voice.

Julia froze. “He hasn’t? As in, he doesn’t want to reinstate both the partnership and the engagement?”

He practically threw the cup onto the table as he answered gloomily, “Yes, that’s what I meant. He hasn’t agreed to do anything at all!”

“How is that possible, though?” A stunned Julia covered her mouth with a shaky hand.

While standing at one side, Rina was elated to hear this. She was more than relieved to know that the engagement would remain canceled. She had neither wanted to marry into the Fuller Family nor have Toby reinstate his engagement with Tina; she didn’t want Tina to marry well, for fear that it would only make it harder to throw that infernal girl out of the Gray Family.

And as for me… The silhouette of a cavalier and lean figure flashed in Rina’s mind and she couldn’t help the blood that rushed to her face as her heart began to race.

Since she was afraid that Titus and Julia would catch her looking flustered, she quickly looked down and hid her face from their view.

However, it was clear that neither Titus nor Julia were paying attention to her, so they were unaware of how flushed she looked right now.

Julia dug her nails into her palms, growing antsy as she demanded, “Why in the world would he turn us down? We have evidence of his affair and he should know better than to refuse us—”

“Why should he know better?” Titus let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh. “His name alone is enough to keep anyone from aggravating him, even if we were to publicize all proof of his affair. The most damage he’d get out of it would be a couple of scathing remarks made behind his back, and as for the netizens...”

He broke off in a contemptuous scoff, then continued, “Toby would probably have liaised with all the media powerhouses and social media platforms before we could even air his dirty laundry on the internet. And our plan to use the netizens to tarnish his reputation would be stymied. From how I look at it, there’s no way he would be threatened by the mere likes of us.”

“But...” Julia was rendered speechless by her husband’s sour analysis. She stammered to filter her thoughts into words, but in the end, she could only manage hoarsely, “So, we were excited over nothing?”

“Pretty much,” Titus agreed with a sigh.

They had believed that they could finally one-up Toby with evidence of his scandal and needle him into giving them what they wanted, but as it turned out, their plan was only good on paper.

As she sobbed into her hands, Julia wailed, “At this rate, what’s going to happen to our enterprise?”

Titus thoughtfully narrowed his eyes. “If push comes to shove, then we’d have to settle for a merger. We could let go of some of our shares, but at the great risk of losing control over the enterprise, and that would be the end of the Gray Family’s reign over the company.”

If that happened, then Triforce Enterprise would no longer be the Gray Family’s business; they would be reduced to the same standing as any other shareholder.

Triforce Enterprise was Titus’ brainchild and after having poured his blood, sweat and tears into building it up from scratch, he could not sit by and watch it slip through his fingers like fine sand. However, he could not obtain a loan anywhere—even from financial institutes. As things stood, he had to resort to desperate measures, even if it meant settling for a merger, which was something he would never have considered otherwise.

Julia stared at her husband, her heart twisting when she noticed how withered he looked. “Honey—”

“Right, it’s getting late and we should all get some rest. When Tina comes home from the hospital tomorrow, keep an eye on her so that she doesn’t cause us any more trouble.” He rose from his seat and rubbed his temple tiredly. “I finally realized that she is no match for Sonia, not even in the slightest.”

With an obedient nod, she replied, “Alright.”

...

The darkness of the night slowly passed and when the morning arrived, Charles showed up at the hospital to escort Sonia.

She eyed him in askance. “Did you come alone?”

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“Who else were you expecting?” He cast her a sideways glance.

Sonia stood next to her bed and placed a hand on her lower abdomen, which was still sore from the procedure. “I just thought Carl might come along with you.”

“I called him to ask if he wanted to, but for some reason, I couldn’t get through his phone. I don’t know what he’s up to either, so I figured I’d just come here without him,” Charles explained with a casual shrug. Then, a sudden thought crossed his mind before he asked, “By the way, did something happen between you and Carl yesterday?”

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This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 338

The moment she thought about her exchange with Carl the day before, Sonia lowered her gaze before she dismissed, “No, nothing happened at all.”

Clearly seeing through her lie, Charles raised a brow and drawled, “Really? Because from how I look at it, something definitely happened. I ran into Carl after I managed to borrow the wheelchair and boy, was I shocked by how gloomy he looked. I asked if he was okay, but he ignored me; when I returned to the ward, you looked sullen as well. I figured something must have happened between you two, but I only kept quiet about it because you looked so upset at that time.”

She chewed on her lip in reticence.

He pulled up a chair next to her bed. “Come on, let it all out and maybe I’ll guide you like a moral compass.”

“It’s nothing, really,” she muttered before she sat down on the chair propped up to one side of the room. “I just noticed that Carl has a psychological issue and I…”

Sonia trailed off, not wanting to talk about how Carl had been involved in the poisoning, at least not to Charles. She didn’t want him to worry and she certainly would hate it if the two men started holding grudges against each other.

While Charles hadn’t known Carl for as long as she had, the two men were still friends and she didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship by telling the truth.

Moreover, she had already decided to forgive Carl and look past this incident. Withholding the truth seemed the best way to move forward.

Charles, on the other hand, exclaimed in surprise, “Y-You noticed Carl’s psychological issue?”

Sonia briefly appraised him with narrowed eyes as she accused, “What, did you already know about it?”

He swallowed convulsively at the realization that he had let this secret out of the bag.

“Out with it, Charles! Have you known about his psychological issue all this while?” she asked incredulously as she stared at him with wide eyes.

He struggled to find the words before he finally sighed and confessed, “Okay, fine. I’ve known about this for quite some time now.”

“You—” In a fit of frustration and disbelief, she kicked him. “If you knew about it, then why didn’t you say anything?” If he had done so, she would have tried to persuade Carl to seek professional help; he would be better at coping with his psychological issue instead of going to lengths to poison her.

“Carl was the one who asked me to keep my mouth shut about it,” Charles admitted as he resentfully rubbed the area where Sonia’s kick had landed moments ago.

She glowered at him mutinously. “I can’t believe you would call yourself my childhood friend when you are hiding things from me! When did you find out about Carl’s psychological issue? Tell me the truth!”

“Well…” He averted his gaze and looked to a remote corner of the room, appearing as if he was trying to come up with yet another lie.

Sonia frowned in annoyance and made to kick him again, but he foresaw this and quickly brought his legs up, effectively dodging her approaching foot. With a rueful chuckle, he responded, “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you everything! There’s no need to get riled up.”

“Well, then, stop dawdling!” she urged.

He shrugged before he solemnly explained, “I’ve known about it for a year now. Carl and I got in touch with one another two years ago, courtesy of your grandfather. When your dad passed, your stepmother and sister sold off all his shares in Paradigm Co., but your grandfather had been secretly buying up these shares alongside Carl. I don’t know how long they both have been working together, but I’m guessing it’s been more than three years, given how I’ve only joined them two years ago.”

“So, both of you and Grandpa have been buying up shares in Paradigm Co.?” She gaped in disbelief.

Three months ago, which was right after her divorce from Toby, Carl had brought her to see her grandfather, Leonard. Leonard was an archeologist who spent the better part of his years studying and wandering through historical sites, so he hardly ever kept in touch with Sonia. In fact, she never saw him in the six years that she was married to Toby; it was always radio silence on Leonard’s end, so she was shocked that Carl had even managed to locate him at all.

What was even more surprising was the sum of shares in Paradigm Co. that Leonard had presented Sonia with. She was well aware that her stepmother and sister had sold off these shares, and casting her own astonishment aside, Sonia’s curiosity was provoked after seeing the large number of shares he had in hand. She wanted to know how he managed to acquire these shares, the amount of which far surpassed what her father had held during his lifetime.

Naturally, the presumption that Leonard was the one who purchased these shares had stood valid for a while, but she quickly dismissed it. He was merely an archeologist and it wasn’t a well-paid career, at least not well enough to provide him with the means of purchasing shares worth twenty percent of the entire Paradigm Co.

Following this, Sonia had suppressed her curiosity and decided that she would save her questions for the next meeting with her grandfather. However, when the meeting came around and she had asked for answers, Leonard kept mum about the truth. Nevertheless, she would rather have a clear explanation on this, just in case he had made some kind of deal with someone else.

Little did she know that Leonard, Carl and Charles were collaborating with each other all these years to acquire the fifty-one percent share in Paradigm Co. that she now held.

As it turned out, she had unknowingly received an overwhelming amount of generosity and kindness from those around her. She should have returned their favors by maintaining her pride and dignity, but she had instead spent the last six years compromising with the Fuller Family. Not to mention, she was pathetically obsessing over the idea of turning Toby into the man he had once been. She chased after him like a desperate puppy in the hopes that they could have the happily-ever-after that she dreamed of. In retrospect, she had been a fool and even disappointed her grandfather, Charles and Carl. The guilt and shame stirred in her like a sour, bitter cocktail.

Almost at once, she felt as if she did not deserve the shares she now held in Paradigm Co. It hurt to think that she owned them and they weighed on her conscience.

Besides, how could she have been so thick-skinned as to own them at all? She had never once done anything to deserve them.

Upon seeing how upset Sonia was, Charles leapt up from the hospital bed and asked worriedly, “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Sonia gazed up at him with watery eyes and drew in a deep breath to suppress her tears. “Nothing, I just feel really guilty about something I thought about.”

“And what might that be?’ he asked in curiosity.39198

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Even as she said this, she made a solemn vow to return his and Carl’s favor to her. She suddenly realized that she owed so much to a long list of people in this lifetime.

Charles could tell that there was something on Sonia’s mind. He gazed at her intently and when she still didn’t say anything, he frustratedly threw his hands in the air in a show of resignation. Then, he picked up from where the initial conversation had left off. “So, where was I?”

“You were telling me about how Carl and my grandfather worked together for at least three years or more,” she pointed out.

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“Right. So, I took a guess at the timeline when your grandfather found me two years ago and had me join his efforts in recouping those shares. It was after I agreed to help him that I met Carl, and ever since then, we’ve been buying up those shares listed on the market,” he explained.0

Sonia pursed her lips and demanded angrily, “I met Carl two years ago, so why didn’t you say anything then? Why didn’t you tell me that the both of you were working together with Grandpa in buying up the shares?” She wondered whether she would have snapped out of her lovesick daze with Toby if they came clean with her from the beginning.

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“I wanted to, but your grandfather told me to keep it from you, and so did Carl. My hands were tied,” Charles answered with a pout. Then, he added, “I spent a lot of time with Carl in the past two years and I noticed that there was something off about him from the start, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It wasn’t until a year ago that I realized he had a psychological issue. When he found out, he warned me not to breathe a word of it, especially to you. So, I’ve kept it a secret from you until now.”

That’s how it is then! Sonia dug her nails into her palms. “Do you know what caused his psychological issue?”

“No, but I know it’s pretty serious, so I guess he’s had it for a while.”

For a while… She narrowed her eyes in thought. If that’s the case, then something must have happened to Carl in the last ten years that created this psychological issue of his. He couldn’t have been born with it because he was gentle and always ready to laugh ten years ago.

“By the way, baby, what are you going to do now that you know about Carl’s condition?” Charles piped up, sounding somber.

Sonia pinched the space between her brows. “What else is there for me to do other than to convince him to seek treatment? It’s the only way he could take a turn for the better.”

This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 339

Upon noticing the dazed look on Sonia’s face, Charles leaned forward and asked, “What’s wrong, baby?”

Sonia snapped out of her thoughts and was initially surprised to see how close Charles’ face was to her own. Quickly taking a step back, she averted his gaze and mumbled, “Nothing.”

Charles narrowed his eyes at her demeanor. What’s going on? Is she hiding from me?

“Sonia, can we go and see Grandma now?” To one side, Tyler was annoyed to see Sonia getting too close to any man other than Toby. As far as he was concerned, she belonged to Toby alone, and as Toby’s younger brother, he was obligated to ward off any other man who tried to get chummy with Sonia.

Sonia nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” With that, she turned to address Charles. “So I guess I’ll get going then, Charles.”

“Go on,” he replied with a nod.

Sonia gave Tyler a look, and they sauntered in the opposite direction of the elevator lobby.

This floor was dedicated to VIP wards, so it was no surprise that Rose would be staying here. “Here we are,” Tyler announced half a minute later, coming to a stop in front of one of the doors.

Sonia looked up at the plaque that bore Rose’s full name and gently knocked on the door. It opened within seconds to reveal Mary, whose eyes glimmered in relief as she exclaimed, “Oh, it’s you, Young Mistress!”

Sonia smiled at her. “Hello, Mary.”

“How good of you to drop by, Young Mistress,” Mary said cheerily. “Old Mrs. Fuller was just talking about you. She’s been calling you, but for some reason, she couldn’t get through your phone.”

“My phone ran out of battery,” Sonia explained ruefully. She had forgotten to charge it after her call with Tyler last night, and when she woke up this morning, she saw that her phone had died but chose to do nothing about it.

She had thought that she could charge her phone once she was back home, but little had she known that Rose would bombard her with calls.

“It’s alright. Come on in, Young Mistress.” Mary ushered enthusiastically as she opened the door fully to allow Sonia’s passage.

“Okay.” With a nod, Sonia stepped through the open door with Tyler and Mary in her wake.

At first glance, Rose was lying in the hospital bed, looking like a frail old person who had just drifted off to sleep. Lowering her voice to just barely above a whisper, Sonia called out in greeting, “Grandma.”

She thought the old woman had fallen asleep, but she was caught off guard when Rose’s eyes fluttered open instantly. A wide smile plastered on Rose’s wizened face when she saw her visitor. “Sonia,” she greeted affectionately.

“Hello, Grandma.” Sonia walked up to the bed and sat down next to it.

Rose took her hand in hers affably and asked, “What are you doing here, Sonia?”

“I just got discharged today, and I ran into Tyler while waiting for the elevator. When I found out you were here, I tagged along with him so I could visit you. How are you doing, Grandma?” Sonia’s eyes searched the old woman’s face with concern.

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Rose beamed. “I’m perfectly fine. The doctor said that panic got the better of me, and with my old age, my blood pressure spiked without warning and caused me to collapse. I’m all better now, and I’ll be going home this afternoon.”

“That’s good to know.” Sonia nodded, feeling reassured.

However, the lighthearted moment was quickly disrupted by Tyler’s belligerence as he interjected tearfully, “That’s not true! The doctor said that Grandma only got lucky this time, but if the same thing were to happen again—”

“Tyler!” Rose cut him off with a warning look on her face, no longer patient and affable as she signaled him to keep quiet.

Nevertheless, Sonia caught on to the insinuation that Rose’s collapse was a sign of something graver, and she pursed her lips before urging, “Tyler, go on.”0

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Tyler nodded and picked up where he left off. “If Grandma were to collapse because of her blood pressure once more, then she would be at high risk of getting a stroke, and she’d be paralyzed forever.”

“What?” Sonia’s eyes widened in alarm, and she tightened her grip on Rose’s withered hands. “Grandma…”0

Rose heaved a sigh but resumed her gentle facade as she placated, “Don’t you worry about that right now, Sonia. With old age comes sickness; it’s inevitable. Besides, if I’m not too strung up about it, you shouldn’t as well.”

“But—”

Sonia was about to protest, but Rose interrupted. “By the way, Sonia, I’d like you to be honest with me—did Toby ask you to end the pregnancy?” She had only collapsed the night before thinking that her grandson was the reason why Sonia terminated the pregnancy.

“No, he didn’t,” Sonia answered with a firm shake of her head.

“Really?” Rose gazed at her intently.

“Really,” Sonia reassured. “President Fuller didn’t force me to do it; I chose to end the pregnancy.” She lowered her gaze then, looking guilty. “I got into an accident, and I couldn’t keep the baby.”

“An accident?” Rose repeated in astonishment.

Sonia’s eyes shone with tears. “I slipped and fell, and the miscarriage followed.”

“I see,” Rose said mournfully, patting her chest as though to soothe the heartache. A bitter smile tugged on her lips. “I suppose there’s nothing we could do. Maybe it was fate that we never got to meet the baby.”

Sonia could tell the old woman had really hoped to see the baby greet the world, and a twinge of guilt seized her as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Grandma.”

Rose patted her arm. “You don’t have to apologize. You have never once hurt our family in any way, which is more than I can say for the rest of the Fuller Family. Toby put you through so much.”

Initially, Rose had planned on doing everything she could—even if it meant casting her own dignity aside—just to push Sonia and Toby back together, given how Sonia was already pregnant with his child anyway. However, now that Sonia had lost the baby, that plan had as good as gone to the dogs.

This is all Toby’s fault. If only he’d told me sooner about the pregnancy, I’d have done everything in my power to fix his relationship with Sonia! Alas, her goodwill could not beat out the cards dealt by fate; perhaps Toby and Sonia really weren’t meant to be together after all. At the thought of this, Rose shook her head in bitter resignation.

In the following hour, Sonia kept Rose company until she decided to get going, seeing how Charles was still waiting for her out in the gardens. She hated to let him wait for much longer in this cold weather.

“Sonia, are you—are you going to see Toby?” Rose asked in a slightly hesitant tone, regarding the younger woman with an unreadable look in her eyes.

Biting down on her lip, Sonia finally shook her head curtly and said, “I don’t think so. The string that tied me to President Fuller snapped the moment I lost the baby. I’m grateful that you took it upon yourself to punish him for me, Grandma, but as of now, President Fuller and I will no longer have anything to do with each other.”

By the time she paid back all that she owed Toby, she would cut him off entirely.

Seeing the somber gleam in Sonia’s eyes, Rose sighed wistfully and said at last, “Very well, then. Tyler, could you escort Sonia out, please?”

“Okay.” Tyler was sulking as he agreed to see Sonia out. He couldn’t understand how she could be so heartless as to not visit Toby, who was a patient. Surely it wouldn’t be an issue to visit a patient!

Presently, Sonia bade Rose goodbye, then fell in step behind Tyler as they walked out of the room and toward the elevators.

Just as they were drawing close to the elevators, Tyler abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned to give Sonia a wounded look. “Toby’s in the ICU ward up ahead, Sonia. Are you really not going to see him?”

“No,” Sonia replied with an air of finality.

Upon hearing this, Tyler clenched his fists and pleaded, “Sonia, he’s in really bad shape. Can’t you please just go over and visit him for a bit? Please?” Then he bowed deeply before her, with his waist bent at a sharp angle.

Sonia was startled by his desperation. Frowning, she argued, “Don’t you think you’re forcing me more than you’re asking me for a favor?”

“I’m not. I didn’t think much of it, but I know that there’s a higher chance of you caving if I did this,” Tyler admitted gravely as he straightened up and looked her in the eye.

Without waiting for her to respond, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, then hauled her along as he ran down the hallway ahead of them.

It wasn’t until after they had stopped in front of Toby’s room at the ICU ward that Sonia realized where she was. The ICU ward was different from the typical hospital ward. The walls were all made of glass, and Sonia didn’t have to go in to see what was happening inside.

She could clearly see Toby, who was deathly pale as he lay on the hospital cot, his bare torso heavily bandaged. More astonishing was his back, which looked as if the doctors and nurses had taken care to drape a fitted white sheet over it.

This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr Chapter 340

Upon closer look, the fitted white sheet was really made out of layers of bandage that covered nearly the entire surface area of Toby’s wounded back. It wasn’t hard to see how badly hurt he was.

“Come on, Sonia, let’s go in!” Tyler urged, placing a hand on the doorknob.

Sonia shook her head vehemently in refusal. “No, let’s not. I’ve already seen him, haven’t I? It’s time for me to go!”

“But—” Tyler began to argue.

However, he was cut off brusquely when Sonia pressed her lips into a grim line and snapped impatiently, “Tyler, I never wanted to come here in the first place, but you didn’t leave me a choice when you dragged me down the hallway. Now that I’ve seen Toby, what more are you asking of me?”

Tyler flushed. “I’m not asking for more. I just want you to stay with Toby for a bit.”

“And why should I? What am I to him?” she retorted witheringly, meeting Tyler’s flustered gaze.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something along the lines of ‘you’re his wife, of course!’ before remembering that she and Toby were already divorced.

As such, he closed his mouth again, feeling stupid as the words died on his tongue.

At the sight of this, Sonia shook her head slightly and turned to head for the elevators. This time, Tyler did not stop her. Perhaps it was because he knew he had no right or power to hold her back.

Sonia stopped in front of an elevator and pressed the button. The elevator arrived not long after, and when the doors opened, a figure clad in a white coat walked out—it was none other than Tim.

He was a little startled to see Sonia on the other side of the doors, and he adjusted his glasses as he asked, “I thought you were discharged. What are you still doing here?”

“I got held back,” Sonia explained nebulously with a mild smile.39200

Tim peered behind her shoulder and instantly understood what was going on. He narrowed his eyes slightly and inquired, “Your ward isn’t in this direction, so why would you be leaving through the elevators here unless you’ve dropped by to visit Toby?”

While he clearly guessed it right, Sonia did not become flustered but shrugged instead, showing a trace of frustration as she replied, “You caught me. I ran into Tyler on my way out of the hospital, and when I found out Grandma was hospitalized, I decided to visit her. After that, Tyler dragged me all the way here to see Toby.”

“Oh,” Tim said plainly. “And now you’re leaving?”

She nodded. “That’s right. I should go now that I’ve already seen him.”

0

Tim broke into a light chuckle. “What do you think of his injuries?”0

“What do I think?” She looked at him suspiciously. “Why would you ask this?”

0

“Nothing, I’m only curious. After all, I heard that his injuries had something to do with you,” he explained nonchalantly, adjusting his glasses once more.

She lowered her gaze and said stoically, “The rumors aren’t technically wrong, but in all honesty, he brought the injuries upon himself, so I don’t know what to think of them.”

“Oh, is that so?” An odd glimmer flashed in Tim’s eyes as he became interested. “I take it that you know why he was caned in the first place?”

“Sort of, but seeing as it weighs on my personal affairs with the Fuller Family, I’d rather not talk about it with you.” Sonia nodded in apology, then added, “Right, I should get going now, Dr. Lancaster. See you.”

With that, she brushed past him and into the waiting elevator.

Tim, on the other hand, glanced over his shoulder at the slowly-closing elevator doors. The fluorescent lights above reflected off his glasses, and he waited until the doors fully closed before he turned away. Pushing his glasses up his nose bridge, he let out an amused laugh and said to no one, “How interesting!”

Meanwhile, Charles sat on a nearby bench in the gardens outside the inpatient ward, and he was speaking on his phone when Sonia found him.

She walked up to him, and when he spotted her, he beckoned her over. He spoke into the line for a few seconds more, then hung up. “Are you done?” he asked Sonia, keeping his phone in his pocket.

Sonia nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“Took you a while,” he accused jokingly, then tapped his watch in mock exasperation to show that he had been waiting for much longer than expected.

She flashed him an embarrassed smile. “I guess I lost track of time while I was talking to Grandma. Sorry for waiting, Charles. I’ll buy you dinner later if you’d like.”

“Nah, there’s no need for that. Besides, it’s not like you could stomach rich food right now, and I’d hate to be the only one eating anything with flavor. Come on, I’ll drop you home,” he offered graciously, rising to his feet.

They sauntered over to the hospital parking lot, and a couple of steps in, Charles suddenly remembered something. He turned to look at Sonia and said eagerly, “By the way, baby, guess who I saw earlier.”

“Who?” Sonia asked, shaking her head to show that she was not up for guessing games now; she probably would have made all the wrong guesses anyway.

Charles did not try to bait her either. Instead, he narrowed his eyes as he chuckled insidiously. “I saw Tina!”

“What?” Sonia stopped walking. “Tina’s here at the hospital, too?”

“No, she’s not here as a visitor,” he began to explain. “Apparently, she’s been staying in the hospital ever since she left the courthouse the other day. I asked the nurses and did some sleuthing; as it turns out, the police took Tina into custody while she was still in recovery, so she came back to follow up on her treatment after she was released. She didn’t get discharged until today.”

A frosty look passed over Sonia’s face as she mused, “I see.”

“Now that I think about it, there’s something strange about you, Toby, and Tina,” Charles pointed out, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

She gave him an assessing look. “What do you mean?”

“I meant how unlucky the three of you are, of course,” he answered jauntily. “Haven’t you realized? The three of you have made countless trips to the hospital in these three short months. It was always you, or Toby, or Tina. It’s almost like an eenie-meenie-minie-mo thing.”

“Well…” Sonia’s lips twitched in bemusement, though she couldn’t rebuke what he said because it was the truth. “That’s enough now. Let’s not talk about it anymore and get going,” she said decisively, opening the door on the passenger side of the car.

Charles saluted her like he was in the army and quipped, “Yes, ma’am!”

They drove back to Bayside Residence. Charles did not hover, and he left to attend to some company matters after helping Sonia pick up around the apartment.

Sonia, on the other hand, called for take-out, and she was digging into her meal when she gave Carl a call.

However, it was just as Charles had told her that morning: none of her calls could get through, and Carl had as good as gone off the grid.

She wondered idly if he was unavailable because of work, or if he was hiding from her after his confession yesterday. Either way, she was determined to find him and talk him into seeking treatment for his complex.

With that in mind, she gave up on calling him and clicked into Messenger, then sent him a text which read, ‘Carl, give me a call when you see this. There’s something important I need to talk to you about. Please.’

She set her phone aside when the text had gone through, and while waiting for his call, she let her mind wander.

Alas, the wait lasted all night, and when she saw that he had yet to call her the following morning, she couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment.

I don’t even know if he saw my text. She rubbed her eyes, but that did little to wake her up as she groggily made another call to Carl. However, all she got in return was a beep that indicated he had switched his phone off.

Her brows furrowed. “What in the world is going on? What is he up to?” It was hard not to suspect that something had happened to Carl now that he had disappeared for a whole day and night.

With her lips pressed into a grim line, she gave Charles a call instead. He picked up almost instantly, and he greeted around a yawn, “Good morning, baby.”

“Morning, Charles.” Sonia lifted the covers off her and got out of bed, then walked over to the French windows to draw open the curtains.

As the blinding morning light filtered through the glass and warmed her face, she winced and shut her eyes. After adjusting to the sudden brightness, her eyes fluttered open slowly.

“Why did you call me so early in the morning? Did you miss me, baby?” Charles asked teasingly, chuckling.

She rolled her eyes. “Now isn’t the time to be cheeky. Be serious for a change. I need to ask you something.”

“Okay, what is it?” He cleared his throat and became solemn.

When she heard his lighthearted tone turn somber, her expression grew serious as well. “It’s about Carl. None of my calls have been getting through since last night; his phone has been switched off, and I’m worried that he might be in trouble.”

She was terrified that after the confession yesterday, Carl had been unable to take the hit and had done something drastic. After all, there was no telling what he might be capable of doing on impulse, given his complex.