The Plane Ticket Abroad
Upon hearing Grace’s understanding and emphatic voice, Sonia felt the warmth of her words. “Thank
you for not blaming me, Mrs. Lane.”
“What is there to thank me about? You’re not wrong after all.” Grace took a sip of her coffee again. “In
fact, all of this is because of me and my husband.”
“Huh?” Sonia was taken aback as she didn’t understand what Grace meant.
Grace massaged her temples. “Charles’ father and I were extremely strict on Charles as a child. We
never allowed him to make any decisions for himself, which is why Charles has always lacked the
courage to actually do something despite it being related to relationship or work.”
As she spoke, she took another sip of her coffee before sighing. “I was actually thinking, if Charles’
father and I had loosened up a little on him back then and allowed him to make his own decisions,
Charles would have been able to summon the courage to confess to you after learning that he has
feelings toward you.”
Sonia pursed her lips and remained quiet while Grace looked at her. “Answer me honestly, Sonny.
Would you have been with Charles if he had confessed to you back then?”
After being stunned by Grace’s question, it took Sonia a while to return to her senses before she
responded, “I don’t know. All I can say is that if Charles had confessed to me before I met Toby, maybe
I would have dated him instead.”
After all, Charles and her weren’t the best of friends in the past, so it was possible for her to have
developed romantic feelings for him.
Upon hearing Sonia’s answer, Grace shook her head in regret and pity. “As expected, my little boy has
really missed his opportunity, huh?”
Just like what Sonia had said, if Charles had confessed to her back then, there was a possibility that
they would have dated each other.
However, courage was something he lacked during that time.
“I understand now.” Grace gave a bitter smile. “So, there’s really no chance between you and Charles,
is that so?”
Sonia nodded before she hummed in acknowledgement. “Sorry, Mrs. Lane. I really don’t have that kind
of feeling toward Charles.”
“It’s alright; I get it.” Grace started to stir her coffee again. “Actually, the reason why I invited you out
today is to ask you whether there’s any chance between you and Charles. All I want is to actually get a
precise answer from you. If there is a possibility, I will go all out as Charles’ mother and beg for you to
give him a chance. However, if it’s impossible, then I will persuade Charles to forgo his feelings since I
know that it’ll be a pressure for you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Lane…” Sonia felt her eyes welling up in tears as she was really moved.
Nevertheless, Grace gently patted the back of Sonia’s hand. “You don’t have to thank me for this. I’m
doing this mainly for Charles after all. If you don’t like him and I force you two to be together, Charles
won’t be happy either way, so it’s better if I persuade him to let you go.”
“You’re right.” Sonia nodded.
Then, the two of them ended up talking for about an hour in the cafe before Grace received a call from
her friend to invite her to go to the spa. It was only at that point when Grace bid Sonia farewell and left
the café.
Sonia walked Grace out to the sidewalk and only went back to the cafe to pick up the tab after Grace
entered her car.
After settling the bills, Sonia prepared to head back as well when she received a call from Toby
moments after she left the cafe.
“Hello, President Fuller,” she greeted while walking to her car.
In the meantime, Toby frowned when he heard how Sonia had addressed him. The way she addresses
me makes us sound like we’re strangers. I need to find an opportunity to change that.
“I heard from the bodyguards that you met up with Grace Huntington?” He stood by the windowsill in
his office and asked as he stared at the bustling city in front of him.
When Sonia heard him, she furrowed her eyebrows. “President Fuller, are those two bodyguards of
yours still monitoring me?”
When he sensed the displeasure in Sonia’s voice, Toby quickly returned to his senses as he realized
that she had misunderstood him before he opened his mouth to explain, “I didn’t get them to monitor
you and they won’t report everything unless by not doing so puts your safety at risk.”
“My safety?” She opened the door to the driver’s seat to enter the car and thereafter closed it. Then,
she asked in a displeased manner, “How does me meeting Mrs. Lane risks my safety?”
“Have you forgotten about your fallout with Charles? I was just worried that she might do something to
you because of her son.” Toby turned to return to his office desk.
Looks like he’s really worried for my safety!
Sonia felt like laughing as her frown disappeared and she reassured, “Don’t worry. Mrs. Lane isn’t that
kind of person. She was rational and made it clear that I was the person responsible for the fallout.
However, she didn’t blame me for it, but rather, she consoled me.”
“Is that so?” Toby narrowed his eyes. It was obvious that he was doubtful of the situation.
On the other hand, she had started the car engine and cradled her phone between her head and
shoulder to pull the safety belt over her. “Of course. Mrs. Lane even told me not to blame myself for
what had happened.”
“So, she wasn’t there to lecture you?”
“Duh.”
A relieved Toby nodded. “That’s good to know.”
Sonia left her phone on the phone holder and switched on the loudspeaker function before she started
to drive. “Did you call me just to ask about that?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “I was worried about you.”
Sonia glanced at her phone before the corner of her lips slightly curled up. “Who said that I need you to
worry about me? Alright, I’ll have to hang up now since I’m behind the wheel.”
“Alright. Don’t forget to drive safely.” Toby hummed in acknowledgement before advising, to which
Sonia chuckled and replied, “I know. Goodbye.”
After hanging up, she changed the gear and floored the accelerator.
About half an hour later, she arrived at Paradigm Co. and went back to her office as Daphne trailed
behind her.
The moment Sonia arrived in her office, she yanked the chair back from behind the desk to take a seat
before instructing, “Please help me to purchase a plane ticket to Kosovo. The departure date is in three
days’ time.”
“Alright, President Reed,” Daphne replied before she thought of something and clarified, “Do you want
me to book a hotel for you as well?”
“It’s okay. My friend will arrange the accommodation for me,” Sonia answered while opening her laptop.
Daphne adjusted her glasses. “Alright, President Reed. I’ll purchase the flight tickets right away.”
Then, she started to work on her phone.
Within half a minute, she had sent the flight ticket details to Sonia. “President Reed, I’ve already
purchased the flight ticket for a first class cabin for you. The flight will leave at 2:00PM three days later.”
A satisfied Sonia then responded, “Thank you. If there’s nothing else, you may—”
Before she could finish her words, someone knocked at her office door, causing her to turn around.
“Come in.”
When the door was pushed open, Charles appeared before them and he entered the office in an
anxious manner as if something serious had happened.
When Daphne saw him, her expression completely changed as she quickly lowered her head and tried
to reduce her presence; it was as if she was afraid that he would notice her there.
However, Charles never noticed Daphne as his sole focus was on Sonia and no one else could come
close to her.
He went all the way toward the front of Sonia’s table and slammed his hands on her desk while gasping
lightly for air.
At the same time, delight appeared on her face as she looked at Charles. “Charles, why are you here?”
For the past two days after their supposed fallout, Charles had never once shown up in front of her
despite all of Sonia’s unanswered calls and messages.
Because of that, she had been worried that he would do something stupid after suffering from the blow.
Now that she even heard from Grace that he became drunk as a result of what had happened, Sonia
felt even worse.
Therefore, she was elated when Charles showed up.
“Did my mom come to look for you?” he asked between his ragged breaths.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda