Earthquake
What did he mean by ‘affect people with such ease’?
I was also there and heard everything.
Yet, I wasn’t affected in that kind of way and I even thought that it’s disgusting.
So, he’s just looking for excuses! Excuses to… to do things to me! Sonia thought.
When Toby saw that Sonia was so mad to the point of having red eyes, he removed his hand from his
pocket and gently patted her on the head. “All right, I’ll admit that I wasn’t affected by that scene, but
what I said in the second half is real. The love of my life was in my arms and took the initiative to kiss
me, so tell me, how can I resist it?”
Initially, she wanted to push his hand off her head, but the moment she heard his explanation, the hand
that she had raised lost its energy as it dropped to her side. The blush on her face deepened as she
looked away and replied in a small voice, “I… I didn’t kiss you on purpose. Those two were too active in
their actions and kept slamming the door, which bumped into me and resulted in me accidentally
kissing you.”
“I know.” Toby nodded before he asked, “Were you hurt anywhere by the door?”
“No.” Sonia shook her head.
The door didn’t ram into her from a distance away; it had always been behind her.
So, when the door jostled her, it didn’t have that great force expected of something flying toward its
victim. Hence, she wasn’t injured or anything.
“That’s good to hear.” Toby nodded slightly, his expression relaxing.
Then, he thought of something and asked again, “Right, do you know that woman?”
Upon hearing his question, Sonia suppressed her embarrassment and nodded. “Yes.”
“Who is it?” He looked at her.
She took a deep breath and solemnly answered, “Jessica.”
“Jessica?” Toby frowned as it was a familiar name. Soon, he realized who its namesake was while his
usual cold face wore a shocked expression. “Your father’s second daughter.”
He didn’t say that it was her sister.
That was because he knew that there were no sisterly bonds between Sonia and Jessica.
Moreover, he remembered Sonia sharing in the letter that she had been bullied by her stepmother and
that woman’s daughter.
So, he also wouldn’t acknowledge that Jessica was Sonia’s sister and much preferred to refer to
Jessica as Henry’s second daughter.
“That’s her.” Sonia clenched her fists as fire burned in her eyes. “6 years ago, she and Sandra ran off
with every last bit of Paradigm Co.’s assets as well as the money and valuables in the house. I thought
that they would have a comfortable life with the amount of wealth they took, but Jessica is living off her
position as someone’s mistress. If Dad knew about it, he would be so mad that he’ll return from the
dead.”
At that, she suddenly slapped her forehead. “Right, I almost forgot. I need to pass this recording to my
friend. The speech will be on soon; if I don’t let my friend listen to it beforehand, they’ll really become
an engaged couple and it will all be too late.”
When that happened, her friend wouldn’t be able to bail out of the marriage so easily.
“Go on then.” Toby tidied Sonia’s hair before he retracted his hands and spoke, “I’ll be waiting for you at
the elevator. We have to meet President Homer once you are back.”
Sonia looked up at him when she heard his worse. After smiling and nodding at his encouraging gaze,
she replied, “Okay, I’ll be off now.”
“Sure.”
She gripped her phone before her high heels clicked as she left.
Toby watched her leave and when Sonia vanished from her sight, his gentleness disappeared from his
expression. Then, he took out his phone and made a call. “President Lazuli, it’s me. There’s something
about your son that I want to talk to you about after the engagement ceremony.”
Meanwhile, Sonia located her friend.
Even though they hadn’t met in years, Sonia and her friend were still overjoyed to see each other.
After a short while of reminiscing about the good old days, Sonia took out her phone and stated her
reason for coming, thereafter she played the audio recording for her friend.
Surprisingly, after her friend listened to the recording, the woman didn’t express much shock and even
acted like it was within her expectations.
Sonia looked at her in surprise. “You already know that your fiancé is cheating on you?”
Her friend swirled the wine in her glass as she smiled. “Yes, he can’t hide that personality from me.”
“Yet you’re still getting engaged to him?” Sonia couldn’t understand what was going on.
As a sorrowful aura enveloped her friend, she lowered her gaze. “I didn’t decide to get engaged with
him out of love. It’s just that we’re suitable for each other because of our family statuses. Moreover, the
man who I really wanted to marry had died long ago.”
Sonia was stunned. “Died?”
The friend nodded. “Yes. Some years ago, I met a man who loved me and pursued me, but he wasn’t
my type, so I never agreed to date him. After that, he kept bothering me, which annoyed the hell out of
me. So, I decided to give it a shot with him since I never found anyone else whom I liked. I figured that I
would at least be happy when I’m with someone who loves me, but then…” Her eyes turned moist at
the memory. “Not long after we got together, he met with an accident and died as a result. It was after
his death that I realized that I have lost the person who loved me the most in the whole wide world, so I
probably would never be happy again. No one else would come close to him in terms of tolerance and
acceptance of my bad days, nor would anyone else protect me like he did, Sonia.”
She suddenly held Sonia’s hand and asked, “Do you have someone whom you like?”
Sonia’s gaze wavered. “I… I don’t think so…”
After hearing the uncertainty in her voice, the friend asked, “Then, is there someone who loves you?”
“Yes.” Sonia immediately thought of Toby, but soon dismissed that image of him. This is weird. Sure,
Toby loves me, but there are also other men who love me, like Charles and Carl. I don’t understand
why Toby was the first person I thought of.
Then, her friend said earnestly, “Sonia, I’ve been there before, so I want you to know that if there’s
someone whom you like and he shares the same feelings, you guys have to be together. If you don’t
have anyone whom you like, then just be with the person who likes you. He would still make you happy
even though you don’t like him. Don’t be like me; don’t wait until you’ve lost the man to realize this. I
can only wallow in regret now.”
Being with someone who loves you, huh…
Sonia looked lost as her red lips moved. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good. As your friend, I hope that you can be happy. Also, thank you for recording this for my sake.
Okay, since I have a speech to make now, will you come to the hall with me?” Her friend released
Sonia’s hand and stood up.
Sonia shook her head. “It’s okay; I have someone to meet.”
“I’ll be leaving then.”
“Alright.”
The friend wiped her tears away before taking a few deep breaths to calm her emotions. Then, she
wore a polite smile and lifted the hem of her dress as she made her way out of the powder room.
Sonia didn’t stay there for long either after her friend left. After taking a look at her phone, she almost
made a move as she prepared to look for Toby.
The ground suddenly shook the moment Sonia walked out of the powder room.
Sonia was in high heels, so she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, the corridor was carpeted as well, so it was soft enough to catch Sonia’s fall without her
sustaining any injuries or twisting her ankle. However, she didn’t immediately stand on her feet; she
tried to support the upper half of her body as she sprawled on the ground, for it was still shaking. If she
rose to her feet, she would only fall once again. What is going on? An earthquake?
As Sonia looked at the chandelier above her head swaying, she heard terrified screams nearby as well.
It was then when she confirmed that it was indeed an earthquake and of a noticeable magnitude as
well.
“Earthquake! Run!”
“Who stepped on my foot?”
“Ouch, you ran into me!”
At this moment, a crowd emerged from the elevators as they fled for their lives.
When Sonia saw the terror etched on their faces, she suddenly remembered Toby and her face paled.
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