The Heater’s Malfunction
“I know.” Sonia understood Rose’s dilemma, nodding with a smile.
“So, are you sure you don’t blame Toby, Sonia?” Rose looked at her and asked.
“Well, like you said, he wasn’t in his right mind at that time, so there’s no point blaming him. Furthermore,
he wasn’t acting on his free will anyway.” Sonia let out a sigh.
“You know Toby was hypnotized?” Rose appeared surprised.
“Yes, I do. He told me earlier, and I also confirmed the statement with Tim. After learning the truth that he
was hypnotized, I decided to forgive him for what he did to me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let it go so
easily,” Sonia answered while flickering her hair.
Rose smiled and nodded. “You have a point, girl. Anyway, I’ll give you the bangle now, Sonia. I know I
should have done this six years ago, but I’m glad that it still manages to find its way to its rightful owner.
As you both grow older, you can pass this down to your daughter-in-law.”
“No. No, Grandma.” Sonia shook her head, showing reluctance to accept what the old lady was giving
her. “I can’t accept this bangle. I may have rekindled the old flames with Toby, but we’re still not
remarried. Therefore, I’m still not the Fuller Family’s daughter-in-law, so I cannot accept this bangle.”
“I understand that you and Toby haven’t remarried each other, but to me, you’re already my grandson’s
wife, the Fuller Family’s daughter-in-law, and that is a fact that will never change. Moreover, don’t you
want to remarry Toby?” Rose kept her eyes on Sonia.
Sonia was left with her mouth wide agape as she shook her head shortly after that. “I’d love to marry
him, but…”
“Well then, that means you’re going to remarry Toby, so of course, you can accept this bangle. You’re just
receiving it slightly earlier.” Rose interrupted Sonia’s words, seizing her hand as she slid the bangle
along her wrist.
Sonia wanted to stop Rose, but before she could make sense of what was going on, the bangle was
already on her wrist. Despite its dim greenish appearance, it appeared to be less shiny than the ones
that could be found in the jewelry shops. However, the bangle’s vintage-looking appearance was
something that no other bangles could match. Thus, Sonia looked especially gorgeous with the bangle
on her fair wrist that accentuated the uniqueness of her appearance and charm.
Rose then patted the back of Sonia’s hand and complimented her. “Wonderful! The bangle looks great
on you. See? You’re the Fuller Family’s daughter-in-law, just like I said.”
With her face blushing, Sonia said, “Grandma…”
While she wanted to take it off, Rose quickly restrained her by holding her hand and spoke with a stern
voice. “Don’t even think about taking it off. I’ve already put it on for you, and you mustn’t take it off. Wear
it all the time, would you?”
Sensing the old lady’s serious look, Sonia felt helplessly amused. “Alright, I heard you. I’ll wear it with me
all the time.” Deep down, she was afraid that Rose would throw a tantrum at her if she ever tried to take
off the bangle. After all, Sonia reckoned old people like Rose tended to become more and more childish
as they grew older, almost like a child’s soul trapped in an adult’s body.
Noticing Sonia retracting her arm, Rose knew she had given up the idea of removing the bangle. Thus,
she smiled gladly, with a benevolent look on her face. “That’s my girl.”
Sonia smiled in response and retracted her arm, looking down while rubbing her bangle with her palm.
Perhaps it was because of Rose’s compliment, for she somehow started to believe that the bangle was a
perfect match for her. Now that I think of it, it doesn’t look old-fashioned at all.
“By the way, Grandma.” Sonia looked up and gazed at the old lady with something seemingly springing
to her mind. “Why didn’t you give this bangle to Jean?” Despite knowing the strained relationship
between Rose and Jean, Sonia was aware of the undeniable fact that Jean was married to Toby’s father
after all, which made her the Fuller Family’s daughter-in-law as well. Therefore, she reckoned Jean
should have the bangle by now, but judging from Rose’s words, she surmised that the bangle had been
with the old lady all this time.
The smile on Rose’s face faded when she heard Sonia’s words. “Guess what? I don’t like that lady at all,
and neither have I ever approved of her as the Fuller Family’s daughter-in-law. After all, all the ladies
who married into the Fuller Family went through a legitimate marriage with their husbands, except her.”
Rose turned her attention to the bangle on Sonia’s wrist and added, “None of the daughters-in-law in the
Fuller Family is ever a mistress, so I didn’t and won’t ever give this to her because if I did, I’d be shaming
our ancestors.”
“Well, you have a point, I guess.” Sonia nodded.
“That’s why I’ve never even thought of giving this bangle to her over the years. While she had implied her
intention to have it, I brushed her off every single time. Honestly, if she hadn’t behaved herself and
treated Toby like her own son, I would have cast her out of the family a long time ago,” Rose answered
and chuckled the next second. “Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore. It’s getting late now, so would
you like to stick around and dine with me?”
“Sure.” Sonia nodded in agreement.
Rose happily reached for her phone and called Mary, telling her to buy them a meal. “What would you
like to eat, Sonia?” Rose asked with the phone in her hand.
Sonia contemplated for a while and replied, “I’ll just have whatever you’re having since my taste is pretty
much the same as yours.”
“Alright, I’ll get Mary to take care of it for us then,” Rose said.
Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and stood up. “Grandma, I need to step outside to make a call.
I’ll be right back.”
“Sure, please go ahead,” Rose replied with a chuckle.
Soon, Sonia turned around and walked toward the door. When she exited the ward, she was immediately
scared by the sight of a man standing right outside. “Ah!”
Frightened by her scream, Toby stood straight and asked, “Jeez! What’s wrong?”
Sonia rolled her eyes upward and gently patted her chest. “What’s wrong? You gave me a scare, man.
How long have you been standing here?” Seeing how Toby stood still like a statue right outside the ward,
Sonia believed anyone would get scared in her place since no one would expect to be greeted by a
figure standing right on the other side of the door.
“For a while.” Toby raised his wrist and looked at his watch. “I came here as soon as I was done dealing
with the discharge procedures.” He shifted his gaze to the lady’s wrist on her chest, looking closely at the
catchy green bangle.
Sensing Toby’s gaze, Sonia raised her hand and flashed her wrist in the air. “Grandma put this on for
me.”
“It looks good on you.” Toby praised the lady while curling his lips upward.
Sonia was delighted upon hearing the man’s compliment, evident in the smile on her face when she put
down her wrist. “By the way, why didn’t you go inside since you were already done with the procedures?”
Sonia pointed at the ward’s door.
“I was waiting for you to be done talking with Grandma.” Toby looked at the lady.
“I see.” Sonia nodded and added, “Well, Grandma and I didn’t really talk much either anyway. We were
talking about the bangle most of the time, in fact.”
“I know,” Toby replied.
“You heard everything?”
“Only some of it.” Toby answered and asked, “What are you doing out here?”
“I came here to make a call.” Sonia flashed her mobile phone. “Something went wrong with my heater
last night, so I told the technician to help me take a look at it after I’m done with my work. However, I just
promised Grandma that I’ll dine with her later, so I had to arrange another time with the technician, which
was why I was here making the call.”
“Oh, come to my place later at night, then.” Toby hummed.
“Ugh. What?” Sonia was stunned.
“Well, I know your heater isn’t working, but by the time we’re done with our dinner and back, it’s probably
already late, so I don’t think we can get anyone to fix it until tomorrow. At the same time, you’re going to
freeze in your sleep without your heater later at night. What’s worse is that you could even catch a cold
because of that, so the best way is for you to come over to my place for the night,” Toby said, his eyes
lighting up with excitement before that subtle expression disappeared.
Nonetheless, Sonia was still able to notice that unobvious expression as she squinted and expressed her
doubt. “Why does it seem to me that you’re happy about my heater acting up?”
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