Chapter 500

Chapter 500 She’s Really in Love

All of the netizens made a joke out of the situation once they found out about the truth. ‘This is epic! I

can’t believe this was what actually happened. The picture was a total lie!’ one commented.

‘Who were the ones who said that Toby and Lily are the most romantic and loving couple? Show

yourselves now!’ another one added.

‘I knew it! Although Lily’s from a wealthy family, her family is on the verge of bankruptcy. She’s always

showing off on her social media profile, and she acts just like an upstart. She doesn’t have any

substance at all! The almighty president of Fuller Group and the head of the Fuller Family would have

better taste than this! He’d never date a woman like her,’ one comment read.

Sonia subconsciously nodded as she read the netizen’s comments. That’s right. That’s exactly how I feel

about the situation. If Toby really fell for Lily, then it just shows that he has no taste. Fortunately, he still

has his standards. Sonia let out a small smile at that thought. All the worry and concern she had for the

news articles and photos had wholly disappeared after she watched the video that Fuller Group posted

on their social media account.

However, she realized something odd about the situation. I texted Toby to ask about the picture earlier,

and Fuller Group posted a video to clarify the situation just a while after that. It can’t be a coincidence,

right? Sonia pressed her red lips together and contemplated for a moment before she rejected her own

hypothesis. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. Toby didn’t see my message, so he couldn’t have done

anything about it.

Sonia was still deep in thought when her phone began to ring. She turned her head to glance at her

phone, and she let go of her mouse to pick the call up when she saw that it was a call from Charles.

“Charles,” she greeted.

“Darling.” Charles’ voice sounded glum on the other end of the line.

“What is it?” Sonia tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s Toby!” Charles grabbed his hair and tugged on it frustratedly. “I was overjoyed when the news of his

and Lily’s engagement first surfaced on the Internet. I was all prepared to buy them gifts, and I had

already planned out my speech for them during their engagement. I was hoping that they would stay in

love and grow old together. I can’t believe Toby announced that the news was fake before I even

managed to get them a gift! Ugh! I’m so annoyed!”

Technically speaking, Charles and Toby were love rivals—that explained why Charles wanted Toby to go

off with another girl. If Toby gets engaged, then he won’t mess with my darling anymore! Toby might have

claimed to let go of my darling, but how am I supposed to know if he’s lying? The only way for me to be

sure is for Toby to be with another girl. But look at how things have turned out! Hah! Charles sneered to

himself.

Sonia had an uneasy feeling as she listened to Charles, and she frowned slightly. “What’s there to be

annoyed about? Their relationship wasn’t even genuine to begin with, so it’s only right for him to clear

things up, right? Would you prefer the public to spread rumors about you all the time?”

“Well, of course not. But this is different,” Charles muttered as he scratched the back of his head.

Sonia scoffed. “How is it different?”

“Well, it’s obviously because… Wait, darling!” Charles seemed to realize something halfway through his

sentence, and his expression turned serious. “Darling, I just realized something. You seem to be really

happy about the fact that Toby stepped forward to dispel the rumors surrounding his engagement. On top

of that, you’re also siding him—you immediately went against my words when I talked about Toby.

Darling, you—”

“I don’t care about Toby!” Before Charles could finish his sentence, Sonia interrupted him. Her heart

skipped a beat when she realized what Charles was trying to say. However, her words only made

Charles’ expression turn gloomier than before. He let out a long sigh as he felt a heavy feeling weighing

down on him. “Darling, I didn’t mention anything about your care for Toby, yet you interrupted me to say

that you don’t care about him. Don’t you think your actions are going against your words here?” Charles

tried his best to make his tone sound neutral.

Sonia froze for a moment before she realized what had happened. I overreacted earlier. I feel like I’m

guilty of something. Her pupils shrank when she started to catch on. Even her grip on the phone felt

rather unsteady as her hands were shaking. A mixture of disbelief and confusion filled her gaze.

What’s going on? Do I have anything to hide? She bit her bottom lip and remained silent for a few

moments. Her answer surfaced in her mind after a while, and she parted her red lips to speak, but no

words came out of her mouth. Moreover, her gut feeling told her that she wasn’t supposed to reveal the

answer that she had deep within her heart. If she put her answer into words, she knew that her whole life

would turn upside down.

When Charles realized how silent Sonia was on the other end of the call, he knew that he couldn’t lie to

himself for much longer. I can’t tell myself that she doesn’t care about Toby anymore. The truth is that

she cares for him. Maybe she has fallen in love with him again! Otherwise, she wouldn’t have started an

argument once she heard me talking about Toby. A bitter smile spread across Charles’ face as he

thought about the situation. I can’t believe I lost to Toby again. I can’t do anything but watch as Sonia

falls for him once more.

“Hah… How useless.” Charles leaned against his chair and raised an arm to cover his eyes. His lips

were slightly parted as he let out a bitter sigh.

“Are you talking about me, Charles?” Sonia knitted her brows.

“No. I’m talking about myself.” His voice was filled with self-contempt. I am useless, aren’t I? I’m the one

who has known Sonia for the longest, and I’m the one she spends the most time with. I’m also the one

who fell in love with her first. Logically speaking, I should be the one who gets to be with her. Yet, I’ve

been so weak and cowardly all along—I’ve never dared to confess to her or show her my true feelings.

Because of this, I have to watch her fall in love twice, both with the same man. Charles had never felt so

much hatred for himself.

Mom’s right, he thought. I am a useless man who doesn’t know how to fight for the things that I want. I’m

just a worthless guy who hands his lover over to another man! Charles let out a sneer at that thought. His

bloodshot eyes were glistening with droplets of tears as he removed his arm from his eyes. He forced a

smile and spoke in a rather bitter tone. “Alright, darling. I have other matters to handle. I’ll end the call

now.”

He ended the call immediately after finishing his sentence. It was hard for him to come to terms with the

fact that his lover had just fallen in love with the same man again, so he needed some time to calm

himself down.

On the other end of the line, Sonia stared at her mobile phone and squeezed her brows together.

“Charles…” she whispered. She had no idea what Charles was going through, but she could sense that

he wasn’t in a good place emotionally. He sounded angry, self-critical, and exasperated… He sounded

really emotional. The Charles that I know is extremely lively—it’s almost like he has never-ending

amounts of energy. But he sounded so pessimistic earlier… I’m worried for him.

At that thought, Sonia got to her feet and put her coat on before she walked out of her office. She was

planning to visit Charles’ office to check if he was alright.

…

Meanwhile, both Vincent and Lily were scrolling through Fuller Group’s official Facebook page in the

McRae Residence. Their faces had turned as white as a sheet after they saw the clarification post and

the video that Fuller Group had posted online. “What do we do now, Dad?” Lily clenched her fists and

held onto her skirt as she spoke in a shaky voice. “President Fuller didn’t just clear the rumors about our

engagement, but he even managed to get rid of the rumors surrounding our pictures. If this goes on, do

you think he might find out about our—”

“Calm down!” Vincent raised his hand to interrupt his daughter. “I’m sure he’ll never find out about our

little scheme. He probably just thinks that some paparazzi snapped a picture of you guys, and he

probably thinks that’s how the rumors surfaced. After all, no normal person would suspect that someone

is plotting against them behind their back. It’s no surprise that the paparazzi would snap pictures of Toby

since he’s so famous.”