“It’s not you I’m looking for; I want to speak to Sonia. Is she there with you?” Grace asked on the other line, prompting Charles to glance over at Sonia.

“She’s here,” he answered.

 

“Pass the phone to her.”

Having made a noise of agreement, Charles handed Sonia his phone while saying, “Here, it’s my mom.”

Sonia took the phone over and greeted pleasantly, “Mrs. Lane.”

“Sonia! I’ve missed you so much.” Grace beamed as soon as she heard Sonia’s voice on the other end of the call.

 

Sonia, on the other hand, smiled as well. “I’ve missed you, too, Mrs. Lane.”

“You could always drop by to see me, you know,” Grace pointed out, feigning dejection.

 

“Sorry, Mrs. Lane. I’ve been tied up with tons of stuff recently. I barely have time to breathe,” Sonia winced and said apologetically.

“Well, you could come over for a meal right now if you have the time. I’ll bust out a few of my best recipes for you,” Grace cajoled kindly.

Sonia was just about to say something when Charles—who had been eavesdropping—spoke up instead. “Mom, I’m bringing my darling for seafood.”

Grace, however, was insistent as she countered, “You know how restaurants never run a quality check on their seafood supplies, and it’s not as if they could do better than me when it comes to cooking.”

interjected, “Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Lane. We’ll

please, no need for the formalities. See you soon!” Grace chortled happily, elated that the younger girl had agreed to drop by

phone away and gave Sonia a resigned look. “Well, it looks like we’re going to have

there’s always next time, anyway. Now, we should probably go and pick out gifts for your parents.”

finally picked out an elegant cloak for Grace and a tasteful necktie for Curtis.

family than anything else. In particular, Grace had been best friends with Sonia’s mother.

wasn’t long before Charles and Sonia pulled up in front of

had dropped by in six years, though she noted that the house looked the same as it had before. As such, she

of the house to greet her guest when she heard the sound of the car pulling up. Her

Lane,” Sonia greeted with a

Charles stood by the side and drawled sarcastically, “Don’t mind me, Mom. I’m just your biological

tired of it. My attention is on Sonia now. Come here, Sonia, let me take a good look at you!” She clasped Sonia’s hands in hers and

the remark. “No, I

have,” Grace insisted. “Your face

because I’ve lost all my baby fat, so now I appear a little more slender

course. Come along, then.” Grace took her by

the villa, Sonia noted that there was no one else at home but them, and

tell me how you’ve been for the past six years.” Ever since Grace watched the press conference, she had been wanting to know all that had happened

to detail the life she had

show of frustration and snapped, “I knew those Fullers were rotten! You should have told us how badly they were treating you, Sonia. If you had told us, then we would have

he bit into an apple.

felt never went away. That being said, he

felt warmth course through her. Tears pricked her eyes

her parents, and the closest thing she had to a family was Grace and the rest of the Lanes. She might have been able to get them to stand up for her throughout her marriage to Toby, but they couldn’t come to her defense all the time. Besides, they weren’t actually related to her, which meant her troubles would only grow to become an unnecessary burden for them. She would rather give them a peace of mind than have them

I going to do with you?” Grace gently prodded the younger girl’s forehead

smiled good-naturedly as she wrapped the

this gesture and smoothed Sonia’s hair with

then, Charles frowned as he sniffed the air curiously. “Mom,

her eyes lit up with panic. She rose to her feet in a flurry

she rushed toward the kitchen to salvage the chowder simmering in the pot, and thankfully,

Sonia and said, “Here you go, Sonia. Have some juice while you watch a bit of television; I’ll

nodded with

a look. “Come and help me out in the

had just heard as he pointed at his nose. “Are you

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