Chapter 55

Charles stood up to pour Ryan a glass of red wine. “President Drew, you must be joking. After her
divorce, she didn’t even receive a single cent from her ex husband. He’s a miser, so how could he
possibly help my baby?”

“You didn’t even receive a single cent?”

Ryan stared at her with a slightly

shocked look on his face.

“Yeah. That’s not all-she didn’t even



get any property or car, so would you be kind enough to give my baby some leeway and sell your
business to her?”

Charles placed his arms around



Sonia’s shoulders as he said that.

Sonia, however, flung his hand aside. “President Drew, ignore all of his nonsense. I was the one who
didn’t want anything.”

Ryan took his glass of wine and was just about to say something when he saw a couple walking toward
them, hand-in-hand.

“President Drew, it’s a surprise to see



you here. Miss Reed and Mr. Lane are here too. This is such a coincidence.” Tina smiled demurely as
she greeted

them.

stretch. “It’s unfortunate for us though. I don’t even want to see the two of

you.”

Tina’s expression stiffened in response but she quickly regained her composure soon after that. “Mr.
Lane, your words are as scathing as usual.”

Charles put both hands behind his

head and relaxedly swiveled on his

chair. “Well, there’s nothing I can do

about it. This is how I am when I’m

with people I dislike. Unfortunately,

you’re one of them, Miss Gray.”

“How dare-” Tina’s face turned pale

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upon being angered by his words.

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However, Toby took her into his arms and he started to exude a menacing



aura.

Sonia noticed his darkened expression and quickly tugged on Charles’ arm. “That’s enough. Stop it.
Don’t forget what I mentioned to you earlier.”

However, Charles shrugged in

response as he murmured, “Don’t

worry. I know what I’m doing.”

The sight of the duo whispering to

each other was unbearable for Toby.

Just then, he let go of Tina and

glanced at Ryan. “President Drew, have

you considered my proposal for the

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takeover?”

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“I haven’t made up my mind yet.” Ryan pointed at Sonia. “Your ex-wife is interested in my company too.
She’s negotiating with me right now and the terms she offered are exactly the same

as yours. I had assumed that you were



the one who gave her the idea.”

Toby’s eyes flickered for a moment, which went by unnoticed. “No. I am

quite intent on the acquisition of your

company so there’s no reason for me

to give this up just like that.”

Sonia grimaced upon hearing that and immediately, the seed of suspicion disappeared from her mind
completely. That‘s right. He doesn‘t have a good impression of me so there’s no way he

would help me. Besides, ideas are generally concocted by people, so it‘s not a surprise for Z–
H to come up with

the same terms as Toby

Toby glanced at Sonia from the corner of his eye and he relaxed his brows upon noticing the look of relief
on her

face. I knew that she would be

suspicious of Z–H‘s identity once she

came to negotiate with Ryan. As such, he had purposely come over and said

all that, intending to dispel her

suspicions.

“Coincidentally, President Drew, I’m



also quite intent on acquiring

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Continental Co.”

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Toby’s expression remained impassive and he casually remarked, “Is that so? Then let’s wait and see
who President Drew chooses.”

“Of course it will be Paradigm Co.!”

Charles placed his hand behind Sonia’s

chair.

Meanwhile, Tina gently tucked her hair behind her ears and revealed a slight smile. “From your options,
the Fuller Group would be the best choice.

Paradigm Co. is teetering on the edge of hardship so obviously, it wouldn’t be

a good choice. What do you think,

President Drew?”

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Sonia placed down her wine glass and

3:42



8/21 her expression darkened. “Miss Gray,

where are your manners? I was here before you and I’m currently negotiating on behalf of Paradigm Co.,

yet you’ve barged in and thrown shade

at us in front of President Drew. I don’t

think this is the polite way to handle

things, no?”

“Exactly!” Charles sneered at Toby quite coldly. “President Fuller, your girlfriend seems to be clueless
about the rules in the corporate world and

she’s obviously broken the rules. Don’t tell me you’re unaware of that too?”

Charles’ words were full of scorn and

contempt and Toby felt quite uncomfortable hearing that. The latter

then took Tina’s hands in his and said, “Let’s go.”

Meanwhile, Tina bit her lower lip. “Toby. did I. did I do something wrong?”

“It’s not a major thing. You just have to be more mindful in the future.” And so, the two of them walked off,
hand-in

hand.

Charles pursed his lips in response.

“That Fuller guy sure is protective of Tina! He doesn’t even have a limit for



Sonia, on the other hand, felt a

stabbing pain in her heart and she

didn’t respond to Charles. Tina is his

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“precious darling. Who else would he be



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protective of if not her?

Ryan took a sip of his wine. “President Reed, do you harbor and grudge ex husband and his partner?”

She recollected herself and smiled faintly. “Not exactly a grudge, but we’ve had some disagreements.
Alright then, President Drew. Why don’t we continue our negotiation?”

Meanwhile, Ryan leaned backward.

“President Reed, do you remember the

words spoken by your ex-husband’s fiancée earlier?”

“Of course.” Sonia nodded. “She’s right.

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W

The decision is in your hands. Of

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course, it’s evident that we’re not the best option compared to the Fuller Group but we have one
advantage that they can’t compare against.”

“Oh?”

Suddenly, Sonia recalled Z-H’s mention

of Ryan’s arrogance in their exchange

of messages, and the smile on her

face widened. “I can offer you the liberty of buying or selling your shares

whenever you want to. In the future, if

you have the means and would like to

buy back the shares of Continental Co.,

I’ll sell it back to you at thirty percent

extra of the current purchase price.

However, if Continental Co. is merged

into the Fuller Group, do you think you



would still be able to buy back the shares?”

Although she had been a housewife for the past six years and was no longer

up-to-date with the happenings in this

world, Sonia remained well aware of Toby’s reputation in the corporate world as a living Hades. There
was no way one would be able to win back

something that had been taken over by

him.

Ryan’s expression changed and he

showed some interest. “It seems, your offer is quite tempting and is indeed

quite difficult to reject.”

*He then lifted his wine glass to

propose a toast

It‘s a done deal? Sonia mused and was elated beyond herself. Soon after that, she lifted her wine glass
to toast him upon being nudged in the elbow by Charles as he reminded her.

After their toast, Ryan stood up. “Alright, I’ve got to go and meet my friend at the hot springs. I’ll leave the

two of you to your dinner. Let’s meet up in the next few days. Once I’m back in town, we can sign the
merger documents.”

“Sure.” Sonia tried hard to suppress her



excited feelings and smilingly agreed

to his suggestion.

Meanwhile, Charles cupped her chin and his eyes sparkled with approval. “Baby, you’re awesome!
Earlier when

you were negotiating with him, you

were stunning and your confidence

shone through. I’m sure that you’ll be able to handle everything by yourself and soon enough you’ll
definitely

become a dominant lady figure in the corporate world.”

In response, Sonia hit his hand out of

annoyance. “It’s okay to talk to me but stop touching me!”

Charles clutched at his chest

dramatically with a hurt expression on

his face. “Baby, this is too much! I can’t believe that you’re actually annoyed

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5:42



Chinater 55

16/21 with me! We’ve known each other since

we were young. How could you?”

Sonia rolled her eyes at him and completely ignored his antics.

Suddenly, Charles’ cell phone rang.

He stopped joking and took out his phone to glance at the screen. “Baby, I’ll go outside to take this
phone call.”

“Go ahead.” Sonia made a feel-free

gesture.

After he had walked off, she suddenly

recalled something and took out her

cell phone. She tapped into Messenger

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and clicked on her chat with the person

Chantet 58

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with a goose as his profile picture.

Thanks for your tip.’

Z-H: “Did you close the deal?’

Sonia smiled and swiftly typed her

reply. It’s a done deal. You mentioned that Ryan was an arrogant person so I purposely provoked him by
offering him the chance to buy and sell the shares whenever he wanted to. It was how I managed to win
him over.’

Ryan’s personality meant that he would not go to his parents for money at all. At the same time, without
Continental Co. in his hands, evidently, it would

take him a long time to earn an extra

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thirty percent of the shares’ worth.

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By then, perhaps Paradigm Co. would have been restored to its former glory

and even if he decided to buy back Continental Co., it would not be a loss to the former either

Z-H: ‘Congratulations.

Sonia: ‘Thank you. I wouldn’t have



succeeded so quickly without all of your tips. Can I treat you to dinner?’

She regretted her words immediately after sending the text. She could still clearly remember the
details from that

night. It‘s going to be so awkward when

we meet up!

On the other end in the hotel room,

Toby had a black robe on and he was currently seated cross-legged on the couch. He stared at his
phone with a dark expression as he mused, Dinner? He then pursed his lips and replied, “That’s not
necessary.’

Sonia heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing his reply and she replied, ‘Alright then. Let’s talk about this
next time.’

Z-H: ‘Sure.

Sonia then logged out of her account just as Charles made his way back.

“Baby, I’ll treat you to some time at the

hot springs. How does that sound?”

Sonia’s eyes sparkled in response. “Sure! I haven’t been to the hot springs

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in ages.”

Ever since she married Toby six years ago, she had given up all of her pleasures in life. She had nearly
forgotten the feeling of soaking herself in a hot spring.

And so, Charles dragged her along and rushed toward the hot springs. “Let’s

go!”






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