Madam Escaped Again, Sir (Lillian Hawkins and Eric Walker) novel Chapter 103

“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.”

Sonia interjected, “Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Lane. We’ll go over to your place in a bit!”

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

When the call ended, Charles put his phone away and gave Sonia a resigned look. “Well, it looks like we’re going to have to give the seafood restaurant a miss.”

“It’s fine; there’s always next time, anyway. Now, we should probably go and pick out gifts for your parents.” With that, she linked arms with him and led him toward the car.

After they made their rounds through the boutiques in the mall, they finally picked out an elegant cloak for Grace and a tasteful necktie for Curtis. Then, they made their way to the Lane Residence.

The Lanes had always had close ties with the Reeds, and their relationship was more family than anything else. In particular, Grace had been best friends with Sonia’s mother. As far as Sonia was concerned, Grace was like a second mother to her, having taken care of her ever since her mother’s passing.

It wasn’t long before Charles and Sonia pulled up in front of the Lane residence.

This was the first time Sonia had dropped by in six years, though she noted that the house looked the same as it had before. As such, she did not feel out of place at all and rather felt a warm sense of familiarity.

“Sonia! Grace practically ran out of the house to greet her guest when she heard the sound of the car pulling up. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Sonia, and she approached the latter with her arms spread wide open.

“Mrs. Lane,” Sonia greeted with a bright smile.

As both women embraced, Charles stood by the side and drawled sarcastically, “Don’t mind me, Mom. I’m just your biological son, is all.”

Grace rolled her eyes as she said pointedly, “I see you every day, and believe me when I say I’m getting 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 slowly spun her around, then concluded plaintively, “You’ve lost weight.”

Sonia was somewhat amused by the remark. “No, I haven’t, Mrs. Lane.”

“You have,” Grace insisted. “Your face is all cheekbones now.”

“That’s because I’ve lost all my baby fat, so now I appear a little more slender than usual,” Sonia placated. “Alright, that’s enough fretting, Mrs.

Lane. Shall we head into the house?”

“Oh, of course. Come along, then.” Grace took her by the hand and led her into the family home.

Upon entering the villa, Sonia noted that there was no one else at home but them, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Is Mr. Lane not home?”

“He’s still golfing with his buddies. No matter. Sonia, why don’t you 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 Sonia.

“Okay,” Sonia answered easily with a nod and began to detail the life she had had with the Fullers, though she kept it brief to save Grace the heartache.

However, Grace was still furious when she heard the last of the story. She slapped the edge of the coffee table in a physical 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 stood up for you and gotten them to back down.”

Charles agreed as he bit into an apple. “That’s what I told her, too.”

The fact that she had kept mum about her abusive marriage wounded him, and the rage he felt never went away. That being said, he was less angry with her than he was pitiful of her.