Madam Escaped Again, Sir (Lillian Hawkins and Eric Walker) novel Chapter 52

Tyler spent a huge amount of money to treat Sonia and Zane to dinner, and he was evidently quite proud of himself as he swaggered into the house.

He had already signed the contract for tryouts. Meanwhile, both Zane and Sonia had promised to keep this a secret for the time being. By the time he passed tryouts and officially joined the national basketball team, Tyler would no longer be fearful of Toby’s wrath because it would be insignificant. And so, Tyler hummed a tune as he walked into the foyer to change into his bedroom slippers. However, he entered the living room and was caught by surprise upon seeing Toby sitting on the couch. The latter was dressed in loungewear and was currently smoking a cigarette quite relaxedly.

“T-Toby!” Tyler jumped up in fright and stammered slightly, “W-Why are you back so early? I thought Tina’s still in the hospital. Why aren’t you there to see her?”

Toby glanced at him. “Have you had your dinner?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Come over here.” Toby flicked the ash off his cigarette by the side of the ashtray using his index finger. “Let’s chat.”

Just then, Tyler could feel a cold sensation run down his spine. D*mn! Did Tina tell him that I’m going to join the tryouts? Tyler clutched his backpack and walked forward with trepidation. Then, he took a seat on the couch next to Toby, but his whole body remained quite tense. “Toby, it’s all my fault—” he started.

Tyler had planned to admit his mistake and take full responsibility for everything. The worst punishment he can inflict on me is to make me face the wall, so that’s not a big deal. Tyler wanted to prevent Toby from investigating this any further, lest the latter confronted Sonia about it.

“Go ahead and play basketball if that’s what you’re really keen to do.” Tyler had barely said anything but was interrupted by Toby before he even finished his sentence.

Tyler stared at the other man in disbelief and he wondered whether he had misheard something. “Toby, did you agree for me to... play basketball?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Toby replied nonchalantly. “Do whatever makes you happy. I won’t stop you from it, and that includes playing basketball too. I’ll talk to Mom about it.”

Toby had rewatched the two video clips sent by Zane when he reached home at night and he had contemplated the situation for quite some time because of Sonia’s words. Finally, he managed to come to terms with everything. He had entered the family business when he was in school because of his exceptional talent for business. Furthermore, he wasn’t against it either. However, Tyler disliked finance and clearly had no intention to work for the Fuller Group.

Earlier on, Toby had rung up the coach who had gone to Tyler’s school today. The former could sense the coach’s strong liking toward Tyler from his words. The coach had praised him throughout their conversation and insisted that such great talent should be cultivated well and someday, Tyler would definitely shine in the athletic world. Just then, Toby realized that he shouldn’t force Tyler to take over the family business if the latter was reluctant to. Otherwise, he might end up hating him. Besides, he didn’t want to stifle Tyler’s talent in playing basketball either.

“Is this for real?” Tyler’s eyes sparkled. Feeling shocked, he couldn’t quite believe his ears.

“Tony, you’re awesome! You’re the most liberal-minded brother in the whole wide world! Don’t worry! I won’t let you down. I’ll definitely make it into the national team and win lots of medals!”

Upon hearing that, Toby responded, “This is the path you choose for yourself so you have to persevere in it. Don’t bring yourself or the family name into disrepute.”

“Noted!” Tyler nodded vehemently before serving Toby a glass of water and some fruits. “Toby, did you win a tender today? I feel like you’re way more patient and understanding than normal.”

“So, what were your true thoughts of me previously?” Toby revealed a half-smile and glanced at him. “Fierce?”

Meanwhile, Tyler scratched his head and replied in a low voice, “Not really. In the past, I felt more like one of your subordinates working for you. Listening to you speak could be quite nerve-wracking.”

Toby laughed out loud and maintained his silence for a short while before saying, “It’s because a woman taught me an important lesson today.” Throughout all these years, I’d assumed that I knew everything but after listening to Sonia’s words today, I realized that I never paid attention to Tyler’s actual thoughts.I always maintained an authoritative stance in front of Tyler and never showed him any concern as a brother, so we never really had a close relationship.

Wow! What sort of woman would dare to behave so insolently and tell you off?” Tyler questioned with a surprised tone of voice. “Was she your discipline teacher from school?”

Toby chose not to answer. Instead, he casually asked, “What did you have for dinner with Sonia tonight?”

“We had hotpot for dinner and it was amazing. I ate four platters of meat just by myself...” Tyler was full of praise for the dinner he had eaten that night and he chatted incessantly about it. Suddenly, he realized that something was amiss and he immediately stopped mid-sentence.

“Uh—I have some unfinished homework to do... Toby, I’ll head upstairs first!” Tyler grabbed his backpack and hurriedly left the room. As soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he turned back and yelled, “Toby, don’t smoke so much! Sonia mentioned that smoking too much hastens one’s death!”

Toby shot him a cold look upon hearing that. Frightened, Tyler lowered his head and scurried off.

As for Toby, he stared intently at the half of a cigarette in his hand. He distinctly recalled that night he had with Sonia and the kiss filled with cigarette smoke that they shared. Just then, he felt his crotch tighten. Suddenly, he lost his urge to smoke and flung the cigarette into the ashtray.