Meanwhile, at the staircase, chills traveled down my spine as I overheard Tobey’s conversation with Mom. It was at that moment I realized that Mom was not the least bit worried about me staying at Tobey’s place.
Besides, Mom had really gone overboard this time trying to set me up with a random man whom I had just met.
It was pointless to be a bigger person by tolerating Mom’s behavior, as she tended to cross the line sometimes. Thinking of that, I couldn’t help but sneer at myself. I bet she’ll be happy if anything happened between Tobey and me here. With that, her dream of marrying me to Tobey would finally come true.
Meanwhile, their conversation continued. I strode down the stairs and headed to the couch. My expression slowly darkened as I eavesdropped on their conversation. All they talked about were business opportunities and investment.
“Mrs. Goldstein, let me know if you have any other requests. We’ll be family soon, won’t we? As agreed previously, you should give away Yvonne’s portion. Marry her? Sure, I like Ms. Yvonne, too. I wish to marry her as soon as possible! The shares? Yes, of course. They’re still hers. But since we’ll soon be family, we should not be so calculative. Am I right? Haha!”
Everything was set up perfectly on the dining table. Candles were lit and illuminated the steak and wine, while the dining area was done up romantically. Nevertheless, I was not touched after listening to their conversation.
It took Tobey a while to finally end that sickening conversation. He whistled a tune happily and headed upstairs with a smug grin, only to hurry down the stairs to look for me soon afterward.
“Eve? Where are you?” He glanced around nervously.
I picked up the glass of wine in front of me. Hearing the sound, Tobey instinctively looked in my direction and was stunned to see me sitting at the table. He probably did not think I would have come down so quickly. As soon as Tobey regained his composure, he quickened his steps and walked toward me with a polite smile. “You’re here. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m afraid of disturbing you since you were on the phone,” I said in a straightforward manner.
Tobey’s face turned pale. Scratching the back of his head anxiously, he asked, “Did you hear everything, Eve?”
As I saw Tobey put a smile on his face, I could not help but notice that he actually had a warm and pleasant smile. However, his smile could not compare to Andrew’s radiant smile. Andrew’s was so genuine and contagious that it would instantly warm my heart.
Seeing Tobey’s hypocritical smile, I scoffed heartlessly, “I think we’re not that close, Mr. Osborn. I would appreciate it if you could address me as Ms. Tanner or Ms. Goldstein. ‘Eve’ is only for my closest friends and family. I hope you get what I mean.”
Disgusted by his pretense, I was not planning to show mercy to such a hypocrite.
My forthright behavior and the hostility in my tone must have frightened Tobey. He stood there, too stunned to speak. After collecting himself, he smiled bitterly and responded, “Ms. Goldstein, is there a misunderstanding between us? Why are you acting like this? Do you not remember it was me who saved you on the street?”
“Of course I do, and I’ll repay this debt of gratitude. Nevertheless, I would like to be excluded from any agreement or dealing that you have with my mother. Please don’t involve me in this.”
Having that said, I stood up from my seat, grabbed my handbag from the coffee table, and continued coldly, “What’s yours is yours, and what’s mine is Christopher’s. I have nothing to do with you anymore. I’m not in the mood to eat. I’ll make a move now, Mr. Osborn.”
Tobey scurried over and blocked my way. Raising his eyebrow, he uttered, “Ms. Goldstein, you must have misunderstood me. How can you judge me by just listening to a phone conversation?”
“Really?” I scoffed with disdain.
He replied, “I can’t tell what’s on your mind. So, let me make this clear to you: I actually have someone that I like.”
