An Excited Curtis
Sonia looked at Grace as she said, “I understand what you mean, Mrs. Lane, but do you really not hold
any grudges against me? Charles is your son and he is heartbroken because of my rejection. Do you
really not blame me for that?”
“You have asked me this question before and I’ll now answer you again—I’ve never blamed you, of
course.” Grace held Sonia’s hands. “I’ve told you this before—Charles loves you, but that’s his deal and
you don’t necessarily have to reciprocate his feelings. A relationship requires both parties to share
mutual feelings for each other in order for it to work out.
If two people fancy each other, they are free to be in a relationship; if one doesn’t have feelings for the
other, the former should reject the latter properly and the latter should move on. So, why would I blame
you when you didn’t do anything wrong. Although I have aged, I’m still rather open-minded. However—”
“Mrs. Lane, you can just tell me anything.” Sonia looked Grace in her eyes.
Grace sighed and continued, “Although I really wish that you can become my daughter-in-law, I know
that you won’t be happy with Charles because he is not your type. You won’t fall in love with him no
matter what and forcing you two together will only turn you and him into a resentful couple. Therefore, I
would rather see you find yourself a suitable partner that will make you happy than make you my
daughter-in-law.”
She then regained her smile. “As for Charles, he is now in a dejected state, but I believe that this is just
temporary. He will move on when he meets someone suitable for him. So, Sonny, you don’t need to
worry about him. It’s also a good thing that he is not in tonight since meeting him would only make you
feel awkward, and at the same time, it would hurt him to see you together with Toby. It’s for the best that
you two don’t see each other, don’t you think so?”
“Mrs. Lane, thank you. Thank you so much! Sonia hugged her tightly.
After being stunned at first, Grace then gently patted Sonia on her back and beamed. “Don’t need to
thank me. Alright, let’s head out.”
“Okay,” Sonia responded. The corner of her lips curved upward whereby a smile was finally revealed.
The two of them left the kitchen holding hands.
However, Sonia parted with Grace on their way out and went to the washroom, so Grace returned to the
living room on her own.
Upon seeing Grace returning alone without Sonia by her side, Toby immediately paused the business
discussion with Curtis and asked, “Mrs. Lane, where’s Little Leaf?”
Grace was glad to hear the hint of concern in his tone, but she still feigned displeasure and snorted, “She
went to the washroom. What’s wrong? Do you think that I would harm her?”
When he heard that Sonia had gone to use the washroom, Toby felt much relieved. “That’s not what I
meant. I can’t help feeling worried whenever I don’t see her.”
“Hmph, why are you worried about her? What could happen to her when she is under my roof?” Grace
rolled her eyes at him.
He pursed his lips and fell silent.
At this moment, Curtis stepped in and mediated the situation. “Alright, what nonsense are you spewing?
Toby is merely worried about Sonia. The couple is now at their most intimate and inseparable stage, so
it’s only natural for him to feel worried when he doesn’t see Sonia.”
“Stop putting in good words for him.” She pointed at Toby. Jeez, this old man. We agreed to put Toby to a
test and give him a hard time until he passes. However, he is treating Toby so well from the very
beginning; he has completely forgotten about our agreement.
When Curtis, who had no idea what Grace was thinking about, heard her words, he let out an
embarrassed chuckle. “Hehe. Well, Toby gave me a few bottles of lovely wine. I’ll feel bad if I don’t side
with him this time.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Useless fool!”
As Toby peered at the middle-aged couple bickering with each other, a thoughtful look flashed across his
face. Thereafter, he grabbed the bag that contained the bottles of wine and placed it on the coffee table
before Curtis. “Mr. Lane, since there’s still some time until dinner, would you like to check out the wine
that I gifted to see whether they suit your taste?”
“Sure.” Curtis immediately nodded. As a wine lover, he had wanted to open them since the moment he
found out about them.
However, since they were gifts from Toby, he was embarrassed to open them when Toby was still
around, so he had to hold himself back despite the strong, unbearable urge that made him feel restless.
Therefore, Toby’s suggestion to open it was just exactly what he had wished for, which gave him no
reason to reject the offer.
With a bright grin plastered on his face, Curtis moved the few bags closer to him and eagerly unwrapped
the packaging.
The moment he unwrapped the box in the first bag and saw the wordings on the label, he was stunned
and nearly thought that he was seeing things.
He quickly rubbed his eyes before taking a closer look again. Once he confirmed that what he saw was
not his imagination but was actually that thing, he instantly let out a cry of excitement.
His sudden shout startled Grace, who was sipping tea, and nearly caused her to choke on her drink.
After placing the cup down, an exasperated Grace glanced at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Curtis ignored her and reached out with his trembling hands for the second bag.
Seeing that he had ignored her as his eyes were practically glued to the presents, she was so mad that
she decided that she should ignore him as well.
Toby, who took in the scene, rubbed the cup in his hands, and an unnoticeable, slight smile played by his
lips.
Soon, Curtis let out a second cry.
Grace, who was again startled by his voice, was so enraged that she sprang up from the couch. “Hey,
Mr. Lane! Have you gone out of your mind? Why are you suddenly screaming?”
While continuing to ignore her, he stared at the four bottles of wine in the two boxes in front of him with
wide eyes. He was so worked up that his body shuddered in extreme excitement. “T-T-These are estate-
bottled wines from the few most renowned wineries in the world.”
He turned to Toby to confirm if he was right, to which Toby nodded without hesitation to gesture that
Curtis was indeed right.
Upon getting Toby’s confirmation, Curtis became even more exhilarated to the point that his body
trembled even more. “These are actually estate-bottled wines. Haha! I can’t believe that I am able to see
an estate-bottled wine one day, not to mention wines from different wineries. Oh, Lord.”
Upon seeing how excited Curtis was––as if he could just die happily without any regrets there and then,
Grace pouted at him in disdain. “It’s merely a few bottles of wine. Do you have to act this way?”
“What do you know about wines?” He glanced at her with contempt. “These are estate-bottled wines and
these few bottles, in particular, are actually part of the first batch of wine that was produced by the
wineries upon establishment. Every single bottle here costs a few million and there are only a hundred of
them in the whole world. These are things that you can’t buy with money only. I have been wanting to
own one all this while but I’m still lacking in my status. I never thought that the wine that I have been
dreaming about will one day appear before me, let alone so many of them. I-I am really moved.”
Curtis hugged the few bottles of wine in his arms; he really cherished them.
When he gave the explanation, her emotion evolved from the initial feeling of disdain to shock, then to
incredulous.
Toby found the whole process of how her expression changed rather amusing.
“A-A few million?” Grace gulped, staring at the few bottles of wine in his arms. “That can’t be real. They
are merely a few bottles of wine, but they cost a few million?”
She knew that wine was expensive, but the most expensive wine that she ever knew of only cost a few
hundred thousand. She never expected that there were wines that cost a few million out there in the
world. Has the world gone crazy?
Although she used to think that the Lane Family was rather wealthy, she suddenly found themselves
quite poor—they were not as extravagant as willing to spend a few million just to buy a bottle of wine.
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