"That's because I was too young back then," Sonia Quincy explained, forcing a smile. "I was too much of a mess before. Mom treated me so well, but I didn't appreciate it. Now I know I was wrong, and I won't act so recklessly anymore. I'll go back with you. What time are you leaving tomorrow?"
Felix Preston stared at Sonia Quincy, stunned. He was frozen for a few seconds before replying, "Nine tomorrow morning. We'll leave right after breakfast."
"Alright then. Give me some money. I'll take this chance, while there's still time, to go buy something for Mom and your sister." As Sonia Quincy spoke, she went to the door to change her shoes, ready to leave. "We might not be as rich as we used to be, but we're going home. We should at least bring a little something, you know?"
Hearing this, Felix Preston immediately opened his phone and transferred 10,000 yuan to Sonia Quincy. After sending the money, he hesitated for a moment before following her. "I'll go with you."
Sonia Quincy smiled. "Okay."
The neighborhood they lived in now was old and run-down. To go shopping, they had to travel to a mall three kilometers away. Felix Preston had already mortgaged all his luxury cars; the only vehicle they had now was a secondhand car given to them by Evan Yates.
Sonia Quincy didn't know much about car brands. To her, as long as a car ran and didn't leak when it rained, it was a good car.
"The car's over here." Felix Preston walked up to the car, unlocked it with the remote, and gestured for Sonia Quincy to get in.
Sonia Quincy nodded, walked over, pulled open the passenger side door, and sat down with a calm expression.
This was a used car that Evan Yates had gotten from a friend. Although the exterior was in good shape, it was obvious the car was a bit old.
Before, Sonia Quincy wouldn't be caught in anything less than a million-yuan luxury car. She found cars priced below that to be filthy and wouldn't even touch them. Yet now, sitting in this cheap, secondhand car, she showed no sign of disgust at all.
Felix Preston observed her carefully. 'I really can't see any signs that she's faking it.'
He'd judged countless people in his life, but now, he was genuinely unsure.
"Let's go. What are you standing there for?" Sonia Quincy didn't know what he was thinking. Seeing him just standing there, she waved at him from inside the car.
"...Yeah." He snapped out of it, walked around to the other side of the car, and got in.
This was Felix Preston's first official trip home since the company went bankrupt. He didn't buy much, just some nutritional supplements for Mrs. Preston and his sister. And for Sonia Quincy, he bought an Ultraman night-light.
"Are you sure this is all you want?" Felix Preston asked again and again as he was paying.
Sonia Quincy nodded emphatically, her eyes glued to the Ultraman figure, not moving for a second. "This is all I want... This Ultraman's nostrils light up! It's so ugly! It's so hideous I have to buy it and mess with it."
"You really don't want anything else?" Felix Preston glanced at her. "We just passed a perfume shop. They have that brand you like. Don't you want to go take a look?"
"Nope." Sonia Quincy was only interested in the Ultraman lamp. "The little money we have now was hard-earned. Every cent has to be spent wisely. Perfume is a non-essential for me. If I want to smell nice, a bottle of Six God would do the trick just as well."
"Six God? What brand is that?" Felix Preston had never heard of it.
Sonia Quincy: "You know, some cheap herbal cologne."
"..." For a rare moment, a look of bewilderment appeared on Felix Preston's face.
Because of Sonia Quincy's insistence, he ended up only buying her the Ultraman lamp. In his memory, Sonia Quincy was not someone who liked cheap things. So, on the way back, he kept a close eye on her mood.
Sonia Quincy was delighted, showing no negative emotions at all. She played with the Ultraman in her hands and even cheerfully took a picture to post on her Moments.
But less than two minutes after posting, she inexplicably and frantically deleted it.
The WeChat account she was using now belonged to the villainess. The villainess had behaved improperly and added many... questionable people on WeChat. A few days ago, these people had been sending Sonia Quincy sporadic messages. She had ignored them, and they hadn't kept harassing her.
But now that Sonia Quincy had just updated her Moments, it was as if they had all coordinated to bombard her with a frenzy of messages.
BUZZ—BUZZ—
BUZZ—
The phone buzzed and buzzed incessantly. Sonia Quincy glanced at WeChat and felt like her eyes had just been violated.
—Hey, gorgeous, are you still coming to see me? The doctor said we can play again after the first trimester. I've never been with a pregnant woman before.
—So you're Felix Preston's wife? Thirty thousand for one night with me, yes or no? Felix Preston thinks he's so high and mighty. I just have to try a taste of his wife. If thirty thousand is too little, I can add more! But I have to say this upfront, I want bondage play.
—Sonia Quincy, that old man is still waiting for you. Are you going to agree or not? If you don't like this one, I've got another, but he's into some pretty perverted stuff. Not sure if you can handle it.
It wasn't just messages; one of them even started a video call with her directly. Terrified, Sonia Quincy nearly fumbled her phone as she scrambled to put it on silent.
"What's wrong?" Felix Preston sensed something was off and asked her directly.
Sonia Quincy's face was pale from the shock of the WeChat messages. She stammered an explanation while simultaneously deactivating her WeChat account and registering a new one with a different phone card.
"N-Nothing's wrong. My WeChat got a virus, so I can't use it anymore. I'm registering a new one now. Tell me your WeChat ID, I'll add you."
Her explanation was bizarre; it was obvious something had happened. Felix Preston glanced over at her. Seeing that she had already finished registering the new account, he didn't press the issue and just told her his WeChat ID.
Sonia Quincy searched for his account and added him. She had originally planned to save his contact name as "Felix Preston," but after a moment of thought, she changed it to "Hubby."
Felix Preston, watching from the side, saw this clearly. A flicker of shock, almost imperceptible, crossed his eyes.
'What was the contact name Sonia Quincy had for me on WeChat before?'
He thought back carefully and remembered the nickname: "The Sucker Who Pays on Demand."
To go from such an insulting nickname to "Hubby," Felix Preston felt both shocked and mocked.
If Sonia Quincy had genuinely repented, then the word "Hubby" was a term of endearment. But if everything he was seeing now was just an act, then he felt the title "Hubby" was a hundred times more disgusting than "Sucker."
Sonia Quincy had no idea what Felix Preston was thinking. Her only thought was, 'Ah, my WeChat is so clean now.'
「The next day.」
The two of them finished breakfast and left right on time. Sonia Quincy didn't say a word the entire way. Her hands were clenched together, her nervousness visible to the naked eye.
Felix Preston took in her reaction. Seeing her tense expression, he immediately grew wary.
'Sonia Quincy had never gotten along with Mrs. Preston. Normally, she would do anything to avoid seeing her mother-in-law, and if she couldn't avoid it, she'd cause a scene. But today, she had uncharacteristically taken the initiative to come along. Is there some ulterior motive behind this?'
Felix Preston narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning cold.
The apartment Mrs. Preston was living in now was one she had bought ten years ago with the first money she ever earned from her own investments. Although it wasn't a mansion, the current price per square meter had been driven up to over 20,000 yuan.
The apartment was over 100 square meters—a large suite with three bedrooms and two living areas. Including the renovations, it would sell for three million yuan at the very least.
The deed was in Mrs. Preston's name alone. Sonia Quincy had only recently found out that the Preston Family even owned such a property. 'Her sudden repentance, her proactive offer to come visit Mom... Could she be after this apartment?'
Felix Preston couldn't help but feel suspicious. And once that suspicion took root, Sonia Quincy was already guilty in his eyes.