When Mia returned home, she parked her car inside the garage, ignored the many bags of trash, the insulting graffiti, and bags of shit that were aimed at their front doors, and rushed inside the house.
"Dad!" She sighed in relief when she saw Toby sitting on the couch; he was wearing a painful expression and from how inhumanly his right foot was twisted, she knew why.
"Mia," Toby looked up and reached out to hold her hand and questioned, "What did that bastard make you do?"
When Mia heard the concern of her father, her eyes swelled with tears and her heart started to brim with warmth. But she refused to say anything and sat down on the couch next to him. The things that she had to do and face had nothing to do with her father; she was the one who chose to do it and Mia was willing to face the consequences herself.
"Don't worry, dad. I am fine," she told her father. Instead of answering the question, she looked at her father's twisted leg and asked, "What happened? Did Henry make things difficult for you in prison?"
"It's not him," Toby snorted with disgust. In the past, he held some kind of respect and admiration for Henry but after the last visit that man made to prison, he asked him to admit a crime that he hadn't committed with no proof to claim that he did it.
Henry had told him that he would make Mia pay for the sins that he had committed, which was why the sudden release came as a surprise to him.
"It's Jamie and her agent, Audrey. They came to see me a day before the accident happened and asked me to hand over the rights for my manuscript; when I refused, they left prison saying I would regret it." Toby sighed. Of course, everything happened so seamlessly that no one could call it anything other than an accident.
He then exhaled sharply and turned his attention to his daughter before asking, "Enough about me. Out with it, what did you do? How come that man who was bent on sending me to the gallows suddenly decided to let go of me?"
"It's nothing, Dad. Don't think too much," Mia stated while flexing her fingers. "Uncle Benjamin is returning soon. I believe it was because of this reason that Henry let go of you; he must have thought that Uncle Ben would let you go anyway, so he released you on his own terms. You know how stubborn he can be at times."
Though Mia felt guilty for lying to her father, she felt more scared to relay the truth to her father. She grew up pampered and cared for under the care of her father, who had taught her again and again that a woman needs to respect herself.
Who knows how disappointed her father would be if he was to find out about the truth?
Not to mention the guild would crush him. It was better to hide this truth as long as she could.
Her father studied her as if he knew that she was lying, causing Mia to purse her lips and say to him, "Alright, stop looking at me like that. We need to take you to the hospital first and we will discuss this matter later on."
She fished out her phone to call an ambulance when her father waved his hand dismissively.
"There is no need to call an ambulance," he said to her. "Just call Gray and ask him to come and take a look at my leg. I don't want to be blinded by flash." He added grimly when he thought about how his name was being dragged in the mud these days.
Seeing the frustrated look on her father's face, Mia felt her heart tighten. She agreed to her request and called Gray Hatfield, the friend and the doctor of their family.
"You should have called me the very second you reached home." He said to Toby in a reproachful voice. He looked at the twisted foot and pursed his lips as he asked his assistant to switch on the X-ray machine.
He didn't look all too pleased about doing a home visit but he cared enough about Toby to come and take a look.
Toby smiled helplessly before saying, "We did call you as soon as we were settled and calm enough to do so."
Gray snorted; however, his expression was much softer than before. "I told you not to agree to the marriage when that boy came to look for you. He is not a man but a boy. Unlike Ben's wits, he inherited all the bad flaws of his mother. Cowardly and eager to please. He believes that he has it all but the truth is that without someone to care for him, he would even find it difficult to put his shoes on."
Hearing his friend's complaints, Toby had no words to defend himself. Back then, he believed in Henry. He thought Henry had the guts and courage of his father along with his wisdom; however, Henry let him down.
"What can we say? Other than the fact that fate pulled a big joke on us?"
Mia stepped out of the room, leaving the two friends to discuss the matter to their hearts' content.
She was about to head over to her room when her phone rang. With a frown on her face, she pulled out the vibrating device out of her pocket and was quite surprised when she saw the number on her phone's screen.
"Hello, Uncle Ben?"
"Mia, how are you, darling?" A stern yet jolly voice spoke through the other end. Though Mia could detect a sense of worry and tiredness in Benjamin's voice.
"I am fine, Uncle Benjamin," replied Mia. "How about you? When are you returning to the country?"
"Ah, that's what I wanted to talk about, Mia. I am returning to the country today and while we are at it, I would like you to come to the Holman mansion at two in the afternoon. Does that work for you?"