Ayla could hang up the phone, Brian stood up quickly, grabbed her phone and threw it on the floor. The phone broke in half instantly. "My phone!" Ayla screamed. She looked at the broken phone on the ground in horror. She bought the phone by saving money for several months. Although she had used the phone for many years, she couldn't afford another phone at this moment. "Oh? Are you bothered by that broken phone? You're from the Woodsen family. This inexpensive phone must not be too much for. you. lf you want to talk to that Toby, I can give you my phone. Brian was furious after learning Arlene didn't take him seriously when he asked her not to contact Toby anymore. He walked towards her broken phone and stared at it with a scowl. "This old model of your phone is making me suspect whether you are really from the Woodsen family. " Ayla flinched at his words. He had suspected her. What if he found out the truth? If he learned it somehow that she was not Arlene, the whole Woodsen family would suffer the. consequences. Ayla tried to sound firm when she replied, "Of course I'm from the Woodsen family. Let's make a deal. From now on, I'll listen to. your every instruction, and in turn, you won't hurt my father or Toby. You agree?". Brian turned around and glared at her. "You aren't qualified to make a deal with me. I don't even trust you. Just keep your mouth shut and stay at home. Ayla had no power to disobey him. There was no other way but to accept his every command. Meanwhile, Toby was confused when the call got cut shortly. He dialed her number again, but the line didn't connect. He anxiously asked for her address from her classmates. But no one knew where she lived. He lingered at the school gate almost the entire day. But Ayla didn't show up. When the classes were over, it was almost dusk. Veronica and Lisa walked out of the school together and spotted Toby in front of the school gate. "Isn't he Ayla's friend? What is he doing here?" Lisa said to Veronica. "He must be looking for Ayla. She hasn't come today. She might have fallen sick,” Veronica said worriedly. "How could Ayla be sick? Isn't she with some rich man now? Won't he take care of her like a princess? She doesn't even need to. come to school!". Lisa said that aloud intentionally to make Toby hear what she said. And it worked. Toby heard Ayla's name and turned towards them. His brows knitted in a frown as he approached them. "What did you just say?". He abruptly caught a hold of Lisa's arm. “Ouch! It's hurting. Let go of me!". Lisa didn't expect he'd pull her arm so roughly. He looked like a handsome gentleman but didn't know how to behave

A frown appeared on Toby's face as he let her arm go. "You are Lala"s classmate. You must know what happened to her , right?" Lisa rolled her eyes. “Ayla used to live in the same dormitory with us. But she moved out recently and re signed from her part-time jobs. These days . she came to school by a luxury car. Althou gh we don't know for sure, everyone has be en gossiping that she is hooking up with a . ric h m an. Toby's face d arkened as Li sa said that. "That' s all I know. Lisa shrugged and stepped away from him. This man also se emed to belong to the elite class. Was he too an admirer of Ayla? Veronica wa lked up to Toby and said, "Sir, it is just a random guess from our classmates. Please . don't mind about it. How about you l eave your phone number? If she come s to the school, I'll let you know. Toby agr eed. He took out a busi ness card and hand ed it to Veronica. "Thank you so m uch. I'll come a gain tomorrow. They exchanged formal go odbyes before he got int o his BMW and drove away. Meanwhile, Molly showed u p in Toby's office without informing him beforehand. Today she wore a light pink c hiffon dress that looked prett y on her just to impress Toby. She sat on the sof a while a bodyguar d stood beside her. Toby's assistant o ffered a glass of fresh juice to her. "Miss Smith , here is y our juice. "Where is T oby? Where h as he gone?" . She glared at Toby's assistant. Molly was an extremely domi neering woman. She never allow ed any other wo man around Toby. Even she chose h is personal assi stant by herself. All of the staff tha t Toby dealt with pe rsonally, were males. "Miss Smith, the Deputy C EO only said he had someth ing personal to do today. Fred Fowler, Toby's personal assistant, just repeated wh at Toby said before leaving. He knew that vague answer would mak e Miss Smith unhappy, but he couldn 't help but obey Toby's instruction. "Something personal? What is it? He never mentioned it to me. Molly's voi ce was lace d with fury. Toby had been behavi ng strange since he c ame back from abroad. He was often absent-minded, as if he had something going on in his mind all the time. She even asked him if someth ing was bothering him, but h e never answered her clearly. This definite ly made her mo re suspicious. "He didn' t tell me , either. Fred found it really more difficult to co pe with Molly's interrogation than to deal with these unruly and insatiable clients. “Aren't you his personal assistant? You s hould know everything about his schedule. Shouldn't you follow him when he goes out . for busin ess?" . Molly took a sip from the gl ass and ordered, "Call him an d ask him to come back soon. But it wasn't needed anym ore as Toby entered the r oom pushing the door open. "Molly! Wha t are you d oing here?" . When Molly saw Toby, she beamed. She put down the juic e glass on the table a nd walked over to him

Flinging herself onto him, Molly asked, "Toby, where have you been ? I want to have dinner with you. Toby looked at t he woman in his arms and agreed. "Okay, I'll have dinne r with you. "Did I interrupt your work? Y ou must have been very busy to day," Molly asked tentatively. Toby alway s worked d iligently. He often went t o work early and came back late. This had be en more freq uent lately. She didn't even know what he was doing these days. "It's okay. What do you w ant to eat? Let's go to a five- star restaurant. Toby wrapped his arm a round her waist and th e two left the office. "Toby, are you too busy with your work lat ely? You aren't spending enough time with me these days. Let's enjoy tonight with each . othe r. Ple ase?” . It was Molly who persuade d the company directors to make Toby the Deputy CEO. So, Toby co uldn't deny her request. However, as he had a prescheduled work, h e said to Molly, "Molly, tonight it won't be possible. ! have some work pending. But I . promise, tomo rrow night I' m all yours. "Okay. No problem. Tonight I'll a ccompany you while you work. won 't be a disturbance, I promise. Molly was determin ed to not leave To by's side tonight. So, she didn't giv e him a chance to r efuse her proposal. In the end, Toby had to compromise. He didn't want to o ffend her. In the meantime, A nna went to meet B rian in his office. "Mr . Cla rk. "Anna, have a seat. Brian didn't look up at h er and continued to read t he documents in his hands. "Mr. Clark, I heard from Jaime that you were investigating the Smith Group. Is it because of your wife?" . Anna didn't think it wa s necessary. The Smith Gro up was also a big company. If Brian was intending to buy it, he'd have to spend a huge amount. A corner of Brian's mouth tilted up. “Anna, why are y ou interested in it?" Anna smiled. "Mr. Clark, I on ly think about your interests. After a momentary pause s he asked again, "So, is i t anyhow related to her?" . Brian got u p and pulled her closer. "Go back to the cl ub and wait for me. I'll come tonight. Anna nodded befor e placing a soft kiss on his lips. "Okay, I'll have them p repare some delicious f ood especially for you. These days, Brian rarely wen t to the club. Maybe it was b ecause of that woman, Arlene