Fell Into His Love Trap (Skylar and Tobias)
Chapter 69

With her improving dramatics chops, he could imagine how much effort she must have devoted towards honing her craft around Claudia.

As Tanya watched him depart, the anguish on her face faded to nothing. Tobias was an astute one. Therefore, she was beginning to rue her decision, as now, she had to fret about where she might be able to replace herself a baby.

The receptionist informed Tobias that Skylar had already checked out. His cellphone and watch were returned to him in a zipper bag. Anyone else who came across this might have taken it for a bequeathment if they did not know better.

When he got back to the villa, the wardrobe doors were wide open. Every compartment he checked turned up empty.

His lips twitched as he stuck a hand in his pocket. "Scurried off like a mouse, she did."

May fortune favor the good.

The last line on the note she left by the side table creased between his fingers. The man was no good person, and he was not ready for their transactional relationship to end.

More accurately, he was not tired of her youthful body. He was not usually into girls her age, but to him, she was a novelty. The thought of letting her off so easily was a little disconcerting. Twenty-year-old like her straddled maturity and adolescence. A blank canvas such as Skylar deserved an artist like him. It would be a pity should she end up in the hands of another. The man was confident that she would come back to him, even though she was a bit of a handful. He liked women who were pliant and submissive, being never one for the thrill of the chase. He had called several times but without success, as his number had been blacklisted. It was just as well that she was so thorough, since bombarding someone over the phone was not amongst his inclinations either.

Unable to reach her, he could only wait until tomorrow to try to replace her on campus. He figured that it should not be difficult to locate her, as it was not a big city. With the means she had at her disposal, the little sparrow would not be able to fly out of his grasp.

When he exited the International Garden by himself, he was a little morose. His thoughts came to Sheldon, and he wondered which nightspot that hedonist was at.

Sheldon tottered out of the nightclub towards his older brother when the latter came calling. The lad reeked of alcohol, and his upper body swayed unsteadily as though he could not replace his feet. Just looking at that decadent appearance of his made Tobias want to send the rascal's soul down to be reforged in the fires of the nether realms.

To get him to sober up, he took Sheldon to the tea room. Unlike his older brother, who had a flair for the refined, Sheldon was never comfortable in this cultivated setting no matter how many times they had visited it together. He much preferred the candor of an inebriated stupor.

"Regarding the issue between Tanya and myself, if you could spend more time with Mom and talk to her..."

Sheldon tossed back his cup and took the tea in a single gulp. He now understood why Tobias sought him out of his own volition. "Whatever it is that you are thinking, don't. If I were to open my mouth, Mom's going to kick me out of the house for sure. Marriage is going to happen only once anyway, so like, why not just get it over with? It's not like Tanya could control you afterward. Bring back a mistress or two, or whatever. She won't be able to do a damn thing about it."

The corner of Tobias' lips lifted. "Just get it over with? I know what I want for myself. Would you like to be tied down by any woman yourself? To be shackled by the chains of marriage?" Sheldon chuckled as he thought his older brother was trying to fob him off. There was no way Tanya Hanson would be able to control Tobias, pregnant or otherwise.

It was clear to him that that woman was playing her last hand and going all-in against Tobias. He was intrigued to see how she would be able to wrap this show up. Sensing a storm brewing, there was no way he was going to fish in these turbid waters.