Chapter 515 We’re Not Suited for Each Other
“What makes me think so?” Sonia laughed out of annoyance. “How dare you ask me that question? You were the one who told me you’re letting go, and you were the one who told me to stay out of your sight. Yet, you said all those words in front of the crowd earlier. You’re contradicting yourself! Aren’t you making a fool out of me? What have I ever done to you, Toby? Why do you have to treat me like this?” She clenched her fist and pounded her chest while howling at him.
His lips trembled as he spoke, and his voice sounded guiltier and meeker than before. “I’m sorry. It’s true that I said those words, but I swear I have a reason.”
“Oh? A reason?” Sonia took a sharp inhale to calm herself down. “Okay. Tell me the reason, then.”
Toby lowered his gaze as he didn’t know how to respond to her. If he directly told her that he said all of those words because his heart was failing after he attempted to save her… He knew that someone like Sonia would be crushed by the guilt she felt. She might even rush off to the hospital to check if she was a good match as a donor… How could he tell her the truth?
A hint of disappointment flashed in Sonia’s gaze when she saw that Toby wasn’t willing to explain himself. “You’re always like that,” she uttered with a scoff. “You get me curious, and then you decide not to tell me the truth. You’re disgusting, Toby!”
Disgusting? Toby’s face turned pale as he clenched his fists and glared at her. He was trembling slightly. “Did you just call me disgusting?”
Sonia’s eyes glinted. She regretted her words the moment they slipped out of her mouth, and she immediately realized that she had been a little too harsh to him. Ultimately, she shouldn’t have said such a thing to him after all that he had done for her. However, she couldn’t contain the anger in her chest—she was furious that he had hidden everything from her.
After massaging her brows, she turned to look at him apologetically. “I’m sorry I went overboard with my words. However, I’m genuinely disappointed by you. I don’t know what your reason is, but if you’ve decided to let go of me, then you should just stick to your resolution. You shouldn’t go against your words. What you’re doing now makes me feel like I’m a toy—you throw me aside when you’re in a bad mood, and you pick me up when you’re happy.”
She shifted her gaze to look at him. “Did you know, Toby? From letting go of me to regretting your decision and coming back to me, you’ve always made these decisions on your own. You’ve never cared about my feelings. I dare say that you’ve never respected me!” After finishing her words, she turned to leave.
However, Toby parted his long legs and reached his right arm out to stop her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her from the back. Sonia froze. “You…”
“I promise I’m not playing with your feelings.” Toby lowered his head and buried his face into her neck. “I’ve never treated you as a toy. I had been too rash when I decided to let go of you, and it’s my fault for going against my words now. I admit that I’ve done all of these without considering your feelings, but I can promise you that I’m doing all of this for your own good.”
Sonia scoffed in anger. “For my own good, huh? You don’t need to tell me such things. I’m not touched at all—I just feel like you’re emotionally blackmailing me. There are tons of people who will claim that they’re doing things for your own good, but they end up doing things that hurt you. When you say that you’re doing it for my good, do you really think it has been good for me? Do you think that’s what I want?”
“…” Toby’s pupils shrank as he fell silent for a moment. It was true that he had never considered this aspect. All along, he believed that he was being thoughtful by shouldering all the burden and ensuring that she lived a stress-free life. However, he had never wondered if that was what she wanted.
Sonia lifted her chin to look at the clear dark sky that was free of stars and the moon. “You were right to let go of me, Toby. We have never been a good match. Our educational background, values, and personalities… We have nothing in common.” With that said, Sonia looked down and removed Toby’s arm from her waist before she walked off without turning back.
Toby didn’t go after her. He merely stood in his spot as he watched her disappear down the corridor. His lips were pressed into a thin line. Did she say we have nothing in common? That’s impossible. We wouldn’t have been pen-pals for so many years if we didn’t have things in common.
“I think Sonia’s right.” Suddenly, a pleasant and clear voice came from behind Toby, followed by the sound of a lighter’s click. Toby frowned as he turned to look at the woman behind him. She had just started smoking a cigarette. “Do you think we aren’t a good match, Emily?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Emily swayed her forefinger as she walked over. “I was referring to what she said earlier. She said that you didn’t respect her and that you made decisions on your own without asking for her opinion. I agree with that.” Emily flicked the ash off her cigarette as she spat a mouthful of smoke in Toby’s face.
Toby turned his head away and waved to disperse the smoke. “I’ll pack your stuff up and send you back to Fredburg if you exhale smoke in my direction again,” he grumbled.
In an instant, Emily’s haughty aura was replaced by a meek and spineless one. “Please don’t take this to heart, Toby. I was wrong. I won’t do that again,” she uttered in an attempt to please him. He merely scoffed without responding to her.
Emily knew that he wasn’t actually angry, but she threw the rest of her cigarette onto the ground before putting it out with her heels. She returned to her usual strong, independent persona once more. “You’re my cousin, and I know you well. You grew up in a well-respected family, and you hold a high status in society. That naturally turns you into someone who doesn’t consider the opinions of others when you encounter an issue—you’d often feel like you can solve it on your own.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Toby pressed his lips together. He couldn’t understand what he had done wrong or why Sonia had such a huge reaction earlier. She even thought I was emotionally blackmailing her.
“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Emily said as she looked at him. “But that only applies to your subordinates. It’s true that you can neglect your staff members’ feelings as a boss, and you can make your own decisions during such times, but Sonia isn’t your subordinate. She’s your lover and someone who’s on the same level as you are. You can’t make decisions for her, and you can’t always come to your own conclusions. You need to know if she wants the same thing that you do. If she doesn’t want something, then all that you’re doing is hurting and disrespecting her. You should give this some thought.” Emily patted his shoulder before she pulled another cigarette out, then walked off with the cigarette between her lips.
After hearing her words, Toby lowered his gaze thoughtfully. I think I get what she’s saying. She’s telling me that I should consider Sonia’s point of view before I try doing something for Sonia. It’s true—all the times I’ve done things for Sonia or kept secrets from her, I’ve never once thought about how she might feel. That explains why she’s so furious. It seems like I made a mistake this time.
Toby let out a long sigh before he walked in the direction Sonia had left earlier. He believed he owed her an apology. However, when he returned to the hall, he realized that Sonia was nowhere to be seen. Where is she? he wondered as he frowned.
“President Fuller.” Tom walked over to him.
Toby glanced up to see his assistant. “Great timing. Have you seen Sonia?”
Tom nodded. “Yeah. Charles just arrived, and the both of them went to the balcony.” Tom pointed at a spot behind Toby, and Toby turned to see Charles and Sonia standing on the balcony behind him.
