“Sonia? Sonia?” Carl waved his hand before her, trying to snap her out of her trance.
Sonia blinked for a while and forced a smile. “What is it?”
“You were in a trance. What happened?” Carl asked.
Sonia wanted to answer, but she smiled instead. “It’s nothing. Let’s go in. I’m hungry.”
“Sure.” Carl nodded.
Sonia was about to go in, but Carl stopped her. “A minute, please.”
“What is it?” She looked at him curiously.
“Hold my arm.” He stood with his left arm akimbo.
When Sonia saw that, she chuckled. “Very well then, handsome.”
Carl blushed, but he took her into the restaurant anyway. The waiter then came up to them and led them to their reserved spot.
The moment she sat down, someone from the next table gnashed their teeth. “Sonia!” the woman growled.
Sonia arched her eyebrow and looked at who was calling her. The sight that greeted her was none other than Tina, and she was glaring at Sonia. What a small world.
Carl’s face fell. He never thought they’d bump into this madwoman here as well. “Let’s go, Sonia.”
However, Sonia shook her head. “It’s fine. Just because we run into someone we don’t like doesn’t mean we have to leave.”
Carl sighed. “But you might lose your appetite.”
In response, Sonia smiled and replied, “I won’t, but someone else will.” She glanced at Tina after making that snide comment.
Tina was holding her cutlery, poking at her plate as if it was Sonia. She was already overwhelmed by her anger, so of course she lost her appetite.
Oh, so she’s trying to annoy Tina. Carl stopped talking and sat back down.
At the same time, Toby came back and was surprised to see Carl and Sonia beside them. Sonia’s here too? And with another guy? It was Zane last time, now Carl, so who’s next? Charles? She sure has a lot of men around her, huh? His face darkened, and he pulled his chair back.
“You’re done, Toby?” Tina put her cutlery down and went to help Toby, but Toby refused her. He put his crutch aside and pushed against the edge of the table so he could sit down.
Thus, Tina’s hand was left hanging in the air, and she looked awkward. But Tina quickly put her hand down and went back to her seat, pretending like nothing had happened.
He’s still indifferent. I thought he finally wants to patch things up with me. What a joke.
Sonia wasn’t surprised to see Toby, since Tina was around. However, she didn’t say hi to him, and she just kept drinking her water.
Carl glanced at Toby for a while, insecurity and jealousy glinting in his eyes. Indeed, he was jealous and insecure. He might be a famous and rich model who didn’t have to be jealous of Toby despite his wealth, but he simply couldn’t help it. After all, Toby was the only man Sonia loved, and he was insecure for a reason. Carl fiddled with his glass and stared at the table, hiding the darkness within his eyes.
Everyone thought he was a gentle person, but nobody knew that was just his façade. In reality, he was a dark introvert who didn’t have a gentle bone within him. He was gentle only because he mimicked Toby. Back when they were teenagers, Sonia kept telling him how gentle and nice the boy she liked was. He was jealous of that boy, but also envious. That was why he changed his personality to match that boy she liked, all so he could get a part of her attention.
However, he failed. All she loved was that boy. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t match up to him.
That gentle person was none other than Toby. He didn’t know why Toby was no longer the gentle soul Sonia talked about, but still, he was insecure around him. After all, Carl mimicked Toby’s personality at one point.
“Carl.” Sonia broke his train of thoughts.
Carl smiled warmly. “What is it, Sonia?”
“What’s with you? The food’s served. You didn’t even reply when I called out to you. What’s gotten you into a trance?” Sonia poured him a glass of juice.
Carl took it. “My job.”
“Oh, you told me about it. Your next show’s in Norfolk, right?” Sonia spoke while digging into her meal.
Carl nodded. “Yeah. Wanna come? I can give you a ticket.”
“A bit. Never seen your show before, but I have to see if I have the time,” Sonia answered.
Beside their table, their interaction didn’t escape Toby. His face fell, and his anger was palpable.
When Tina realized why Toby was irritated, she gnashed her teeth. Tina glared at Sonia before calling out to Toby. “It has been five days, Toby. Are you still mad at me?”
Toby looked at the table. “I am not mad at you.”
“But Dad said you’re mad at me because of what I did at the banquet.”
Toby took a sip of the water and interrupted her. “That’s only his guess.”
Tina froze. He isn’t angry because of that? Then why? Why did he suddenly treat me so coldly? Did he find out what I did? But if he did, he would have raised hell a long time ago. He wouldn’t have pretended that he knew nothing until now. She bit her lip, still nervous. “Then tell me, Toby. What did I do to make you angry? Don’t just keep quiet. You’re scaring me.” She started tearing up.
Toby felt something squeezing his heart, and he had an uncontrollable urge to calm her down. However, he knew it was just the voice. He himself didn’t want to do that, for he knew he didn’t love her. And so, he clenched his fists, refusing to do as the voice told him to.
Much to his shock though, a stab of pain shot up from his heart, and waves of pain crashed over him. His breathing turned quicker, and his face paled. A moment later, he crashed against the table, toppling the glass. It rolled to the edge before falling to the ground and smashing into pieces. The sound of the glass breaking attracted everyone’s attention.
A frown creased Sonia’s forehead, and she looked at him curiously. What’s with him?
Tina shot up and went to check on Toby. “What happened, Toby?”
The manager quickly came to them. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. My fiancé collapsed all of a sudden.” She was on the verge of tears.
Carl leaned his head against his hand. “Say, did he have a heart attack or something?”
