Chapter 325 The Surgery Is a Success
Toby’s chest hurt so much, he found it hard to breathe. She’s right. I didn’t want the child when I first found out about her pregnancy, but I’m about to lose the child now that I’ve accepted it. I failed to do my part as a father. If only I were quicker to realize my love for Sonia. If I were more alert to the fact that I had been hypnotized, then maybe Sonia and I wouldn’t have gotten a divorce. I might have been able to protect my baby, but there are no ‘what ifs’ in this world.
Someone knocked on the door right then. Both Sonia and Toby turned to see a nurse walking in. The nurse beamed at both of them. “This is regarding the surgery, Miss Reed. I have to speak to your family for a moment.”
“I don’t have fam—” Sonia was about to explain that she didn’t have any family members with her and that it’d be sufficient for the nurse to tell her about the surgery. However, Toby interrupted her before she could do so. “I’m her family.”
She widened her eyes before giving him a frustrated scoff. How shameless can this man get? How dare he call himself my family? “You can talk to me about the surgery.” Toby ignored the angry glares from the woman behind him as he turned and walked toward the nurse. They had a conversation by the doorway for a few minutes.
Sonia chose to ignore them and turned to look out of the window instead. She looked as if she was contemplating something. She had calmed down at that point, and she was recalling the incident that happened that night three months ago. If Toby was the one who had slept with me that night, then why did I wake up to find a different man beside me? Also, what about the poison that I’ve been consuming? Who was the one who poisoned me? She was lost in confusion when Toby returned to her. “The nurse was telling me about the side effects of the poison. She said that you might not be able to get pregnant for two years after this abortion.” Toby’s gaze landed on Sonia’s belly. He wasn’t supposed to tell her the details regarding the surgery as the nurse was concerned that it would trigger a strong emotional response in Sonia.
However, after giving it some thought, Toby decided to be honest with Sonia. He no longer wanted to hide anything from her. Sonia didn’t seem to have much of a reaction after hearing the news. “Oh. Is that so?” she muttered impassively. It’s just two years—that’s nothing in comparison to a whole lifetime. It’s no big deal. Furthermore, I’m not planning to get married in the next two years, so I won’t have a reason to be pregnant.
When Toby saw her calm and disinterested response to the news, he felt an inexplicable feeling in his chest. He was glad that she didn’t seem too upset by the news, but at the same time, he felt rather displeased to see that she didn’t care. If she doesn’t care about getting pregnant in the next two years, then it also means that she doesn’t plan on forgiving me and getting remarried to me in the next two years, he thought.
“When you came to look for me last night, did you manage to find out who was the one who poisoned me?” Sonia asked abruptly.
Toby shook his head. “But I have a few suspects.”
“Hmm?” Sonia narrowed her eyes. He met her gaze as he uttered the three names in a slow pace. She tensed the moment she heard the three names. “That’s impossible!” she uttered without thinking. How could any one of the three of them be involved in this?
He pursed his lips a little when he saw that she didn’t trust him. “Think about it. The three of them are the most likely to be involved in this.”
“Do you have any proof?” She clenched her fists.
“I don’t, but I’m getting my men to investigate them. They are the only three men who fancy you and who would have problems accepting that you have another man’s baby. That gives all three of them the motive to do this,” he uttered in a deep voice.
Sonia widened her eyes. “Did you say that they fancy me?” How could that be?
Toby raised his eyebrow. “Don’t you know about this?”
She parted her lips without saying anything. When he saw the look on her face, he immediately understood that Sonia didn’t know about the three men’s feelings toward her. His spirits were lifted upon this realization. Zane and the other two keep saying that they love Sonia, yet Sonia doesn’t even know about their feelings toward her. I’m much luckier than them—at least Sonia knows that I love her. A surge of pride and achievement spread across his chest, and a wide smile appeared on his face.
Sonia noticed his sudden change in demeanor, and she frowned as she wondered what was going on in his head. She eventually lowered her head as she figured that it had nothing to do with her. She fidgeted as she thought about what she had just heard. Carl, Charles, and Zane… All three of them fancy me! I don’t know what to do with this information. All along, I’ve always treated Charles as my guy best friend, and we’ve always interacted like best friends. I’ve never had any romantic feelings for him, but I didn’t expect him to… Carl is the same as well. I’ve always seen him as a younger brother, and I’ve never crossed any boundaries with him. Why would he fall for me? And Zane…
Her expression hardened as she thought about how Zane had hidden the truth from her. Any interest she once had for Zane disappeared at that moment. From then onward, she decided that she and Zane would be nothing but business partners. She didn’t even want to be friends with him.
Toby quickly checked on Sonia when he realized the stern look on her face. “What is it? Are you not feeling well?”
She ignored him heartlessly. Toby felt his heart skipping a beat as he recognized the similarities between Sonia and her past self when they had first gotten a divorce. She was distant and cold back then. She still hasn’t forgiven me, but her attitude toward me has changed throughout this period. She was no longer as cold to me, and she let me get close to her sometimes. Yet, it feels like we’re back at square one now. Is it because she found out that the child belongs to me? Or is it because I kept Z-H’s identity a secret for so long? Is that why she’s back to her cold and distant self?
Tim showed up right when Toby was tangled in his thoughts. “The operation theater is ready. We can have the surgery now,” he said to Sonia.
“Okay.” Sonia held her chin high and kicked the sheets aside to walk toward the door. Toby reached out an arm to stop her, but he hesitated at the very last moment and lowered his hand after some contemplation. Who am I to stop her from doing anything? Firstly, the child is already deformed. Even if the child was healthy, I don’t have the right to force her to keep the baby, even if I’m the father.
Eventually, Toby followed Sonia to the operation theater. She took a deep breath before she pushed the doors open to walk in. However, just before she entered, she stopped and turned to give Toby a calm look. “Once this child is gone, there’ll be nothing between us, Toby. I don’t want to have anything to do with you for the rest of my life.”
His pupils shrank after hearing her words. “That’s what you think. I’m not going to give up. Even without our child, I’ll still do my best to make you come back to me,” he uttered with his fists clenched.
“Really? Do you want to bet on that?” Sonia chuckled.
“What are you betting on?” he asked.
She rubbed her belly. “Let’s bet on how long it’ll take for me to forgive you and go back to you. I bet it won’t happen in this lifetime. What about you?”
His eyes glistened for a moment before he hardened his gaze and spoke at a slow pace. “I’ll place my bet on the span of a whole life too. But I’m not betting that it’ll take a whole lifetime to get you to come back to me—I’m betting that I’ll be able to spend the rest of my life asking for your forgiveness.” She’ll come back to me once she forgives me, right?
Sonia looked away from him after she saw the sincerity in his eyes. “Is that so? We’ll see how it goes, then.” She turned and walked into the operating theater without looking back after that.
He waited outside while the surgery went on. Just then, his phone rang in his pocket. It was Tom. “Aren’t we supposed to go for a factory tour to check out the uses and effects of the alternative energy technology today, President Fuller? Are you coming soon?”
Toby glanced at the operating theater in front of him. “No. Please postpone this to another day.”
“Okay.” Tom nodded without asking for a reason. Once the call was over, Toby massaged his temples and leaned against the ice-cold wall. He shut his eyes and rested for a while. He didn’t know how much time had passed when the doors to the operating theater finally opened. Tim was the first to walk out.
Toby immediately opened his eyes and stared at the doctor. Before Toby could say anything, Tim pulled his mask down to speak. “The surgery was a success. She’ll be out in a while.”
