Chapter 574 I Will Be Waiting for You
As far as Sonia was concerned, she had always thought that hypnosis did nothing more than make people speak the truth without being aware. It wasn’t until Toby had told her what it did to him that she realized its full extent. Oh my gosh! I guess my understanding of hypnosis is too shallow. I didn’t know it can actually affect our memory! This is alarming! She anxiously propped her face with her hands.
Toby looked at her. “Oh, hypnosis is indeed surprising. After all, it is capable of more than what you and I can ever imagine.”
“Like what?” she asked.
Soon, he reached for his tablet and searched for more information about hypnosis before showing it to her. Then, she skimmed through the articles, whereupon she seemed to ponder, It looks like hypnosis is not only capable of suppressing someone’s memory but also capable of erasing it. This is…
At that moment, Sonia felt like her perception about the world had just changed as she puckered her lips for a while and apologized, “I’m sorry, I need a moment to digest all this.” Deep down in her heart, she struggled to deal with the devastation that Toby’s hypnotized experience had brought her.
“So, you don’t believe that I was hypnotized, do you?” Toby raised his chin.
She puckered her lips once again, seemingly wanting to say something, but she kept her mouth shut without uttering a single word in the end.
Meanwhile, Toby sighed before he replied, “It’s okay. Hypnosis can do bizarre things, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you won’t believe it. However, I can assure you that I’m telling the truth. The reason why I didn’t reveal it to you earlier was because I didn’t want you to think that I was justifying my failure to recognize you with an excuse.”
“Then, why are you telling me now?” Sonia looked at him.
He chuckled and explained, “Well, what is done has been done, so it no longer matters, but I promise that I’ll never fail to recognize you ever again from now on. No matter how you may change, I’m sure I will definitely recognize you at first sight.”
She responded with a cold grunt. “Who knows whether you’re telling the truth or not?”
“Well, since you can’t tell whether it’s the truth, you might as well accept me and let me prove it to you with time. What do you say?” Toby seized her hand with seriousness.
At the same time, Sonia was tempted to utter her consent before her rational mind stopped her. Then, she retracted her arm and looked away. “I’m sorry. I can’t be with you.”
“Why?” Toby frowned. “Sonia, you’ve actually fallen for me, haven’t you?”
“How did you know that?” Sonia was stunned, but she soon realized that she had just blurted out something she shouldn’t have and covered her mouth. Oops! I just gave myself away. Now that Toby is sure that I have a crush on him, is he going to insist on rekindling the old flames with me? At the thought of that, she looked up and gazed at Toby as her heart raced a million times faster.
Nevertheless, Toby didn’t seem to be surprised, as if he was unhappy to know that she had fallen for him again. In fact, the revelation was merely unsurprising to him because he had seen through Sonia a long time ago. When he contacted Nancy the day before in the afternoon, she had told him about Sonia’s feelings. After all, he was curious about Sonia’s sudden change of attitude immediately after Sonia finished the hangover soup. Therefore, he decided to call Nancy and ask what had happened, whereupon she shared the conversation she had with Sonia earlier. Because of that, he was courageous and confident enough to go straight to the point, having known that Sonia had realized her feelings for him.
“I’ve always known that all along.” Toby gently fixed Sonia’s hair around her ears. “It was just you who didn’t realize that you had fallen in love with me once more. In fact, those around you could tell that as well, including Zane and Charles.” While those two men never told Sonia how she felt toward Toby, he knew that they didn’t do that because they were frightened she would really fall for him and lose their chances as a result. Pathetic! Those guys don’t stand a chance at all even though they have been trying to keep Sonia from realizing her feelings for me. They will fail no matter how hard they work because they are not the ones whom Sonia is in love with.
“Was it… that obvious?” Sonia was stunned as her mouth was agape, unable to believe that even Zane and Chales had long known her feelings for Toby. At the same time, she had no doubt about Toby’s words because she didn’t think there was a reason for him to lie to her.
“Yes, indeed.” Toby gently rubbed Sonia’s head and elaborated, “You can hardly hide your feelings when you truly love someone. Even if you manage to do so, your eyes and expression will give you away.”
Sonia looked down before she asked, “So… When did you realize that I… have feelings for you…”
“About half a month ago,” Toby answered.
“I see,” she commented after her question was answered.
“In that case, let’s pick up where we left off and love each other again, can’t we?” He seized her shoulders and made her face him.
Nevertheless, she looked away once again and rapidly shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t accept you.” She was making her rejection known once more.
Toby pursed his lips and spoke with a hoarse voice, “Can you give me a reason? If you aren’t ready, I can wait.”
Sonia shook her head. “That’s part of a bigger reason, but the truth is… I’m scared.”
“You’re scared?” He seemed bewildered. “What are you scared of?”
She set her eyes on the man. “I’m scared that you’ll fall in love with someone else one fine day after we have reconciled and leave me in the cold. I don’t want to relive those dark days six years ago.”
“No, you won’t.” Toby wrapped his arms around her. “I have never fallen in love with anyone! Ever! You’re the one whom I’m always in love with. I was just hypnotized to think that I was in love with Tina, but that was all fake. I know I might have treated Tina well back then, but that was not how I truly felt. Moreover, I have never even touched her before.”
“Did you just say you’ve never touched Tina before?” a surprised Sonia asked.
“Exactly! Never!” He nodded while assuring Sonia that she was the only woman he had ever shared an intimate moment with. In fact, the intimacy they both shared that night a few months ago was her first time as well as his. Thus, the thought of that somehow made Toby’s ears flush in embarrassment.
In the meantime, Sonia, who noticed the seriousness on Toby’s face, chose to believe him as her resistance toward him gradually lessened. However, she still hadn’t completely agreed to accept his romantic advances. “You may be telling the truth, but I have no plans of resuming our relationship. After all, I’m no longer the young and bold lady whom I used to be. Back then, I was willing to do anything and everything for love, but I can’t do that anymore now, not after the trauma I experienced earlier because I’m now more timid and feeble. After all, I’m no longer as brave as I once was in my youth, which is why I don’t have the confidence to achieve what I want. Thus, I really can’t bring myself to start a new relationship despite my feelings for you,” Sonia bitterly noted while biting her lower lip.
Toby fixed his gaze on her as he replied, “I get you. You don’t have faith in me and yourself, so you’re not sure whether we’ll be together until the very end, which is holding you back from being together with me.”
She looked down, silently admitting that Toby had just seen through her.
Nevertheless, he only planted a kiss on her forehead and continued, “It’s okay; I can wait for you until you find your faith in me and the confidence to accept me.” Although he was upset by her repeated rejections, he wasn’t going to force her but he would instead respect her choice.
After Sonia heard his words, she heaved a sigh of relief. She was grateful that he didn’t force her hand, but instead gave her time to overcome her insecurities.
