Chapter 906 A Man Who Is Easily Moved
Upon hearing the man’s words, Sonia nodded in understanding. “Good to hear that. No matter what, you still have us by your side. None of us will treat you as a substitute for anyone, so don’t think too much about it. Got it?” she said while staring at him.
Toby felt a warm feeling in his heart at the sight of the woman’s serious expression. Caressing her tender cheek, he replied softly, “Yeah, I got it.”
Sonia put her hand on the back of the hand that Toby caressed her cheek with. She asked, “That’s good. Are you still sad and upset, then?”
Toby shook his head. “No, I’m not sad or upset anymore, because you said you’re staying by my side.” He was only upset, anguished, and furious when he first learned that his mother had raised him to be Connor’s substitute. After all, it was his own mother who had done so to him.
However, after his anger cooled, he gradually calmed down. He began to realize that even though his mother had treated him as a substitute, she had passed away for nearly 20 years, and he didn’t have to bother about a person who had passed away for a long time.
Still, as he was unable to vent his anger on her, he could only take all his anger and humiliation out on Connor. It didn’t matter whether or not Connor knew he was a substitute for the former. Even if Connor was aware of it, he wouldn’t let Connor off. Somebody had to bear the responsibility for the wrong that had been committed. Since his mother had passed away, it was only natural that Connor should be the person who bore the responsibility.
After he figured this out, his anger subsided a lot, and the violent rage within him gradually disappeared. Even if he didn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t keep being angry all the time. Instead, he would quickly compose his emotions. He couldn’t let Sonia worry about him all the time, for his anger would scare her and make her feel uneasy. Moreover, she had been comforting him all this while, so he couldn’t let her concerns and words of comfort come to naught. At the thought of this, he caressed her cheek even gentler, and his hand lingered on her face, as if to trace its outline.
Sonia’s cheek itched somewhat as Toby caressed her, so she grabbed his wrist and took his hand off her face right away. “Well, since you’re alright, let’s eat first. It’s well past noon now, and I’m hungry. You must be hungry as well, aren’t you?”
Toby didn’t answer her whether he was hungry or not. Hearing that Sonia was hungry, he took her hand and hurried to the kitchen. “Let me fix you something to eat.”
Seeing him in such a hurry, Sonia stopped him with a look of amusement. “Wait a minute.”
Toby stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. “What’s wrong?”
“You don’t have to cook. I’ve already made lunch.” Sonia tugged at her apron.
Only then did Toby notice that Sonia was wearing an apron. His attention had been focused on her face since he opened the door and saw her just now, so he really didn’t notice the apron she was wearing.
Sonia put down the apron. “I made a lot of your favorite dishes, so eat more later. I made them specially for you.”
Toby’s eyes lit up visibly. “You made them specially for me?”
“Uh-huh.” Sonia nodded. “That’s of course. A certain man was angry and upset, so I had to appease him by making some of his favorite dishes for him, right?”
Toby realized what Sonia meant. She made lunch for me because she wanted me to pull myself together; she doesn’t want me to lose my reason or even doubt myself and abandon myself to despair after learning of the cruel truth. At the thought of this, he swept her into his arms and held her tight once again.
Sonia’s nose hurt so much when it bumped against Toby’s sturdy chest that her eyes reddened in an instant. Still, she smothered a cry of pain, or else the man would definitely get nervous and check on her from head to toe. To avoid getting into unwelcomed situations later on, she decided to bear it.
While the man wasn’t noticing, Sonia gently massaged the tip of her nose until the pain subsided; only then did she finally exhale and put her hand down. She knew that Toby had hugged her all of a sudden because he was moved by the fact that she had made lunch for him. Because of that, he suddenly released his emotions and embraced her to express his excitement and joy at this very moment. This guy is just like this. He won’t say verbally that he’s touched or happy. Instead, he’ll express it in a more passionate and straightforward way like hugs and kisses. In reality, such direct expressions can better tell whether a person is really moved or happy.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Sonia stuck out her forefinger and poked the man gently in the waist. “It’s just a meal, right? Do you have to be so touched? People who have no idea what happened would think that I’ve done something earth-shaking.” Speaking of it, this guy’s appearance gives the impression of being cold and indifferent. Not only is he cold toward outsiders, but he always seems self-important and capable of everything. Even so, only I know that in private—especially when he’s facing me—he’ll smile at me, speak softly to me, and even flirt with me. At the same time, he’s easily moved. A person who is easily moved must be soft-hearted as well. However, I know very well that he isn’t soft with anyone else, but only with me and those whom he cares the most. How could such a man not be charming? Perhaps that was why I fell in love with him all over again.
Not knowing what Sonia was thinking, Toby rubbed his chin against her head. “To me, every single thing you’ve done for me is even more moving than any earth-shaking thing.”
Sonia didn’t know whether to laugh or to frown at the man’s remark. “I’m really embarrassed to accept what you said. Alright, hurry up and let go of me and go to eat. Aren’t you hungry?” She patted Toby on the back.
Only then did Toby reluctantly let go of Sonia. Then, she took him by the hand and went to the kitchen with him, serving lunch with him before having lunch together at the dining table.
It wasn’t until the man enjoyed his meal with no sign of the terrifying chilliness that had shown in his eyes when he learned that he had been a substitute that Sonia finally gave an inward sigh of relief. In reality, she wasn’t idling outside during the time when Toby had gone to the study to calm down. Instead, she was reflecting upon whether it was right of her to tell him about this. After all, this wasn’t some good news. After that, though, she suppressed her doubts and felt that she did the right thing. As one of the parties involved, Toby had the right to know the truth. And besides, only by knowing it earlier could he take early precautions to prevent the fact from being learned by others and used by someone like Connor to mock him.
If Connor really were the person who had killed Toby’s father, there would definitely be a fight between the two men. If Connor were to learn about Toby being his substitute and mock the latter for it while he was still unaware of this, it would definitely be a huge blow to him. Even if Connor didn’t do so, Toby still had other enemies in the business world, and they would use this to attack him if they learned about it. Therefore, she decided to simply let him know earlier and erase any traces that would lead anyone else to learn about it so that he wouldn’t hear anyone attack him using this. She believed she was doing this for Toby’s own good, so she didn’t think it was wrong of her to tell him about it.
Seeing Sonia holding her fork and spoon in a daze with a blank look in her eyes, Toby asked with a slight frown, “What are you thinking?”
Sonia’s eyes flickered. Coming to her senses, she shook her head and replied, “Nothing. I was just thinking about my phone conversation with Mrs. Lane just now.” She had no intention of telling him what she had just thought about. Since he had gotten past the matter, she didn’t have to bring it up again.
“What did you two talk about?” Toby picked up the glass of water beside him and took a drink from it.
Sonia picked up a chunk of fish and put it on his plate. “She asked what time in the evening we would go to her place so that she could arrange for someone to greet us at the gate. She also asked what your favorite food is so that she can have the food ingredients bought in advance to prepare dinner. Also…”
