An Invitation to Dance
At that thought, Sonia hastened her footsteps and hurried back to the hall. She weaved through the
people in the crowd as she looked left and right to search for Toby. After walking around the whole
place, she finally found him in a corner.
Toby wasn’t standing alone—he was talking to a woman who stood in front of him. The woman wasn’t
especially pretty, but she was tall and elegant and looked like the daughter of some rich family. It
seemed like Toby was close to this woman because they clinked glasses while chit-chatting with each
other.
Sonia caught Toby smiling at the woman. That woman’s even fixing the brooch on his suit… All of a
sudden, Sonia’s footsteps came to a halt. Her palms were pressed down onto her sides as she felt an
inexplicable surge of rage and bitterness filling her chest. She felt extremely terrible.
Zane was standing right behind Sonia, and he let out a bitter sigh after taking a look at Toby and
shifting his gaze to Sonia’s trembling figure. She really fell in love with Toby again. Otherwise, she
wouldn’t have reacted like this when she saw Toby interacting with another woman. I’m standing a few
feet away from her, but I can sense her jealousy from where I’m standing. However, I don’t care. I’m not
going to give up just yet, Zane thought. She doesn’t know that she’s in love with Toby, so I still have a
chance. I need to turn her into my girlfriend before she realizes her own feelings for Toby. Everything
would be too late otherwise.
At that thought, Zane took a deep breath and hid his intentions before he walked over with a smile.
“What are you looking at, Sonia?” He posed her that question although he already knew the answer.
Sonia bit her lip when she heard his voice. “It’s nothing,” she uttered.
Zane pretended to follow her gaze to look in the direction her eyes had been fixed upon. “Hey, isn’t that
Emily?”
“Emily?” she asked.
“Yeah, the lady talking to Toby,” Zane replied with a nod.
Sonia lowered her gaze. “Do you think Emily and Toby are…” When she realized that her response
seemed inappropriate, she quickly shook her head and waved her arms. “No, what I meant was… I
don’t think I’ve seen her around. I’ve never heard of her, either. If she’s able to interact with Toby in
such a natural manner, I’m sure she must be someone of high status, right?”
Zane knew what Sonia was actually curious about—she wanted to find out about Emily and Toby’s
relationship. However, since she didn’t clarify her question, he pretended not to understand what she
meant.
“I don’t think so. Emily’s from a third-rate family and she doesn’t stay in Seafield, so it makes sense that
you don’t know who she is. However, her family has a pretty close relationship with the Fullers, and
she’s pretty close to Toby as well,” Zane said to Sonia.
“A pretty close relationship…” Sonia’s chest tightened when she heard Zane’s words. She stole a
glance at the two people who were chit-chatting in the corner, and she forced a smile. “I can tell that he
treats Emily differently from the way he treats other women. He’s patiently listening to her, and he
smiles at her a lot—that’s how I know that they have a special relationship.”
Zane knew that she was overthinking Emily’s relationship with Toby when he saw the bitter smile on
her face. A pang of guilt struck him when he realized what he had done. However, that sense of guilt
quickly disappeared as he raised his head and took a sip of his wine. He realized that he had no duty to
clarify Emily and Toby’s relationship. Humans were selfish creatures, and he was no different. He had
to be a little manipulative to gain attention from the woman he liked, and he didn’t see anything wrong
with that.
“By the way, Sonia, the dance is about to start, and I don’t have a partner. May I have this first dance
with you?” Zane looked into Sonia’s eyes as he asked her in a sincere tone.
Sonia’s instant thought was to reject him, but before he could say anything, she saw Toby and Emily
moving in for a hug. Her pupils shrank as a surge of fire burned in her chest. She clenched her fists,
then turned to look at Zane. “Okay!” She agreed to dance with him.
Zane clearly knew that she had only said yes because she was triggered by the sight of Toby and Emily
hugging each other, but why did that matter? What mattered was that she was now his dance partner.
Zane grinned as he gave Sonia an elegant bow. “Well, let’s dance, my beautiful lady.”
Sonia took a look at the two people who were still hugging each other, and her gaze dimmed as she
took a deep breath and lifted her dress. She gave Zane a tiny curtsy to accept his invitation before she
placed her hand in his. Zane grinned widely when their hands touched. Then, he gently wrapped his
hand around hers before he led her out to the dance floor.
Both of them had just started walking when Toby turned his head to see the two of them holding hands
and walking away from him. His expression changed immediately. Sonia and Zane… They’re holding
hands with each other and walking toward the dance floor. Are they going to have a dance together?
When Toby realized what was going on, he tightened his grip around his wine glass. He held onto his
glass so hard that his hand began to tremble, and the wine inside shook along with his strong grip. The
dark aura surrounding his figure was terrifying, and Emily quickly realized his change in mood. “What’s
up with you, my little cousin?” she asked as she wiped the smile off her face.
Toby didn’t answer her question, but fixed his hateful gaze on the two figures who had arrived at the
dance floor and were waiting for the music to play. Emily followed his gaze to see the couple who was
already in a dancing stance, and she seemed to understand the situation immediately. “Is that the
woman you’re in love with?” she asked with a gentle smile on her face.
Toby pressed his lips together without answering her question. Emily swirled her wine glass as she
looked at him. “Well, why did you get a divorce with her if you have feelings for her?”
“You don’t understand, Emily.” Toby lowered his gaze as he spoke in a flat tone.
Emily shrugged. “Fine. I might not understand the whole situation, but your beloved lady is about to
dance with Zane. Are you just going to stand around and watch them?” Since Emily was Toby’s cousin,
she was siding with Toby this time. Since Sonia was the woman Toby fancied, she hoped that he would
do something to get the woman back to his side.
But Toby merely pursed his lips without saying anything. After a few seconds of silence, he took a sip of
his red wine before placing the glass down on the waiter’s tray. “Dance with me, Emily.” He turned to
look at Emily.
“You want me to dance?” Emily glanced at Toby’s left arm and raised an eyebrow. “Look, it’s not that I
don’t want to dance with you, but your arm…”
“I’m fine. Come on,” Toby said as he reached his right arm out to her. Emily let out a helpless sigh.
“Fine. Since you’re asking me in such a nice manner, I guess I’ll have one dance with you.” She
lowered her glass and placed her hand into his as she spoke.
Toby took her hand before he led her over to the dance floor. By then, there were already a good
number of couples who had gathered around to dance. They were all in their positions and poses,
waiting for the music to start.
Sonia and Zane were standing in the middle of the dance floor. As Sonia looked at all the couples
around her, she deeply regretted her decision to have a dance with Zane, but it was too late to change
her mind. She couldn’t go back on her words after agreeing to his request. If she decided not to dance
then, the other guests might laugh at him, and it would be her fault. She had no choice but to force
herself to dance an entire song with him.
As she was contemplating her decision, she noticed a figure walking over. There was a fresh, minty
scent that came along with the person. Sonia’s expression stiffened as she turned to look in the
direction of the pleasant smell, and she saw Toby and Emily walking over for a dance. They had
occupied the spot right beside Zane and Sonia.
Sonia bit her lip as she felt an uneasy feeling in her chest. Why? They can dance if they want to, but
why do they have to stand beside us?
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