Sonia’s Crush
“Call it the hangover soup,” Toby answered.
Sonia knitted her eyebrows. “The hangover soup? Wait a second. Why is it in such a strange color?
And, why does it smell funky?”
Toby set his eyes on the bowl of soup in silence. “Well, it surely doesn’t have a mouth-watering
appearance and a pleasant smell, but what matters is that it works. So, just drink it.”
In fact, he had learned how to prepare the hangover soup the night before through an online tutorial.
Immediately after he carried her to the bed, he detected the smell of alcohol wafting from her, although
it wasn’t strong. Thus, he quickly understood why she was able to fall asleep on the floor before he
headed downstairs to the kitchen to study how to make the hangover soup.
Nonetheless, the soup that he had prepared somehow didn’t look similar to the one he watched on the
tutorial. Even so, he tested the effectiveness of the soup on himself by drinking it after making himself
drunk. When he woke up the next morning without a terrible hangover, he was certain that the soup he
made was indeed effective.
Deep down in his heart, Toby was ready to proudly tell Sonia that he was the one who made the soup
right after she drank it in an attempt to impress her. Now that he saw the disgusted look on her face, he
reluctantly decided to change his mind. It was because of that he faked a cough and explained, “I don’t
know. Maybe it’s a new flavor that some guy in the hotel invented.”
“A new flavor?” Sonia’s lips curled upward. “Which hotel is this guy from? He really has the guts to
prepare some hangover soup that looks like poison. Ew! I doubt he even managed to make any sale
from it, except those who are dumb enough to buy one from him.”
I’m dumb?! He fixed his gaze on Sonia with annoyance while she was still unaware of his irritation. On
the other hand, after remaining silent for the entire time, it was Nancy who managed to see through
Toby’s unhappiness and pulled on Sonia’s sleeve.
“What’s wrong?” Sonia turned and looked at Nancy.
Nancy didn’t say a single word, but she merely jutted her chin at Toby.
Then, Sonia turned and saw his expression as well as the hangover soup shortly before she instantly
understood the awkward position that she had just landed herself in. Thus, she smiled in
embarrassment and apologized, “I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean it. I just forgot that you were the one
who bought the soup.”
She wasn’t lying because she had indeed forgotten that it was Toby who bought the hangover soup for
her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have called those who bought the hangover soup dumb and unknowingly
insulted him.
A helpless Toby sighed when he saw Sonia’s embarrassment before he affectionately noted, “That’s
enough. Aren’t you dizzy now? Hurry up and drink it.”
“Okay. I will.” She smiled, thinking that even though the hangover soup didn’t seem to be mouth-
watering in appearance, she should appreciate his kind intention. Thus, she told herself that she
shouldn’t disappoint him when he was merely trying to show his care for her.
At the thought of that, Sonia took a deep breath and closed her eyes while bringing the bowl closer to
her mouth as she guzzled the liquid down her throat.
When Sonia was guzzling the soup, Toby had already inserted his hand into his pocket and rummaged
for a toffee. Then, he held it in his palm and maintained his gaze on her. The moment she finished the
soup, she noticed a candy in front of her before she managed to put the bowl down. She was surprised
and shifted her eyes to the person who gave her the toffee.
The man’s eyes brightened up at her response. “Well, the hangover soup surely didn’t taste well, so
chew this toffee. It should help to remove the unpleasant taste.”
Since Toby was the one who prepared the soup, he knew how unpleasant the taste was, which was
why he had prepared the toffee beforehand.
In light of his thoughtfulness, Sonia was briefly stunned before she felt warmth in her heart. Soon, she
gave him a smile as she took the toffee in front of her. “Thank you.”
Toby also reacted with a smile. “Don’t mention it. Give me the bowl.”
She didn’t reject his offer as she gave him the bowl, whereupon he headed to the kitchen with it and left
her alone with Nancy in the living room.
Not long after that, Nancy stroked her chin and gazed at Sonia peeling off the toffee’s packaging. Then,
when she turned her attention to Toby, she instantly understood what was going on and gave a playful
smile.
“It looks like Mr. Fuller has a crush on you, Sonia,” Nancy opined.
When Sonia heard those words, she puckered her lips with the candy in her mouth. Then, she kept her
head slightly lowered and spoke with a soft voice, “Yeah, I guess so.”
Upon hearing Sonia’s confirmation, Nancy asked, “In that case, have you thought about being with
him?”
“I don’t know.” Sonia shook her head and circled around the couch before she sat down on another
single sofa.
“You don’t know?” Nancy echoed her words. “Are you saying that you’ve actually considered being with
him but haven’t made up your mind about it?”
While chewing the toffee in her mouth, Sonia replied, “Well, you know that I have been divorced once,
so I don’t really trust love anymore because I just can’t handle being hurt again. So, before I really
make up my mind, I won’t start a relationship with anyone so easily.”
“You have a point.” Nancy nodded and angrily added, “This is thanks to your goddamn ex-husband
who hurt you so much that you no longer have the courage to look for your next love.”
Sonia’s lips curled upward in silence as she wondered whether she should inform Nancy that Toby was
her ex-husband before deciding, Fine, I guess she is better off not knowing it.
Nancy expressed her opinion while looking at Sonia. “Speaking of that, Sonia, I think that both of you
would be a perfect couple.”
“Why do you think so?” Sonia bent over and poured herself a glass of water.
“It’s simple; it’s because you are both in love with each other,” Nancy answered while shrugging her
shoulders.
When Sonia heard Nancy’s casual answer, her eyes dilated in horror as she nearly dropped the glass
in her hand. There’s no way I’m in love with Toby! That’s absolutely impossible! I’m sure that I no longer
have any feelings for him, so how does it look like I’m still in love with him?
“What’s wrong, Sonia?” Nancy was frightened by Sonia’s dramatic reaction.
Sonia clenched her fists, trying to maintain her composure while forcing a brittle smile. “I’m fine. I’m just
a little shocked by your words.”
“Shocked?” A confused Nancy knitted her eyebrows, wondering why Sonia would be shocked by what
she had just said.
Sonia fiddled with the glass of water. “Yeah, you said I’m in love with Toby, but that’s a joke. Why would
I fall in love with him?”
“Hey, I’m being serious because I’m certain that you are in love with him.” Nancy crossed her legs and
added, “I’m a keen observer and I can tell from the way you look at him that you definitely have feelings
for him. Furthermore, you just said that it has crossed your mind about being together with Mr. Fuller.
It’s just that you haven’t made up your mind, so that brings me to one question—if you’re not in love
with him, why would you even think about being together with him? If that’s the case, what you just said
doesn’t make any sense. Don’t you think so?”
In that instant, Sonia was rendered speechless as her eyes widened and her mouth was agape. At the
same time, she was confused by the question of considering rekindling the old flames in the first place
and why it never occurred to her about accepting Charles or Carl.
After all, both Charles and Carl were in love with her as well, which made her question herself about
her true feelings for Toby. Do I really have a crush on Toby? Or, have I found the love that I once had
for him again?
At that moment, Sonia sat there in a trance, clearly unable to calm down after Nancy saw through her
and pointed out what was on her mind.
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