Returned to Usual
“Knowing her, this is something that she would do.” Sonia scoffed.
Charles gave her a word of advice out of concern. “Sonny, the main reason Jessica returned is for
Paradigm Co.. Since she failed to get her hands on the firm, she won’t give up. You have to be careful
so that you don’t fall for her schemes.”
“Don’t worry, Charles. I know what to do.” Sonia accepted his heartfelt concern with a smile.
He nodded. “That’s great. Give me a call if you need any help.”
“Will do.” The smile on her face widened.
“I’m hanging up, then,” he said.
“Hold on!” Sonia interrupted.
Upon hearing that, Charles brought the phone back to his ear. “Anything else?”
She bit her lip as she mumbled, “Charles, do you still hold a grudge against me?”
“Hold a grudge against you?” he asked in puzzlement. “About what?”
“Because I rejected your feelings previously.” Sonia lowered her eyes, a guilty look on her face.
Although rejecting someone’s feelings was something normal, she still felt guilty for doing so since they
were friends. She felt that she had somehow wronged or hurt him, especially when they hadn’t met nor
contacted each other for a while. This had caused the feeling of guilt to fester as the days passed.
After all, before that incident, Charles would seek her out almost every day. Even if they hadn’t met, they
would still chat via Messenger.
However, after that incident, he had never once sought her out, so she was worried that he might ignore
her from then on and they would gradually drift apart.
Fortunately, after worrying about it for so long, Charles actually made the first move by giving her a call.
Although all they talked about were work-related matters, it still made Sonia happy.
He was still willing to talk to her, which showed that they wouldn’t eventually become strangers.
On the other end of the line, when Charles heard what she said, he fell into a silence before he
explained, “I’ve never blamed you for that. Instead, the person that I blame is actually myself. I regretted
having been a coward and not being aggressive enough, but no matter how much I blame myself, I know
that all the feelings are pointless because you will never feel the same way as I do.”
If Sonia would have fallen in love with him, she would have done so a long time ago. She wouldn’t have
fallen in love with Toby over and over again.
“I’m sorry, Charles,” Sonia murmured as she bowed her head in guilt.
Upon hearing that, he waved his hand and chuckled. “You don’t need to apologize to me. You didn’t do
anything wrong. Feelings are something that has to be mutual and it can’t be forced. It’s your right to
choose not to love me and reject me, but if I hold a grudge against you because of your rejection, that
would make me unworthy of your love and even less of a man.”
She bit her lip. “Do you really think so, Charles?”
“Of course I do!” He nodded but the gleam in his eyes dimmed a little. “Truth was, I found it unacceptable
during the first two days. I couldn’t understand why you didn’t love me when I’ve loved you for so many
years. I was confused and hurt, and even locked myself up for two whole days. It was only after my mum
talked to me that I finally understood and managed to move on from the pain.”
“What did your mother tell you?” Sonia asked, feeling puzzled.
He smiled as he recalled, “She told me to take it easy and asked me to let go of the feelings. She had a
point, though. She said that it’s not a bad thing to fall in love with someone, but if the other person
doesn’t feel the same, the feelings one has will become a burden to the other because they won’t be
able to return it. Even if they do, it may not be out of love; it may be because they don’t want to hurt their
admirer. At that time, both parties will suffer in the end. Sonny, I have been giving you a hard time,
haven’t I?”
Sonia’s red lips parted as she wanted to deny what he said, but the words couldn’t escape her lips.
He rubbed the tip of his nose. “I’m sorry, Sonny.”
After listening to his mother’s words only did Charles know that love could be a burden to other people.
His mother had also said that to truly love someone would be to wish for the happiness of the other
person. The most important thing was that the other party could be happy even if he couldn’t be together
with her.
Forcing the other person to be with him wasn’t a sign of love, but instead one of possessiveness.
The other person certainly wouldn’t be happy and would even lose their liveliness.
Instead of having Sonia lose her vibrance, Charles wanted her to be happy. And so, he chose to listen to
his mother’s words and let go of Sonia.
“Charles, you don’t need to apologize to me,” she muttered.
He shook his head. “No, I have to apologize because I have been troubling you in the past and caused
you to be worried for me. Rest assured, I won’t do anything reckless again. Also, I won’t hold on to the
feelings of wanting you to be with me anymore since a relationship isn’t something that can be forced.
You won’t be happy if you are with me, and I will end up straining myself due to the unrequited love.
Therefore, let’s remain friends and go back to how we used to be, alright?”
Eyes red, Sonia nodded and her throat tightened as she replied, “Alright.”
“That’s good enough.” Charles let out a chuckle, but it was a bitter one.
After all, Sonia was still the woman he had loved for many years. It would only be natural for him to grief
over a relationship that ended without having the chance to even begin.
However, there was nothing he could do about it. Perhaps they were destined to be friends but not
lovers.
“Speaking of which, Sonny,” he said when something seemed to cross his mind.
Upon hearing that, Sonia wiped the moisture at the corner of her eyes. “What is it?”
“What I want to say is although I’ve given up on you as well as the hope to be in a relationship with you,
that’s not the case for Carl. That guy has some personality issues and I’m sure he won’t give up as easily
as I did. By then, he will surely go berserk, so you have to be mentally prepared,” Charles advised, his
tone serious.
Meanwhile, Sonia hummed in response. “I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”
She probably still had a way to interact with Carl if it was his first personality that she faced. However, if it
was his second personality, which she knew nothing about at all, she really had no idea how she should
face him when they met. To make matters worse, Carl’s second personality was way nastier than his
first.
Nonetheless, this would be something that she would deal with when the time came. After all, Carl was
currently in Westsanshire, so there was no telling when they would meet. Besides, she didn’t know
whether it was Carl’s first personality that had managed to regain the right to control the body. Also, she
wasn’t sure whether his second personality felt that way toward her.
Hence, it was still too early to think about that.
Thereafter, Sonia and Charles chatted for a little more before they ended the call.
Looking at her phone, she revealed a sincere smile. These days, her greatest worry was Charles.
However, everything turned out well. Charles had let go of his feelings and moved on, and he was willing
to go back to how they used to be in the past.
All in all, knowing about that made Sonia’s day.
At that thought, she lifted her blanket and clambered out of the bed. Even her steps toward the bathroom
were light and happy.
Thirty minutes later, she exited the bathroom. Just as she was done changing into her clothes, she heard
the doorbell ring.
Feeling puzzled, she headed toward the door. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me.” A man’s pleasant, deep voice came from outside the door.
She opened the door and looked at the man outside with a baffled look on her face. “Why are you here?”
Toby lifted the bag that contained breakfast, a slight smile by the corner of his lips. “I wanted to see you
and have breakfast together.”
Sonia blushed at that. “We just met last night, no? But do come in.”
She opened the door wide and stepped to the side, making way for him and gesturing at him to come in.
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