Zane Gave Up
His initial plan was to first finish the tasks at hand before he mustered the courage to confess his feelings
to her, in order to fight for a chance to be with her. However, his plan had failed even before he managed
to make a move.
When the person on the other end of the line suddenly fell silent, a puzzled Sonia cocked her head to
one side and asked, “Zane, are you still there?”
“Yeah…” Zane replied weakly, his voice sounding dispirited.
She blinked her eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you unwell?”
“Yeah, I am.” He raised his head to look at the ceiling as he replied to her with soulless eyes, “I suddenly
feel my heart hurting.”
This was not only the first time he understood what love was, but also the first time he actually fell in love
with someone.
In the end, his unrequited love ended before it even had the chance to begin.
Is there anyone more pathetic than me in this world? Hold on, I think there is—Charles Lane! Zane
narrowed his eyes when he thought of the other man.
He was aware that Charles was in love with Sonia for at least ten years.
However, Charles’ timid personality had stopped him from making his feelings known to Sonia. As a
result, he had to watch as she fell in love and got married with another man.
Now, this would be the second time Charles watched Sonia falling in love with another man and to make
matters worse, the man in question was the same person whom she had first fallen for!
Therefore, Zane arrived at the conclusion that Charles was even more pathetic than him. He felt much
better at that thought.
“What? Your heart hurts?” Sonia, who had no idea what Zane meant when he said that his heart ached,
thought that he really felt physical pain in his heart, so she said in concern, “You better go and see a
doctor.”
“I can’t.” He waved his hand with a bitter smile. “This isn’t an illness that a doctor could treat.”
“Why not?” She was confused.
He remained silent for a few seconds and responded with a question. “Sonia, can I know if you are
serious with your decision on getting back with Toby? Is that a decision you made after thorough
consideration?”
“Yes, I’m serious. If I didn’t fall in love with him all over again, I wouldn’t make the decision of getting
back together. I really wouldn’t, no matter how many times he saved me. Still, my heart was moved and
he is now different from how he used to be, so I’m willing to give both of us a chance.”
“What if this move you made is wrong?” Zane clenched his phone tightly and asked, “You have to bear in
mind that Jean is not someone easy to get along with.”
At that, Sonia lowered her eyes and chuckled. “I know that very well, but I don’t intend to live under the
same roof as her. Toby seems to think so as well, so Jean won’t be a problem. As for the question of
whether this will turn out to be a wrong step, I really don’t know, to be honest. Choosing to get back
together with Toby is a gamble itself. Everything will be fine if I win the gamble, but I’m prepared to
accept the possibility that I may lose as well. That will only show that Toby and I are not meant for each
other. It’s my problem to fall for the same man twice. If that were to happen, I’ll concentrate on my career
and give up on love.”
Zane laughed resignedly. “You have even considered the possibility of losing the gamble. It seems like
you have really thought this through. In that case, I won’t be able to tell you why the doctors can’t treat
my illness.”
Since Sonia had gotten back together with Toby, Zane had no intentions of letting her know the fact that
he actually liked her romantically. He knew that if he were to do so, he would not only give her pressure
and make her feel awkward, but both of them might even feel uncomfortable when they interact or meet
each other in the future.
This was just the way he was—upon knowing that he had no chance at all, he certainly wouldn’t disturb
her life because actions like this wouldn’t reflect his deep feelings for her but would only bring her
trouble.
Although what Zane had said was confusing, Sonia had a vague understanding of what he had implied.
His words gave her a feeling similar to how she had felt when she found out about Charles’ feelings for
her.
Does Zane have feelings for me? She bit her lip, a strong sense of guilt bubbling inside her.
She wondered what quality she possessed that caused both Zane and Charles to fall for her.
However, she wasn’t able to reciprocate their feelings, so she felt sorry and even guilty for that.
“Zane—” Her lips parted, as though she was about to say something, but he interrupted at that moment,
“Sonia, please be happy.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“That’s great.” On the other end of the line, Zane covered his eyes with one hand, so nobody could tell
what expression he was wearing at that moment. However, it was apparent from the atmosphere around
him that he was grief-stricken.
“Speaking of which, Sonia, do you remember the bet we made a couple of months ago?” Zane suddenly
asked.
Sonia slightly nodded. “I remember. I lost that bet.”
At that time, they had made a bet on whether she would get back together with Toby and her reply back
then was no. Now that she had agreed to get back together with Toby, she had lost the bet.
When she came to think of it now, she had lost the bet that she had made with Toby as well.
Not long after Toby had been involved in the car accident, he had told her that he was her pen pal, John,
when he had paid her a visit at the Bayside Residence.
At that time, Toby had thought that Sonia would forgive everything that he had done when he confessed
to her that he was John. Although she had said that she wouldn’t forgive him back then, she still did so
now.
“Yes, I won.” The smile by the corner of Zane’s lips was even more bitter. “But I’m not happy at all.”
At that point, Zane had been a little interested in her but not to the extent that he fancied her, so he had
made that bet with her on a whim.
Nonetheless, nothing could describe how much he now regretted his actions back then.
If he could, he would return to the past and give himself a tight slap. Why the heck did I make such a
bet?
After matching the puzzle pieces, Sonia was able to guess why he was upset. She sighed inwardly and
murmured, “Zane, at that time, we didn’t specify what you wanted if you won the bet; you said that you
would tell me when you made up your mind. Have you made up your mind now?”
Zane took down his hand and revealed a pair of bloodshot eyes. His voice hoarse as he replied, “Yes, I
have.”
His initial idea had been to get her to promise to become his girlfriend if she lost the bet, but he hadn’t
said it as he was afraid that he might frighten her and cause her to withdraw from the bet.
However, now that it was time for him to tell her what he wanted so that she could fulfill it, he changed
his mind.
Since he had lost the opportunity to be with her, he wouldn’t go back on his word and stubbornly do
things that would hurt her.
Even if he really used the bet that they had made to force her to be in a relationship with him, their
relationship wouldn’t be an outcome of true love and they would only end up resenting each other.
Hence, there was no point in going to that extent.
On the other end of the line, Sonia, who still didn’t receive any information about the bet after some time,
had a sense of foreboding.
At the realization that Zane might have romantic feelings for her, she was a little worried that he might
bring up something that would put her on the spot.
“Zane, why are you not saying anything?” She took a deep breath and urged him to speak. His silence
had started to worry her.
Zane squeezed out a smile. “I’m organizing my thoughts. Sonia, what I want is—”
She held her breath. “What is it?”
The corner of his lips twitched helplessly when he noticed the anxiousness in her voice. Without beating
around the bush, Zane said, “What I want you to do is to be happy with Toby since you have chosen him.
Don’t be silly like how you used to be and let him bully you. If he bullies you, you should kick him out of
your life. There are still plenty of people who love you in this world, so you don’t need to keep your eyes
on only him, understand?”
Upon hearing that, Sonia exhaled in relief. She could feel a warm feeling coursing through her, so she
smiled and nodded. “I understand.”
“Alright, then. I’ve said what I wanted to say. I’m hanging up now.” He lowered his eyes as he spoke.
Sonia hummed in response. “Okay. Thank you, Zane.”
“There’s no need to thank me. Goodbye!” He waved his hand and hung up the call, then kicked at the
office desk in front of him and muttered, “Toby Fuller, you jerk! What’s so good about you?!”
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