Toby’s Counseling
Besides, Toby was also able to tell from Sonia’s aura that she seemed depressed and preoccupied, as
if she had just gone through something saddening. “What’s wrong?” Toby sat down beside Sonia and
grabbed her shoulders, gently nudging her. “Did something happen?”
When Sonia felt the nudge, she finally snapped out of her trance and blinked, her darkened eyes finally
brightening up. “You’re back.” She looked at the man with a smile on her face.
Toby responded with an affirmative hum. “Yeah, I’m back, but why are you still up at this hour? Why are
you sitting here in the living room without turning the lights on? Was there something that happened?
Tell me what happened.”
In the face of the man’s bombardment of questions, Sonia shook her head and sighed. “Nothing.”
However, Toby didn’t seem to believe Sonia as he pursed his lips and asked, “Then, why are you acting
so strange if nothing happened?”
Sonia responded with silence, knowing she couldn’t hide what she was thinking from the man.
“Just tell me what happened.” Toby ruffled her hair with his hand and said with a concerned voice,
“Don’t keep me in the dark. You know that’ll only make me even more worried.”
Feeling warm on the inside, Sonia stopped sitting up straight as she gave in and hunched. Resting her
head on his shoulder, she explained, “I ran into Titus and his wife an hour ago.”
“Titus and his wife?” Toby, who was caressing Sonia’s hair, paused for a second.
“Yeah.”
“Where did you run into them?”
“I went to the pastry shop nearby to buy some blueberry cake after visiting my father. Then, when I was
waiting for my order to be ready, Titus and his wife showed up,” Sonia answered.
“Did they give you a hard time?” Toby knitted his eyebrows.
“No, they didn’t.” Sonia shook her head. “We quarreled a bit as usual, but…”
“But what?” Toby’s heart skipped a beat.
Sonia raised her hand. “When Mrs. Gray saw the scar on my wrist, she began acting strange. She then
caught my hand and asked me about the scar, wanting to know whether there was something else
there before I got it. Do you think…”
Before Sonia could finish her sentence, Toby’s face changed as he tightened his arm around her waist.
Then, he gulped and asked in a serious manner, “Did you tell her about it?”
“Wait.” Sonia looked up and fixed her gaze on the man. “What?”
“I said, did you tell her about your scar and what was there before you got it?” Toby kept his eyes down,
his tone sounding as if something went wrong.
Sonia shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I had no idea why Mrs. Gray was asking me about my scar, and I
wasn’t sure whether it was a trap, so I brushed her off without telling her anything.”
Upon staring at Sonia and making sure she wasn’t lying, Toby heaved a sigh of relief and started to put
his mind at ease. “Alright, that’s good,” he said with his arm still around Sonia’s waist.
Sonia squinted. “Why does it seem to me you’re nervous? Are you worried that I told her about my
scar?” She looked at the man.
Toby blinked shortly before he returned to his normal state with a calm look on his face, as if there was
nothing wrong. “No, I’m not. You said it yourself that you didn’t want Mrs. Gray to know about your scar
because you were worried that she could be up to something. I feel the same way too, so of course, I
wouldn’t have wanted you to tell her everything. That would have been stupid. If she was up to
something, I wouldn’t be able to save you since I wasn’t by your side.” He poked her head with his
finger.
While Toby’s response dispelled the doubt within Sonia, she rubbed her forehead and replied, “Hey,
who are you calling stupid here? I’m smart enough to know that I can’t tell the Gray Family everything.
After all, they are my enemy, so if you won’t stop calling me stupid, I’m going to be so mad!” She acted
as if she was angry and glared at the man.
Toby chuckled and gently pecked her on the lips. “Alright, you’re not stupid. You’re smart.”
“Of course!” Sonia jutted her chin in complacency shortly before her expression returned to a
complicated one.
In the meantime, Toby could also notice Sonia’s emotional look just when he thought her mood had
been lifted. Thus, he furrowed his eyebrows once again and pinched her chin to lift her head up,
looking her in the eye. “What’s wrong?”
Sonia patted his hand and said, “It’s nothing, actually. I just realized I have a special feeling with Titus
and his wife.”
Toby’s face changed as he asked with a steady tone, “What special feeling?”
Sonia rubbed her forehead. “Well, I kind of care about them because I used to hate them a lot. Back
then, I would gloat over their misery, but ever since the last time I ran into Mrs. Gray in the hospital,
something changed between me and them. I can’t believe I’m concerned about their feelings now, and
my mood tends to change because of them. Am I out of my mind, Toby?”
Toby kept his head down slightly, placing his chin on her head and rubbing it. “You’re not out of your
mind. You’re just too empathetic.”
“Empathetic?” Sonia knitted her eyebrows.
Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and said, “Yes, that’s what makes you go soft easily.
Furthermore, Titus is sick, which makes the entire Gray Family look miserable, so when you see them,
you tend to empathize with them due to your kind nature. After all, you can never do anything, such as
gloating over someone’s misfortune, and that renders you susceptible to them.”
Toby’s words somehow made sense to Sonia, but the lady still seemed a little skeptical as she asked,
“Are you sure that’s the case?” She looked up and fixed her gaze on the man.
In the face of her unwavering eyes, Toby felt his guilt haunting him as he looked away and took his
eyes off hers to divert his attention. “Of course.” He faked a cough before answering with a hoarse
voice.
Little did Sonia know that Toby was actually just making up a plausible story to keep her imagination
from running wild. In fact, the reason her emotions were so susceptible to Titus and Julia was because
of her blood relation with them. After all, blood relations were the most magical thing in the world, even
though they might not be aware of their relationship, not to mention the hatred they had for each other.
It was exactly what held Sonia together with Titus and Julia, making them feel differently toward each
other. Although Toby was aware of the influence their blood relation had over them, he restrained
himself from telling Sonia the truth by lying to her that she was being too kind, thinking he was doing
that for her own good.
Sonia’s blood relation with Titus and Julia had never influenced her so much, but her feelings toward
them have grown a lot stronger now. I suppose I have to do something before things get out of hand.
At the thought of that, Toby cupped Sonia’s face and said in a serious manner, “From now on, you have
to stay away from Titus and his wife as much as you can. Your soft spot for them will only get the better
of you and even keep you from exacting your revenge on them.”
“Come on! That’s not going to happen.” Sonia laughed.
“Just in case!” Toby didn’t laugh with her but instead continued to show a serious look on his face.
In the face of the man’s stern look, Sonia decided to stop being funny and nodded in a serious manner.
“Alright. Alright, I get you. You have a point. I have started acting a little strange ever since the last two
times I met them. Somehow, I have a feeling that they are leading me by the nose, like I’m not myself
anymore. So, I should probably stay away from them.”
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