Chapter 509
Rose stared at Toby confusedly. “What is it?”
Toby didn’t respond to her question. “Her dress is stained. I’ll bring her to change into a new
evening gown,” he said instead. Rose then realized the damp stain that was making Sonia’s dress
stick to her skin. “You’re right,” Rose said while nodding. “Go on and get changed. You don’t want to
catch a cold.”
“Come on.” Toby gave Sonia a nod. Sonia didn’t reject his offer and simply tagged along behind
him. She did wish to get changed as the damp dress wasn’t just cold against her skin; it also felt
sticky and reeked of alcohol, which made her feel ufortable.
Both of them walked toward the lounge. Zane didn’t go after them, but stood in his spot with his
wine ss in his hand as he watched the tall man and the petite woman walking next to each other.
A rather glum expression formed on Zane’s face as he realized how they seemed like a perfect
match. I’m sure Sonia has caught feelings for Toby again! But it doesn’t look like she’s aware of it
yet. Well, it looks like I won the bet. But why don’t I feel happy at all?
Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
Once they got to the lounge, Toby opened the door to let Sonia in. “You can go in and take a
shower. I’ll bring the evening gown over.”
“Alright. Thanks,” Sonia uttered before giving him a polite smile.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied before turning and walking off. Sonia watched him disappear from
the walkway once he turned a corner before she entered the lounge and shut the door behind her.
Then, she took a shower in the washroom to get rid of the alcohol stench on her body.
Toby returned while she was still showering. The moment he let himself into the lounge, he heard
the sound of running watering from the washroom. He could see a blurry shadow of Sonia’s
curvy figure when he nced at the washroom’s frosted ss door. He could tell that she was
showering from the way she moved, and his gaze darkened as he gulped. “I brought you your
evening gown, Sonia,” he croaked in a deep voice.
Sonia wasn’t aware of the fact that Toby could see her figure, and she continued showering while
she responded to him. “Sure. Just leave it outside the washroom.”
“Okay. I’ll go out now.” Toby ced the gift box on the couch before he walked out of the lounge. He
no longer looked in the direction of the washroom as one nce was already enough to make his
entire body burn with desire. Toby was like any regr man—his body couldn’t remain calm when
he saw his lover showering behind a frosted ss door.
If Toby didn’t walk out, and if he took another look in the direction of the washroom, he wasn’t sure
what he might end up doing. So, he let himself out of the lounge.
About ten minutester, Sonia turned the water off and wrapped herself in a towel before she got
out of the washroom. The lounge was empty, and Sonia didn’t know where Toby had left the dress,
so she looked around for her new outfit. Finally, she noticed a delicately-wrapped gift box on the
couch. She was certain that the gift box hadn’t been there when she entered the room earlier. Is this
the new outfit that Toby brought over for me?
She walked over to get a better look at the box. There was no logo on the box, so she couldn’t tell
the outfit’s brand. However, the packaging of the box told her that it had to contain an evening gown
within it. Sonia bent down to open the box. Inside, she found a ck, spaghetti-strapped evening
gown that was made of silk. The smooth fabric reflected the light in the room, and the dress itself
shone like a constetion of stars in the night sky.
Sonia took the gorgeous dress out only to realize that it was exactly her size. It’s impossible for
Toby to have gotten someone to buy a dress within such a short period of time. Does that mean he
already bought this a long time ago ? But why did he get me an evening gown? I doubt he knew
that Jean was going to bump into me. That means that this dress...
“A-choo!” Sonia shuddered and let out a sneeze that disrupted her thought process. After that, she
hastily got changed before walking out. The moment she opened the door to head out of the
lounge, she was greeted by the heavy smell of cigarette smoke. She frowned and turned to find
Toby leaning against the wall while smoking a cigarette. The smoke covered his face, making it hard
for Sonia to read his expression.
He looked like he was thinking as he stood extremely still with his gaze fixed on the ground. When
Sonia shut the door behind her, he heard it and looked up immediately. “Are you done?” he asked
as he turned to Sonia.
“Mhmm,” she mumbled. “You’re not fully recovered yet. Why are you smoking?” she uttered in a
rather critical tone.
“I’m just thinking about some stuff,” he said as he walked over to her.
She looked down at the burning cigarette between his fingers before she reached over to snatch it
away from him. Then, she walked to the side of the corridor and put the cigarette out while
grumbling, “You don’t need to smoke while thinking about stuff. Don’t you care about your own
health?”
Toby let out a soft chuckle when he realized how she was nagging him as a wife would do to her
husband. Hisughter was pleasant to the ear—it came from deep within his chest.
Sonia felt her ears burning when she heard his attractiveugh. “Why are youughing?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just happy,” he uttered while staring at her fondly.
She froze for a moment before responding in a stiff voice, “What’s there to be happy about?”
Toby didn’t answer her and simply gazed at her in her new outfit. “You look really beautiful in this
dress,” hemented while casting a surprised nce at her. Toby was the one who had picked
this evening gown.
The designer had sent tons of designs over to him, but this particr evening gown had caught his
eye immediately. He could picture Sonia wearing it from the first time he saw it, and his imagination
was spot on.
Sonia lowered her head upon hearing Toby’s praise, her ears the color of a tomato. “Well... Thanks,
I guess. I think it’s the evening gown that’s pretty, not me. By the way, when did you have this gown
prepared?”
“A long time ago,” he replied truthfully.
“A long time ago? What? Why?” Sonia was surprised.
“Because I want to give you the best,” he said.
Her lips trembled when she heard this.
He wanted, to give me the best, so he prepared this evening gown for me. If that’s the case, then
why did he let me go ? Why did he tell me not to show up in front of him after that?
Sonia nced at Toby’s attractive yet thin face. Her eyes turned red as she fought the urge to ask
him the questions in her mind. In the end, she managed to stop herself from asking anything.
Instead, she hung her head low and clutched her dress. “You can send me the receipt for this dress
after the party. I’ll pay you back.”
Toby’s expression darkened at once. He was clearly annoyed at the fact that Sonia was being so
calctive with him. It’s almost like she s terrified of being indebted to me. In the end, Toby
suppressed the anger he felt as he knew that he had no right to be angry at her. I’m the reason
she’s keeping her distance from me. I’m the one who pushed her away.
“We can talk about that some other day. Let’s go back for now. I’ll introduce you to a few guys who
might be helpful in Paradigm Co.’s future development,” Toby uttered as he held his arm up beside
her. She took a nce at it before she
hooked her arm around his. “Thank you.”
Sonia couldn’t find it in her to reject Toby —she knew that she needed him in order to build
connections with other well-known business partners. If she had approached those big shots on her
own, they wouldn’t have taken a second nce at her.
Toby brought Sonia back to the grand hall, and he walked over to greet a few well-known people
after checking on Rose. Rose was sitting on the couch at the side of the hall, happily gazing at
Sonia and Toby. Right then, Mary brought Rose some food, only to realize that Rose couldn’t seem
to stop smiling. “Why are you smiling, Old Mrs. Fuller?” Mary asked.
“Because of Sonia and Toby, of course! Did you realize that Sonia has changed her attitude toward
Toby?” Rose pointed in Sonia’s direction as she spoke.