Chapter 662


    Right now, Toby was dreaming of his past.


    He was going upstairs like he usually would in the mornings so that he could call his mother for


    breakfast. Normally, all he would have to do was knock on her bedroom door, and she would open it


    with a gentle smile on her face, one that was reserved for him.


    This time, however, the door remained shut no matter how incessantly he was knocking on it. When


    the door didn’t seem like it would open any time soon, he started to sense something wrong.


    Without wasting another moment, he called for one of the household staff to unlock his mother’s


    bedroom door with a spare key. But instead of a warm smile, what greeted him as soon as the door


    swung open was the strong scent of blood. As he walked in, he realized that the coppery smell was


    coming from the adjoining bathroom.


    The color drained from his face as he slowed in his tracks, but when fear seized him, he barreled


    toward the bathroom like a madman.


    The bathroom door had been left ajar, and when he skidded to a stop at the doorway, the horrific


    sight within instantly came into view.


    His mother hung by the side of the bathtub, her face and body sttered with blood. Slumped on


    the ground, she was holding a razor in one hand while the other was submerged in the water-filled


    tub.


    The water in the bathtub had been colored red by her blood, while she had already gone cold and


    lifeless.


    The bloody scene was burned into the back of Toby’s mind ever since, only to resurface every year


    on his mother’s death anniversary so that it could torture his soul and remind him of his devastating


    loss.


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    There were even times when the scene would evolve into an entirely non-existent one, like right


    now, where he dreamed of his dead mother suddenly rising to her feet and slowly walking over to


    him. She was covered in her own blood as she questioned him hauntingly, “Why was I made to


    carry you in the first ce?”


    She went on to use him of being the reason why she was trapped within the Fuller Family, kept


    from pursuing her own true love. Then, as he stood there frozen, she reached out her blood-stained


    ws and strangled him.


    Toby woke up in shock, his bloodshot eyes snapping wide open, and his breathing came out


    ragged.


    Jumping at his sudden awakening, Sonia didn’t recover from the shock for a while, and when she


    did, she lowered her head as she gently patted his face. “Toby, what’s wrong?”


    It was as if Toby couldn’t hear her at all. His pupils were dted as he stared up at the ceiling in


    terror, and his lips moved like he was saying something.


    Bending down, Sonia put her ear close to his lips and finally heard him mutter, “I’m sorry... I’m


    sorry...” Sorry? She frowned, confusion filling her eyes. Why is he apologizing? And to whom?


    She nced at him worriedly and realized that he was having something like night terrors, and his


    thoughts were not of his own conscious mind. She quickly reached for his shoulders and shook him,


    yelling, “Toby, wake up! Wake up, please!”


    She couldn’t let him stay in this trance for too long, or it would start taking a toll on his mind. He has


    to snap out of it and regain his thoughts.


    Perhaps her shaking did the work, for Toby’s pupils started to constrict back to their normal size,


    and his gaze was slowly focusing on Sonia instead of the ceiling. He stared at her in a daze, and


    after a couple of seconds, he muttered weakly, “S-Sonia?”


    He sounded hoarse, his voice so unpleasant that it reminded Sonia distinctly of the quack of an old


    duck. All the alcohol he had taken had obviously fried his vocal cords, and she couldn’t help but


    grow angry at him as she let go of his shoulders, snapping sarcastically, “Seeing as you recognized


    me, I gather that you’ve sobered up a bit.”


    “What are you doing here?” he asked groggily, pressing his hand to his forehead as he made to sit


    up on the couch. But weakness overcame him, and he couldn’t even lift his neck, let alone find the


    strength to sit up.


    At the sight of this, Sonia put her hands on his shoulders to keep him lying down on the couch.


    “Okay, that’s enough of moving. Just lie down and stay still.” Having said this, she rolled her eyes at


    him exasperatedly and demanded, “It was only yesterday when you guessed that I’de, and


    didn''t I also tell you not to turn your phone off two days ago? You promised me, but you went ahead


    and turned it off anyway! If it weren’t for the reason that you were knocked out today, I would have


    broken up with you right here and now for having kept your phone off!”


    Usually, Toby would have leaped to admit his fault and tried to cheer her up as soon as he heard


    any mention of a break-up, but as things were, he simply wasn’t in the mood.


    He closed his eyes and raised his arm, then let it fall over his eyes as he kept quiet.


    Sonia’s heart twisted when she saw him looking so forlorn, and she couldn’t help empathizing with


    him. After all, she had lost her parents as well, but his loss was a far more bitter tale than hers, so


    much so that anyone would afford him sympathy.


    His father had been murdered at a hotel, while his mother took her own life. However, Toby had


    been the one to discover the horrific aftermath of the second incident when he was only a child.


    As for Sonia, she had been too young to remember anything when her mother passed away from


    illness. While the death upset her, she didn’t feel devastated. Her father’s death hade about


    during her adult years, and she had mourned him, but by then, she was already strong enough


    emotionally to grow out of the grief.


    Toby, however, was different. His mother’s suicide had been so sudden that no one could have


    possibly seen iting; more importantly, he was the first to discover her body, and that would


    have scarred any child at such a tender age.


    With that in mind, Sonia abruptly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Toby, burying her


    face into the curve of his neck as she murmured anxiously, “Did you know you almost gave me a


    panic attack, Toby?”


    He hadn’t expected her to embrace him so suddenly and merely lowered his gaze to look at her.


    She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. “Did you know that Grandma told me about how you’d


    get really sentimental and unhinged on this day every year? She even warned me that you would


    resort to self-harm if you were left to your own devices. Can you imagine how frantic and terrified I


    was when I couldn’t get through your phone? I was so scared that I was toote, that I’de into


    this apartment and find your lifeless body!”


    Upon hearing the crack in her quivering voice, Toby realized that he had truly scared her to her wits’


    end. He raised his arm and gently patted her back, muttering hoarsely, “I’m sorry...


    “Oh, are you feeling contrite now?” She reached out her hands and cupped his face, pointing out in


    mock anger, “Don’t just apologize to me; you still have to say sorry to Grandma and Mr. Brown.


    They were worried sick about you, terrified that you’d do something impulsive. Thank goodness...”


    Her expression softened aspassion flooded her eyes. “Thank goodness I got here in time, and


    thank the heavens that you got too drunk to hurt yourself. Otherwise, you would have ended up


    lying in a hospital bed instead of on this couch.”


    Toby looked down as something shed in his eyes, and he said nothing.


    It wasn’t so much that he hadn’t had the time to hurt himself before the drinks knocked him out, as it


    was the fact that his body had given in without warning. He had only been a couple bottles of wine


    in when his heart started feeling like it was burning, and he passed out from the pain.


    Indeed, he had copsed not because he was drunk but because of his failing heart.


    Even now, he could still feel a stabbing ache in his heart, but he couldn’t let Sonia know about it.


    When Sonia saw the pensive and sullen look on his face, she sighed in resignation, then stared into


    his eyes as she suggested gently, “Toby, how about if we go and see a therapist?”


    “A therapist?” He parted his lips as he said the words several more times, like he was trying them


    out.


    She nodded. “That’s right, a therapist. You turn into a different person on the same day every year,


    and I think it’s because you have a disorder. You witnessed the traumatic aftermath of your own


    mother’s suicide, and with you being so emotionally scarred at a young age, you be unhinged


    as a coping mechanism this time each year. If we see a therapist about this, then maybe you could


    get professional guidance that will help you work through all these, or it could help you leave the


    past behind. It might even help youe to terms with whatever you witnessed as a child.


    Eventually, you’ll get better.”