Chapter 1245 Their Insecurities
“I want you to do as I say. You shouldn’t keep your jacket off just because it’s a hassle to put it on.” Toby was afraid that Sonia would reject his orders, so he made a firm statement that convinced her. Toby was right—Sonia no longer felt as cold after he threw the jacket over her shoulders. However, Sonia had no intention of wearing it in the hall.
“It’s not about this being a hassle. I just feel rather embarrassed being the only one to wear my puffer since everyone else is not wearing it. They’re going to laugh at me. Furthermore, where should I put it once I get into the hall?” That was an important question.
Toby held onto her wrists before stuffing them into the holes of the jacket while speaking. “It shouldn’t bother you whether they’re wearing their jackets.
They are the ones who choose to catch a cold and there’s no need for you to compare or fit in with them. You’re the one who knows your body best. Furthermore, do you think anyone would laugh at you when I’m around? Which is worse—getting laughed at or falling sick?” he asked.
“Isn’t the answer obvious? Falling sick, duh,” Sonia replied without giving her words much thought. Toby shot her a glare. “I’m glad you know that. Why aren’t you putting the jacket on, then?”
he asked in a firm and insistent voice. Sonia knew that he cared for her and she understood where he was coming from. It’s true; I’d rather get laughed at than fall sick. I wouldn’t want to risk my health just for the sake of looking good temporarily. It’s not worth it.
On top of that, there was something Toby said that touched Sonia. He said that no one would dare to laugh at me if he was around! Well, since no one’s going to make a fool out of me, I guess there’s nothing to worry about, she thought.
With that conclusion in mind, Sonia allowed the man to wear her jacket for her. Once she put her jacket on, Toby no longer frowned as hard as he did before. However, when he looked down and realized the bare skin on her legs was exposed to the cold air, he started frowning once more.
If it were up to him, he would’ve wanted Tom to head out just to purchase fur boots and some long pants for Sonia. However, Toby knew that the rest of the guests would tease or sneer behind Sonia’s back if he did such a thing. A puffer jacket was no big deal. It might not look as glamorous as the gowns that some other women wore, but everyone would be able to tell from Sonia’s bare legs that she was dressed in a gown underneath.
They would be able to tell that the puffer jacket was just temporary outerwear that she would take off later. As such, Toby figured that the other guests would send her odd looks at most. They wouldn’t laugh at her for such a thing. However, if Sonia put on fur boots and long pants, others might actually think that she hadn’t dressed in a gown at all and that whatever she was wearing was her actual outfit for the event.
If that were the case, then the guests might actually laugh at Sonia. Furthermore, it wouldn’t make sense for Toby to lose his temper in such a situation. The rest of the guests would argue that they had every right to laugh at Sonia because of the way she was dressed.
At that thought, Toby massaged his temples in frustration. Who came up with this rule that women have to be dressed in such thin clothes when they attend a dinner? It’s fine if this rule is applied during summer, but why do they have to do the same thing during winter? Are these people mental?
“What are you thinking about?” Sonia zipped up her puffer jacket as she looked at Toby’s grim face. She could tell that he was bothered by something, so she waved her hand in front of his eyes to catch his attention. Toby’s gaze flickered for a moment before he snapped back to reality. He gently held onto her cold hand as he used his breath to warm it up. Then, he stuffed her hand into the pocket of his coat. “It’s nothing. Let’s go in. It’s too cold out here.”
“Yeah, we should go in. It’s already 8.30PM and most of the guests have arrived. I’m afraid we might be running late. I hope the hosts aren’t here yet.” Sonia shot a worried gaze toward the staff members at the entrance. She was certain that they were late. It was fine if the hosts had yet to arrive, as this meant that Sonia and Toby hadn’t missed out on the chance to socialize with them.
However, if the hosts had already shown up, Sonia would feel embarrassed to approach them when she was late to their event. If she put herself in the shoes of the host, she would assume that the latecomers were guests who didn’t genuinely care about the event and she would feel more reluctant to socialize with these people.
Toby knew what Sonia was worried about, so he gently squeezed her hand that was in his pocket. “Don’t worry. They haven’t shown up yet. They’ll only arrive at 9.00PM.”
“How do you know that?” She turned to stare at the man, her expression puzzled. However, he then led her toward the entrance of the hotel. “It’s not that hard to find out about this, is it? I just told some of the other people at the event to keep a lookout for me. I got Tom to contact a business partner who arrived before me, and I told the business partner to alert me when the hosts arrived. He hasn’t alerted me so far, which means that the hosts have yet to arrive,” Toby explained.
“I see.” Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. Toby handed their invitation cards to the doorman, but the doorman gestured for them to walk in without even looking at the invitations.
After all, just one look at Toby’s face told the doorman more than an invitation card ever could. Toby could’ve stepped into the hall even if he didn’t have an invitation card. After putting their invitations away, Toby turned to speak to Sonia again. “Don’t worry. I’m keeping an eye on everything, so I’ll make sure that none of your secrets are exposed.”
Ultimately, Toby had made preparations for everything that was related to Sonia, and he had made some arrangements that even Sonia hadn’t cared to think about. He wanted to make sure that she would have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, Sonia felt extremely touched to hear that Toby had made all these plans without her knowledge. “I was just thinking that… You help me out with so many things. What am I going to do without you?”
“You will always have me around. We’re going to grow old together. Even if I leave someday, our children will take care of you on my behalf.” The man halted his footsteps before he turned around to give her an earnest gaze. When he spoke of leaving, he didn’t mean that he was going to leave her for another woman—he was considering the possibility that he would die before her. Death was the only thing that could separate them.
Sonia saw the stubborn and serious look in Toby’s eyes. She expected herself to feel more intimidated by men like him. She had always assumed that it was best to stay away from people who were so stubborn. However, Toby’s stubbornness didn’t scare Sonia at all. If anything, it made her feel rather sorry for the man.
After all, she knew that his stubbornness was a product of the insecurities he held toward life. Sonia didn’t believe in everlasting love and she didn’t believe that she could love the same man for the rest of her life. Hence, all that mattered to her was that she could be with Toby while she still loved him. She knew that she could walk away if she ever lost feelings for him.
All along, Sonia had never fully trusted Toby when he claimed that he would love her for the rest of his life. She had always found it hard to believe his words. Who knows what the future holds? I don’t have the faith nor the courage to hold too many expectations toward the future, Sonia thought.
On the other hand, Toby knew what Sonia’s views were and her views made him feel more insecure than ever. As time went on, his insecurities turned him into an especially stubborn individual. In other words, Sonia felt like it was her fault that she couldn’t provide him with the security that he wanted.
Despite this, Sonia also knew that she couldn’t lie to herself. She didn’t want to go against her own beliefs just to please him and she didn’t want to lie and claim that they could be in love forever.
She felt like that would be too pretentious of her. In the end, she ended up avoiding the man’s gaze and dismissing his words. Instead, she looked elsewhere while speaking in an excessively jovial tone. “Alright, I got it! Let’s continue walking now. We shouldn’t stand here since there are people behind us.” With that, Sonia started walking again.
