Even when Toby kept his back facing her when he asked the question, Lynette knew he was referring to her, and her legs froze instantly, no longer daring to retreat.
Then, the next second, she found Toby turning around with Sonia's hand in his.
"Toby…" The young woman tried to pull a smile and greet him, but when she saw his expressionless face and sub-zero stare, her words got stuck in her throat.
Toby's looking at me like he's looking at some dead animal!
The notion hurt and scared her worse than being ignored.
At the very least, being ignored meant that Toby just made light of her, but him gazing at her like she was a dead animal meant that he would feel nothing even when she died. In fact, he might be wishing she was dead.
"You sank your nails into her arm, didn't you?!" Toby reiterated, more like a definite statement rather than a question.
Lynette parted her lips and reflexively wanted to lie and deny the truth. However, Toby bore into her like he could see the deepest part of her soul, making her feel bare naked. "I… I didn't mean to do it… I just… just—" she stuttered, unable to lie at all.
"Then, what were you about to do just now?" Toby didn't care about her explanation, nor did he want to hear it, even. The only thing that mattered was if she did it, and whether it was an accident was beside the point. Hence, he interjected very quickly.
Sonia, on the other hand, smirked and quietly watched the scene unfold in his arms, for she knew her beloved was about to get back at Lynette now.
Since he wanted to avenge her, she'd just play the damsel in distress with peace of mind. Also, she had to be honest; it felt really good to have someone defending her, and even greater when it was against her beloved's admirer.
At that, she took a gander at Lynette and smiled delightfully.
Naturally, the smile aggravated Lynette; in the young woman's eyes, Sonia was challenging her.
If it weren't for the fact that Toby was standing right there, she wanted to pounce on Sonia and tear her face to shreds.
Seeing that Lynette remained silent, Toby bellowed, "Answer me! What were you about to do?!"
Lynette jolted in response, then looked fearfully toward Toby. "I… I…"
She gazed at Toby, who looked as handsome as ever, no different from when she left Caruna seven years ago, except for one thing—the man from seven years ago was forever pallid and sickly, looking weakly ravishing.
However, Toby no longer looked like that. Sure, he was still fair, but it was a healthy kind of glow, and he no longer looked weak like he always seemed seven years ago.
Not only was Toby far healthier now, but his personality had changed entirely.
The man from seven years ago was gentle and would always smile tenderly, looking like the boy next door. But now, he was on the opposite end of the spectrum, no longer gentle, and his tender smile was gone, replaced by impassiveness and aloofness. His gaze was intimidating to the point it suffocated others.
It could be said that the Toby from seven years ago was a noble yet gentle Alaskan, but the Toby now was a domineering alpha wolf, dangerous.
What happened to Toby?
Lynette had a hard time accepting such a dramatic change in Toby.
Though her grandfather had long told her the Toby now was very different from the one she had known seven years ago, she never took it seriously, for she believed no one could change so drastically even if they did change. As such, the Toby now would still be the same one that she knew in her memories.
Seven years later, she finally got to see Toby again. Though he was still as handsome as she had remembered, he now felt very foreign. She couldn't find a sliver of familiarity in him, and it frightened her deeply.
Can I still interact with this Toby that I know nothing of like I used to? More importantly, do all the likes and preferences I've learned of him in the past still stand today?
Lynette's mind was all over the place, and her lip was nearly bruised from being bitten down aggressively. As her grievances overpoured, her tears streamed down like a never-ending waterfall too.
"You're not Toby!" Lynette bawled as she looked devastatingly at Toby as though he was some heartbreaker who had betrayed her. "Toby wouldn't treat me like this. He wouldn't be so impassive to me or question me like I'm some criminal. You're not my Toby! You're not!"
The scene changed so abruptly that even Sonia was nonplussed, and the corner of her lips twitched involuntarily.
What the… Does she think she's in some melodramatic drama, crying so suddenly like Toby's some heartbreaker?!
Not only was Sonia inexplicably speechless, but Toby was baffled by the suddenness too. I swear this woman's a lunatic!
At that, he locked his brows into a deep furrow and looked aversively at Lynette. "Don't try to change the subject, Lynette Lore. Were you going to shove her? Answer me!"
Lynette didn't know how to feel anymore when she saw that Toby didn't feel the slightest bit nervous, let alone have the urge to comfort her, in the face of her dejection.
How can this be?! How can Toby do this to me?! The young woman was rendered shell-shocked.
Sonia couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into a chuckle. "I'm sorry, Miss Lore, but it seems that your beloved Toby doesn't buy your goody-two-shoes trick."
"You!" Lynette glared daggers at her in response.
Meanwhile, Toby narrowed his eyes and pulled Sonia closer into his arms, and he even covered her eyes. "Don't look. It's hideous."
His beloved Sonia would have nightmares if she looked at such a hideous face.
Sonia, on the other hand, beamed and nodded as she got his implication. "Alright, you're the boss. I won't look."
At that, Toby ruffled her hair affectionately, then turned to Lynette with an impassive gaze, shaking the young woman out of recollection.
She thought Toby had returned to being the gentleman that he used to be seven years ago when he smiled affectionately at Sonia. However, he tucked the affection away the second he looked at her, and it was only then she realized the old Toby never came back.
He was still the Toby who treated her with nothing but impassiveness.
"Toby." She looked aggrievedly at him, who was not only indifferent but looked even more averse. "Lynette Lore, if I remember correctly, I was your grandfather's student and your father's peer, which also means I'm your senior. As such, it should be Mr. Toby for you. What? Do you make nothing of your father and want to be his sister, seeing that you refuse to address me with an honorific?"
"Pfft, hahaha!" Sonia failed to hold back once again and guffawed in his arms.
Be her father's sister?! Ha, this will become my favorite joke!
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Same story i read about Jarred and Amber Reed...