One Wild Night

Mia and Jeff remained at the dining table, looking down at their food as they both tried to figure out what to do about the situation.

They had overheard the exchange between the brothers and had watched as Tom angrily left the Den and headed for the stairs. The atmosphere around the house was awkward.

Too awkward.

"This wasn't the way I envisaged moving to Ludus or spending my weekend," Mia said with a sigh, and Jeff glanced at her.

"Me neither."

"You neither? Are you not the reason everything is such a mess right now?" Mia asked, glaring at him.

"What do you mean by that?" Jeff asked in annoyance.

"Whose fault is it that Bryan and Sonia had a fallout? You better come up with a good plan to fix everything," Mia said angrily, and Jeff glared at her.

"Have you paused to think that none of this would have happened if Bryan hadn't tried to create a conflict in the first place? So instead of blaming me, put the blame on Sonia, who thought she needed a conflict, and Bryan, who thought it was a good idea to create one," Jeff snapped At her.

"Yes, anybody else but you. This is what happens when adults have brains the size of a chicken brain. They both messed up, no doubt. But you? Of all idiotic ways to create a conflict, what ever made you think bringing up a real ex was a good idea?" Mia asked, and Jeff rose from his seat.

"How was I supposed to know that Bryan and Sonia were going to take things so far? I'm cranky enough already, do not upset me any more than you've already done," Jeff warned.

"You have no right to be upset right now. Fix what you've ruined," Mia hissed at him before walking away to find Bryan.

Once she walked into the Den, she met Bryan seated with his face buried in his palm, and she took the seat beside him.

She sat quietly for some seconds, and then she cleared her throat, "Bryan..."

"I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Well, I am. So you should listen. I didn't give up my job to do this. I chose to keep working with you because I believed you've grown up since you met Sonia, and there would be no more of those unnecessary scandals..."

Bryan sighed impatiently as he looked at her, "Mia..."

"LET ME FINISH," she snapped at him, surprising him.

"You are free to fire me if you want to. I'm probably better off without a job than working for your self-absorbed ass anyway," Mia hissed at him.

"You want to break up with Sonia? That's fine by me. It's your loss, not mine. And it's definitely none of my business anyway. But if you plan to ruin your career, then you should give me a heads up, so I can leave now while I can. I don't want to be here to watch you act this way. I'm going out to find a place to stay. When you make up your mind on whether or not you still want me to work with you, let me know," Mia said and walked away without giving him a chance to respond while Jeff watched her walk out of the house without so much as sparing him a glance.

"What has gotten into her?" Bryan asked Jeff when he walked into the Den.

"She has always been this way. I should be asking you the same Question. Why are you taking things so far?" Jeff asked, and Bryan scowled.

"I need to be left alone," he said as he rose from his seat and headed out of the Den.

"What am I supposed to do?" Jeff asked in confusion.

"Ask the boss. He asked you to bring me here, so maybe they should tell you what's next," Bryan said as he headed up the stairs.

"What about that apartment you talked about?" Jeff called after him.

"Ask Tom," Bryan called back, leaving Jeff at the foot of the stairs.

As Bryan walked upstairs, Tom walked past him without sparing him a glance as he called out to Candace and Jamal to meet him in the car while Jeff followed Tom outside.

Where was Tom taking them to? Bryan wondered as he watched from the top of the stairs as Jamal and Candace hurried out of the kitchen carrying a food pack.

Where was Lucy anyway? Bryan mused as he continued up the stairs, he saw two maids walking out of a room down the hallway carrying a laundry basket, and he followed, wanting to ask them about Lucy when he overheard their conversation.

"I still can't believe it myself. It doesn't make sense that Candace is Harry's twin sister," one of the maids said with a shake of her head.

"Although I'm very curious to know the whole story, I'm very happy for them. Jamal is so happy," the other one said with a bright smile, and the first one smiled.

"Yes. It's hard not to be happy when Jamal is so happy."

"Candace is Harry's twin sister?" Bryan asked, startling both ladies, who almost jumped out of their skin.

"Mr. Hank," one of them said in surprise since they hadn't heard him coming behind them.

"Did you just say Candace is Harry's twin sister? Tom's best friend?" he asked again, and they both nodded. 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝗺

"Jamal told us, and Candace confirmed it earlier," one of the maids told Bryan.

Candace? Harry? Bryan mused with a confused frown. It didn't make any sense. He was just going to ask Jade about it later. He knew she would know about it.

"Where is Lucy? Do you know where I can find her?" he asked. One of the maids shook her head while the other gave him a nod.

"She left early this morning. I overheard her telling Jamal that she was traveling to see Sonia," the maid said, and Bryan nodded.

"Thanks," he said as he walked away from there. He was relieved to know that Lucy had gone to be with Sonia as he knew Sonia would have done for her. At least it wasn't a one-sided loyalty.

Once he got into his bedroom threw his phone on the bed and lay down, wanting to get some sleep. pan(da-n0vel.c)om

He turned and tossed on the bed when he remembered that a few days ago, he had made love to Sonia on that bed, and now they were miles away from each other both physically and emotionally.

Although it hurt him to know they were both hurting, but he was still mad. He was angry at Sonia. He was mad at himself. He was mad at Jeff for bringing Derek into the picture.

Bryan frowned when he remembered that, in his annoyance, he had forgotten all about their plans.

He was meant to escort her to the meeting with her editor, and they were supposed to travel together to visit her mother's graveside.

He sighed as he reminded himself that Lucy had gone to be with Sonia and would most likely accompany her to all those places. Lucy was more important to Sonia than he was, anyway.

He sat up when his phone started ringing and received the call when he saw it was from Matt, "Hey!"

"Sup? What's going on with you?" Matt asked curiously.

"Nothing serious. I'm in Ludus right now. Sup with you?" Bryan asked casually.

"I'm cool. What's this I hear about you getting into a fight with some guy at a club and getting arrested? And there have been rumors around the set about a possible breakup between you and Sonia. Is it true?" Matt asked, and Bryan punched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes. Whatever you heard is true..."

"Hold up. It's true that you're breaking up with Sonia? Why?" Matt asked in confusion.

"Why do people break up? Let's talk about something more exciting," Bryan said dismissively.

"You can't be serious," Matt said, unable to believe that Bryan and Sonia were breaking up.

"I am. Don't make a big deal out of it. I just heard something crazy about Candace," Bryan said, wanting to change the subject, and as expected, that got Matt's attention.

"What is it? Is she alright?" Matt asked with concern.

"Well, she's back at Tom's house. I just heard that she is Harry's twin sister..."

"Harry? Do you mean Tom's best friend?" Matt asked, thinking about how Harry had been with Jade while they worked on Candace's case.

"Yes. I don't know the details yet, but I will let you know what I find out," Bryan promised.

"You don't have to do that," Matt said with a shake of his head.

He was just beginning to take control of his emotions once again, and he didn't want to have a relapse by getting all caught up in Candace's business. If she wanted him to know, she would tell him about it herself.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not interested. I have a date later tonight...."

"A date? With who?" Bryan asked, wanting to talk about everything else but himself.

"A girl," Matt said simply.

"A fling or a rebound?"

"Why don't we talk about you since I called? Tell me what really happened, Bryan. I know better than anyone that you love Sonia, and I know she's just as crazy about you. So what's wrong?" Matt asked, and Bryan sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed.

Matt listened as Bryan told him all that had happened, and when he was done, Matt sighed.

"Although I understand how you feel. Sonia has her faults, no doubt. But it's crazy that you would let something like this come between you both," Matt said with a frown.

"She let it come between us, not me," Bryan corrected.

"Come on, Bryan. How can you be jealous of her best friend? You are the same person who told me all about their history. They've been through stuff together. You can't possibly blame her for putting her best friend over you at the time. If you take some time to think about it, you'd see that it's petty of you to even think about it. They've come a long way together, and it's naturally going to take some time and work on both your ends before you both can get there," Matt said with a sigh.

"Are you really going to give that bastard what he wants and let him come between you both?" Matt asked, and Bryan ran a finger through his hair.

"I don't know. I need some time to think. I think she also needs some time, too," Bryan said, and Matt nodded thoughtfully.

"Thinking is good. Just don't waste too much time thinking. And don't make a mess of your career while you're at it. I heard your fans had a lot to say against Sonia. Things must not be easy on her right now," Matt said in a concerned tone.

"She is with my parents, so I'm sure she's okay," Bryan said, even though he wasn't convinced.

"I will go over to check on her after I'm done with my last shoot for the day. I got to go now. Be good, and stay off the news for all the wrong reasons," Matt warned before hanging up.

Bryan threw his phone on the bed and lay on the bed with his face buried in the pillow as he tried to block out the image of Sonia's hurt facial expression so he could get some sleep.

As hard as he tried to sleep, he couldn't, so he lay on the bed staring at the ceiling as he thought about everything Matt had said as well as his discussion with his father, Jade, and Tom too.

Deep down, he knew he was wrong for feeling the way he did concerning Lucy's and Sonia's friendship, but he just couldn't help it. And that was his problem not Sonia's problem.

He cared about Lucy, and he wouldn't even tolerate anyone speaking ill of her, so why did he say all that to Tom?

Bryan sighed. Everyone was right. Maybe he really needed to take some time to think and set his head straight.

That didn't mean he was going to forgive Sonia for what she did at the station or for going back on their plans. They were still going to take that break, so she could make up her mind whether or not she wanted to be in his life while he also would do the same.