One Wild Night

Chapter 460: Absentminded

Sonia had spent most of the day recalling and reviewing the conference call she had with Jade and Lucy the previous night. And the more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t shake off the feeling that Lucy was hiding something from her.          

    

It was more than just all that talk about her aunt randomly showing up. Lucy had acted like she knew more than she was letting on during the conference call, and knowing how tight-lipped Lucy could be especially when it concerned something that she believed wasn’t her business to tell, she couldn’t put it past her. She also believed that whatever Lucy was hiding was related to Harry.     

Why else had she rushed to ask Jade not to give up on Harry if she didn’t know something?      

Lucy had avoided her gaze most of the time during their conversation, but it had been particularly obvious when Jade talked about how Candace looked like Harry’s mom. There was something there. She knew it.     

There was also that stuff about Lucy’s aunt searching for her missing daughter, and of all the people in the universe who could have handled the case it just so perfectly happened to be Jade.      

Sonia wasn’t exactly a believer in coincidences, and the fact that Lucy wasn’t even telling Jade about her relationship with her aunt Sara made Sonia extra suspicious of Lucy.     

And why had Lucy not responded to any of her texts yet when she had obviously read them? Sonia mused with a frown as she glanced at her phone. She would have given Lucy a call already had she not been with Bryan and his parents. She couldn’t ask Lucy all the questions she had in front of them.     

“I can see the wheels in your head spinning. What have you been thinking about so seriously when you should be giving me your undivided attention right now?” Bryan asked, tugging Sonia’s hair playfully when he could no longer ignore her absentmindedness.      

He had been observing her for most of the day and apart from the fact that she was mostly quiet, she had a crease between her brows.     

Sonia turned to him, “I think Lucy is hiding something from me,” she said with a slight frown, and Bryan raised a brow.     

“You must find me very boring to be thinking of Lucy while we are together,” Bryan said with a scowl, and Sonia feigned a yawn.     

“Who knows? Perhaps I’m getting tired of your company already.”     

“How dare you?” Bryan asked with false indignation, and Sonia smiled as she glanced away from him to outside the car’s window which she had rolled down.     

“Do you care about Lucy more than you care about me?” Bryan asked playfully as he tugged her hair again, but she didn’t look at him.      

Perhaps if she had looked at him, she would have noticed the seriousness in his eyes despite his playful tone. Even though he understood that Lucy was the closest person to a family she had, he didn’t like feeling like he came second in her heart.     

Although he cared about Lucy and wasn’t exactly jealous of her, the fact that she had once broken up their relationship so she could be with Lucy during the scandal, and was now thinking about Lucy when he was clearly making it obvious that he needed her attention, made him feel uncomfortable, or perhaps insecure in a way, and he didn’t like it.      

“Don’t tell me you want to fight against Lucy for my love?” She asked distractedly.     

“I don’t mind a dueling contest,” Bryan said with a grin, but Sonia wasn’t paying attention once again.     

“I received a text from someone this morning,” Bryan said after some time, but Sonia merely grunted without asking him what the text was about or who had sent it.     

“Why are we not getting there yet?” She asked, wanting the car to go as fast as possible so they would get to the Hank’s family house quickly. That way she could excuse herself and go to the restroom so she could call Lucy in private.     

Bryan continued to observe her and when he saw the way she was tapping her foot impatiently he raised a brow, “We are almost there. What is in your head?”      

“I told you already. I’m wondering what Lucy is hiding,” she said distractedly, and Bryan sighed.      

“Then why not give her a call and clear up whatever it is?” Bryan suggested with a slight frown, trying not to sound irritated even though he was gradually becoming annoyed by her attitude.      

She had been distracted all morning and had barely said much to him during the flight down to Heden despite all the times he had tried to engage her in a conversation, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves.      

“I will do that when we arrive at your home,” Sonia said, and Bryan raised a brow.     

“If you are going to do that when we get home, why not give me your attention now?” Bryan asked, and Sonia glanced at him, trying not to sound or look as irritated as she felt.         

    

She did not like that he was interrupting her thoughts. She was trying to think and put the puzzle pieces together, yet he kept cutting in.     

“Is there a particular thing you want me to do or say to you?” She asked, and Bryan shook his head.     

“Are you kidding me? I have to need you to say or do something to get your attention now?” Bryan asked, now sounding annoyed by her ridiculous question.     

Seeing how angry he sounded, she frowned, “That’s not what I meant. I’m just…”      

“Forget it. You can spend as much time as you want to worry about whatever Lucy is keeping from you,” Bryan said as he turned away from her and took out his phone to go through his social media page.     

Sonia frowned, “Babe…”     

Instead of listening to her, Bryan took out his AirPods box from his pocket and stuffed both his ears with the AirPods.     

“Are we going to fight over something like this?” Sonia asked with a slight frown, but Bryan said nothing as he increased the volume of the music he was playing, loud enough for Sonia to hear so he wouldn’t hear anything else she had to say.      

When the car stopped in front of the Hank family house, Sonia blinked in surprise when she saw how big the house was.     

When she was told the Hank family house was still the same place all three Hank siblings had been born and raised, she had always assumed it was a small apartment, but seeing the mansion in front of her, she was stunned.     

“Is this really your…” Before she could finish speaking, Bryan walked away from her, and she frowned this time.     

Even if he was mad at her, couldn’t he put aside his anger seeing as it was her first time in his home and he would have to at least show her around? She mused as she watched him join the driver to take out their luggage from the trunk and take it inside.     

While Sonia was still frowning at Bryan’s back, his parents’ cab pulled to a stop behind theirs. Evelyn and Desmond had asked their driver to take Bryan and Sonia home in their car while they left the airport in a cab since too much attention would be drawn to them all if someone spotted either Bryan or Sonia.      

“You’re welcome home, Sony,” Desmond said with a wide smile as he went to join her.     

“Your home looks lovely. And it’s much bigger than I expected,” Sonia said, and both Desmond and Evelyn smiled.     

“It’s Eve’s dream house.”     

“This was his wedding gift to me. Although, we’ve worked on the place a couple of times over the years to keep it modern,” Evelyn told her proudly, and Desmond smiled.      

“Where is Bryan?” Evelyn asked, and Sonia jerked her head toward the direction which Bryan had taken.     

“He took the bags in,” Sonia said as she took the hand Desmond extended and let him lead her into the house while Evelyn followed behind them.     

“Are you very exhausted or could you accompany us to see Andrew and Janet? I will love to pay them a surprise visit. I’ve missed Janet so much,” Evelyn said with a wide smile when they got to the foot of the stairs, and Sonia smiled as she turned to her.      

“Right now?” She asked wondering if Evelyn wasn’t exhausted.     

Evelyn shrugged, “Right after we freshen up. You and Bryan are leaving tomorrow, are you not?” She asked, and Sonia gave her a nod.      

“Most likely. We will leave as soon as I’m able to finish up all I’m doing here. I have to meet with my editor and speak with a movie producer, and then I have to take care of my apartment.”     

“That means you have to take us there today if you don’t mind,” Evelyn pleaded.     

“She has been going on and on about seeing Janet and telling her about our date,” Desmond said, and Sonia smiled, while Evelyn rolled her eyes.         

    

“As if you’re not dying to see Andrew yourself,” Evelyn said with a snort as she walked past them, “I need to use the restroom. Let me know when you’re ready, dear,” Evelyn said to Sonia before walking away to her bedroom, leaving her alone with Desmond.     

“Are you alright? You were noticeably absentminded all through the flight. I noticed my boy trying to catch your attention a couple of times but you seemed distracted,” Desmond observed, and Sonia smiled.     

It seemed like nothing ever got past the man.     

“I’m fine. I was just trying to figure out something,” Sonia said, and Desmond gave her a nod.     

“Try not to let whatever it is take all your attention from things that matter to you. Every minute spent can’t be retrieved whether you spent it doing something you love or not. Every time spent is a memory, and in the next minute, this also will become a memory. Always try to find a balance between what’s going on inside you, and what’s going on around you,” Desmond advised as they continued up the stairs.     

“You are so full of wisdom,” Sonia said with a small smile, “I might just stay back here with you so I can tap some more from your well of wisdom,” Sonia said with a teasing smile, and Desmond chuckled.     

“Don’t let Bryan hear you say that. That’s his bedroom,” he said, pointing to a door down the hallway.     

“I will try to freshen up quickly and see if Bryan would come with us,” Sonia said, and Desmond gave her a nod before walking away.