Alone in the bedroom, Sonia smiled as she watched the clip which Lucy had forwarded to her of Tom and Harry talking to Anita. She was sure glad that Lucy had such capable men in her life who had her back.
No. Not just Lucy. She also had them in her life too. Tom was Bryan's brother, after all, and she knew he wouldn't hesitate to come through for her if she needed him, and Harry was not just Tom's best friend. He was most likely to be Jade's partner too, so he was family as well, and the beautiful thing about the Hank family was that they had each other's back, even if it didn't look so when watching them from afar. She was glad that she and Lucy were a part of them, even if not officially.
With a sigh, Sonia dialed Lucy's line.
Lucy, who was seated beside Tom as he dialed Jade's line, quickly picked up her phone when it started ringing and she saw that it was Sonia.
"I will step out to speak with Jade while you talk to Sonia," Tom offered, and Lucy gave him a nod and watched him walk away as she received Sonia's call.
"Thank goodness you finally called! I was just about to dial your line one more time before concluding that you have either been kidnapped or you abandoned me," Lucy joked, and Sonia laughed softly.
"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't feeling too well, so I wasn't really..."
Lucy's brows pulled together in a deep frown the moment she heard Sonia's weak voice, "What is wrong? Are you ill?" She asked in alarm.
"Yeah. I got the Flu. I've taken some medicine for it, and I'm resting now."
"Flu? You shouldn't have traveled if you were ill," Lucy said, very worried.
"Don't worry..."
"How can I not worry? You rarely fall ill. Are you sure it's just flu? You should go to the hospital. I will call Bryan..."
"Don't, Lu! He is worried enough already. I'm fine," Sonia assured her.
"I'm serious, Lu. Don't worry about me. They are all taking good care of me over here," Sonia said when Lucy remained silent after some time.
"How come you are always the one taking care of me and worrying about me, but you never let me worry about you. Why?" Lucy asked, and Sonia sighed.
"Because you are my baby, and I don't like to see you worried. Besides, I'm sure you have enough on your mind right now. That reminds me, I saw the clip you sent. Tom sure knows how to shut the door in people's faces," Sonia said, skillfully changing the subject.
"Yeah. Let's hope she got the message and stops being such a bother," Lucy said, and Sonia sighed.
"I doubt that. People that suffer from her kind of delusion do not react to such direct insults and rejection too well. She is going to try to do something silly," Sonia predicted with a yawn.
"You think so?"
"Yeah. I've written about a character like her before, and I had to do a lot of research on their mental state. Don't worry, though. I'm sure Tom and Harry will take care of her before things get out of control," Sonia assured Lucy with another yawn.
"You won't believe what Tom found out about Anita's family," Lucy said and went on to tell Sonia all that Tom had told her.
"Why am I not surprised? I hope we will be back early enough to witness their disgrace. I'd love to sit in the front row," Sonia said, and Lucy smiled.
"Me too. I want to watch it with you. By the way, I've accepted that job offer," Lucy said and started by telling Sonia about Tom's meeting with Priscilla, and all the lady had told Tom.
"It seems like Tom had a fun day," Sonia said with another yawn.
"You are yawning a lot. You must be very tired," Lucy observed.
"I feel very tired. And the medication is making me feel drowsy too."
"I should let you rest then. I will give Bryan a call to check on you later," Lucy said when she heard Sonia yawn again.
"Sure. Just don't nag him when you do."
"Yes, mommy," Lucy said with a roll of her eyes before remembering why she had wanted to call Sonia earlier, "Remind me later to tell you about the mini showdown I had with some female colleagues who were badmouthing me today," Lucy said, and Sonia who had been settling into a comfortable position to sleep, sat up.
"Showdown? Tell me about it," she said excitedly.
"I will tell you after you wake up. You should rest," Lucy said, but Sonia wasn't having none of that.
"Rest? I'm not tired. I want to hear it," Sonia said as she clicked on the recording icon on her phone.
Lucy giggled, "You gossipmonger. You said you were tired and feeling sleepy a few seconds ago," Lucy reminded her.
"So why did you bring it up if you weren't going to tell me about it now?" Sonia hissed at her as she got off the bed and went to the bathroom to splash running water on her face.
"I said you should remind me, so I don't forget to mention it. Also, remind me to tell you how I kissed Tom in the lobby in the presence of everyone," Lucy said, and Sonia's mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"Trust me, I did! I grabbed his butt yesterday, and today I kissed him in public," Lucy said with a giggle, unable to believe the kind of out-of-character stunts she was pulling now because of Tom.
"Why am I surprised? If you could make out with him in the presence of both your parents and his, I'm sure you can do anything now," Sonia said in amusement, and Lucy's face colored in embarrassment.
"Please, don't remind me of that," she said, and Sonia laughed softly, already feeling better merely by talking to Lucy.
"So, are you going to tell me about the showdown now? I'm not feeling so sleepy anymore," Sonia said as she returned to the bed.
Lucy giggled, "Nah. Let's save that for later. Remind me also to tell you what your friend Candace did."
"C'mon, Lu! Why are there so many things to remind you of? What did Candace do? And why can't you tell me about it now?" Sonia protested.
"I can't tell you now because I have to start getting ready to go out with Tom. We are having dinner with Harry and his dad by 7 PM. I promise to give you the details tomorrow. So make sure you remind me of it."
"You are having dinner with Harry's dad?" Sonia asked curiously.
"Yeah. Why? You want to write about him too?" Lucy asked jocularly, and Sonia giggled.
"Well, since the story is a trilogy, I should at least know the background of my third male lead, shouldn't I?" Sonia said reasonably.
"Yes, you should. But I also think you should talk to Harry before writing about him. I'm not sure he would like to be written about without his knowledge. Plus, he really doesn't like being lied to, and I don't want him to feel I kept this from him deliberately," Lucy said, and Sonia narrowed her eyes.
"You sound like you are very close to him. Are you friends with him now?" Sonia asked curiously.
"Yeah. I told you he recorded and sent that clip to me without Tom's knowledge, remember?" Lucy said, and Sonia smiled.
"True. But I'm not that close to him, so how do you expect me to tell him that I want to write about him? Besides, it's not like I'm going to be using his real name or anything. He won't even know he's the one if you don't tell him."
"Focus on the first two stories and leave Harry and Jade's story until you are close to him enough to tell him what you want to do. Besides, you need to be sure beyond reasonable doubt that he would get romantically involved with Jade for you to write about them," Lucy reminded her.
Sonia sighed, "True. By the way, I want to discuss something with you too. Maybe we can talk about it later since you have to prepare for your dinner date now," Sonia said, making Lucy pause.
"Is it urgent? We can talk about it now if it's very important," Lucy offered.
"Nah. It can wait. It's just related to my career, and I need your advice. So let's talk about it when we talk later," Sonia said.
"Alright. Make sure to get more than enough rest and eat very well."
"I will. Have fun. And if possible, record the dinner conversation..."
"I won't!" Lucy said, and Sonia rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting you to agree anyway," Sonia said, and a yawn escaped from her lips before she could stifle it.
"I love you, Sony. You know that, right?" Lucy asked, sounding serious all of a sudden.
"I... I love you too," Sonia said, wondering where it was coming from since Lucy wasn't usually very expressive.
"That isn't the answer to my question, Sony. You realize that I love you, and I can't imagine my life without you, right?" Lucy asked, and Sonia's smile wobbled as tears gathered in her eyes.
"Of course. What can you do without me?" Sonia asked jokingly as she used Bryan's shirt, which was on the bed beside her, to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"You are the most beautiful, brave, bold, and brilliant girl I know. I would never have survived all that happened had you not been beside me. I know I've never said this to you before, but thank you for not taking sides with your family and for not leaving me. And thank you for being strong for us both," Lucy said with a sniffle as she wiped her tears. Perhaps it was because of her conversation with Amy earlier. She was feeling very emotional.
"You are going to make me cry, Lu," Sonia said, her lips quavering as more tears dropped from her eyes. Why was Lucy saying this? Why was everyone making her feel so emotional today?
"I want you to always be healthy, Sony. I want us to grow old together. I want to always have you by my side and be by your side too..."
"You are my best friend forever," Sonia assured her.
"And even though I don't tell you enough, I love you to the moon, sun, stars, satellite, space, and back," Lucy said, and Sonia laughed soppily.
"Stop it, Lu!"
Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes just as Tom returned to the bedroom, and she cleared her throat, "Alright. This is awkward. I have to go now. Make sure you take your meds and get enough rest."
"You've said that more than once already. Bye!" Sonia said with a giggle before hanging up.