"Sonia? What are you doing here when you should be honeymooning?" Mia asked, surprise lacing her voice.
On hearing Sonia's name, Jeff, who had been hovering by the doorway, materialized beside them.
"That is not important right now," Sonia said, her voice firm but laced with a tremor of emotion.
She reached out and pulled Mia into a tight hug, her embrace a silent reassurance in the face of the unexpected turn of events.
"Sonia? Did Bryan come with you? Or did you both have a fight?" Jeff asked, a frown creasing his forehead.
He knew all too well how Sonia and Bryan reacted in times of crisis. When Lucy's scandal had erupted, Sonia hadn't hesitated to break up and leave Bryan in the middle of a crucial photoshoot to fly across the country and be with her friend. Similarly, when Derek's issue had come up and they fought, Bryan had flown down to Ludus alone, leaving Sonia behind at his family home.
Sonia and Mia broke their embrace and Mia shook her head, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as they both turned to look at Jeff. "What a question to ask," she said, her voice dry. Fịndd new updates at novel35.com
Sonia raised an eyebrow, her expression mirroring Mia's amusement. "Did you do something to make us fight?" she countered, her tone playful.
Jeff threw his hands up defensively. "Of course not! I'm just asking because of... well, you know, your history together," he stammered, his cheeks flushing slightly under their combined scrutiny.
Sonia rolled her eyes, a familiar spark of mischief returning to her gaze. "Bryan's waiting in the living room. You can go catch up with him and ask him questions. We will be with you both shortly," she said, her voice firm yet laced with an underlying warmth.
With that, she turned back to Mia, a more serious expression settling on her face. Jeff, sensing the need for space, gave them a quick nod and excused himself to go meet Bryan.
As the door to the room clicked shut behind him, Mia smiled at Sonia.
"How are you?" Sonia asked, her concern evident. Her gaze swept over Mia's face, searching for any sign of strain or fatigue.
Mia returned the smile, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over her. "As you can see, I'm okay," she said, her voice stronger than she had expected it to be. "The question now is, how are you? What are you doing here? Why are you not in Paris?" Mia asked as they both went to sit on the edge of them bed.
"I'm okay. How do you expect me to be there after hearing about your plans? My sister is in danger and I can't focus on anything else," Sonia said and Mia looked at her with eyes filled with warmth and gratitude.
"Really? You cut short your honeymoon for my sake? Was Bryan okay with it?" She asked, and Sonia nodded.
"As a matter of fact, it was his idea. We both just couldn't stay there anymore. Not after hearing all that from you," Sonia said as she took Mia's hand.
Mia took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Thank you, Sony. This means a whole lot to me," she said, and Sonia waved it off.
"I saw the press release. No offense, Mia, but that guy is a bastard. And your dad? I have no words," Sonia said with a shake of her head and Mia smiled.
"Thanks to Harry, today I was able to realize and understand my situation better," Mia said, and Sonia looked at her with interest.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, and Mia told her all they had discussed in Tom's office and how she realized the reason and how Henry had come to marry her.
"Oh, my god!" Sonia said as she rubbed on her arms to get rid of the goosepimples that had risen on her arms as she listened to Mia.
"Yeah. Now I have even more reason to want to break free," Mia said and Sonia squeezed her hand.
"Eww, Sony. You should have simply said you didn't mean a threesome. Why ask me that and make it seem like you want one?" Mia asked and Sonia giggled.
"I've fantasized about the idea of having a threesome. But not with another girl. I prefer two guys. Bryan and some other hunk. Bur Bryan is going to murder me now if I dare to mention it to him," she said and Mia laughed.
"Why not another lady? Why two guys?" Mia asked and Sonia shook her head.
"I want to be the center of attention. I don't want to have to pleasure any lady. And I don't want her looking at my man in any way," Sonia said and Mia shook her head.
"I thought you'd be normal by now but you're still very crazy," Mia said in amusement.
"Totally crazy, I assure you," she said as they arrived at the dining where Bryan and Jeff were seated while their meal was being served.
"I was going to come get you after it was served," Bryan said with a small smile as he looked at Sonia, and then his gaze shifted to Mia and he rose from his seat and held out his arms to her.
"That's awkward, Bryan. Nah. No hugs. Nah. I don't hug my bosses," Mia said with a shake of her head and Sonia who was standing behind her pushed her forward into Bryan's arms while Jeff chuckled.
Bryan said nothing for a moment as he simply embraced her and then when he pulled away he looked into her face, "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, had to hide your identity for so long because you were scared of being exposed. I'm also sorry that our wedding exposed you," he said and she shook her head.
"You don't have to apologize for that. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm sure Jeff has brought you up to speed with what's happening now," Mia said as she went to sit on one of the dining seats beside Jeff but opposite Bryan.
"Yes. He did. And he also told me I'm managerless and assistantless right now," Bryan said and Mia winced.
"I'm sorry..."
"Nah. Don't be. I'm glad he will be there with you. It makes me feel at ease. We can know how you're doing by communicating with him," Bryan said and Sonia nodded in agreement.
"I'm not sure we can find a replacement in such short notice. And..."
"We were talking about that already. Since Jeff can't go over immediately. He will take at least a week to tidy up his end. He can organize everything for a smooth and easy handover to my next assistant. Since the arrangement is only for three months, I will get a temporary manager and assistant so that you can return to your positions if you still want to after this is all over," Bryan said and they both smiled in gratitude.
"That's fine. We can spend the night doing just that," Mia suggested and Jeff nodded while Sonia narrowed her eyes as she looked from Mia to Jeff and then back again.
"We can help too," Sonia offered and they all shook their heads.
"You can't. You need to rest. As a matter of fact, you're going in to do just that after we eat," Bryan said firmly and Sonia rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. You don't have to worry. We can handle everything," Jeff assured her.
"Yes. We will handle things ourselves. You both need to get some rest after your long flight," Mia suggested.
"Alright. Let's dig in now before the meal gets cold and Samantha's effort goes to waste. We can continue in the morning," Bryan said and with that they turned their attention to their meal.
As they ate, Jeff and Mia asked them about Paris and Sonia excitedly filled them in on all the beautiful places they had visited and showed them pictures.
After they were done eating, Bryan took Sonia to their bedroom upstairs, while Mia and Jeff returned to the guestroom downstairs.