One Wild Night

The breakfast table was unusually quiet that morning as everyone seemed to be preoccupied with various thoughts, and those who weren't too busy thinking were busy eating.

Sonia played around with the fried egg on her plate as she thought about the positive pregnancy test result and what to do about it. The mere thought of it made her heart beat very fast and made her feel nauseous.

She couldn't tell Bryan about it. That would cause another friction in their relationship, and she didn't want that. Bryan had once again made it clear last night during dinner that he wasn't ready for such a leap in their relationship yet. She needed to get rid of it silently so he wouldn't find out.

She had thought long and hard about it over the night and has made up her mind to have a medical abortion. That was the easiest to deal with. No one would know about it, and she wouldn't need to go to a hospital.

Despite having come to that decision, her heart ached at the thought of stifling the life that was growing inside her.

Seated across her, Evelyn had her own worries to think about. Tom's statement during dinner had given her a sleepless night, and she needed to talk to either Tom or Lucy privately to be certain that it wasn't what she thought Tom meant. It couldn't be. She didn't want it to be.

Although Desmond had argued with her over and over again from last night to this morning that even if that was what Tom meant, he had every right to make such a decision for himself, and she had no business getting upset or trying to change his mind about it, Evelyn paid no heed to his words.

Tom was her son, and whatever he chose to do with his life was her business. Tom had always been all about having his own family, and if for any reason something had changed that, she needed to know exactly what it was and why. It couldn't be Lucy, could it? Evelyn mused as she looked at Janet, who was eating as though she didn't have a care in the world.

Evelyn picked up her phone when it rang suddenly, "It's Tom," she announced apologetically as she received the call since she was big on not receiving phone calls during mealtimes.

"Good morning, mom. I need you to pack a suitcase for me. I'm flying out of the country in a bit to take care of an I-Global emergency situation. Could you do that for me?" Tom asked, sounding sort of urgent since he was about to leave his office for a meeting.

"Sure. Do you need me to bring it to your office?" Evelyn asked eagerly, hoping she would be able to meet and discuss with either him or Lucy privately.

"You can just give it to Adolf...."

"I will bring it myself. It's been a while since I last visited the company. I will stop by," Evelyn said before hanging up.

"Is everything alright?" Desmond asked, and Evelyn noticed that all eyes were on it.

"Yeah. He needs me to bring his luggage to the office. He has to travel out of the country to handle an emergency," Evelyn explained.

"That's quite sudden," Desmond said, wondering if Tom was doing this because of his misunderstanding with Lucy.

"Things like this happen all the time when you run a company," Evelyn assured him.

"Can I come with you?" Sonia, who had been silent all morning, blurted out without thinking, and Bryan's brows pulled together as he looked at her.

"Didn't we plan to go see a movie today?" Bryan asked, and Sonia nodded.

"Don't tell me you can't stand to be without me even for an hour?" Sonia asked in a teasing tone, "I'm only accompanying her. I'm sure Evelyn doesn't plan to spend all day at the company, right, Evelyn?" Sonia asked, and Evelyn nodded.

"Sure. You can come with me if you want to," Evelyn said, and Sonia flashed her a smile of gratitude.

"Can I come too?" Jamal asked, and Candace turned to him.

"Don't you want to visit your grandpa today?"

"We won't take long. I want to see the company again. You should too. You haven't seen it yet, have you?" Jamal asked, and both he and Candace looked at Evelyn, wanting to know if they could join them.

Although Candace wasn't the type to say what was on her mind or what she wanted, she was curious to see where Tom and Harry worked.

Even though Evelyn could tell that she was stretching it, she went ahead. What harm could come from letting them join her? "Sure. You both can come," Evelyn said, and they beamed at her.

"What about me? I can come too, right?" Janet asked, and both Andrew and Desmond exchanged a look.

"You should as well get an excursion bus," Andrew muttered, and Desmond chuckled.

"Tom is going to be in for the shock of his life when he sees y'all," Desmond said and then raised a brow at Bryan and Jade.

"Are you both not going with them?" He asked his children.

"No, I'm not," Bryan said, sensing that Sonia wanted to leave with Evelyn because she was avoiding him.

Her behaviour, since they went to I-Global the previous day, had told him that much. What happened in Lucy's office? She had been all chatty and excited on their way to I-Global but had been as cold as a fish by the time they were returning.

It didn't help that she and Lucy had locked themselves up in their bedroom for whatever reason the previous day. That Had told him that Lucy knew what was wrong.

Although he had tried his best not to feel that way, but it had been next to impossible not to feel locked out. Or was it shut out? This wasn't about him feeling insecure or jealous about Lucy. Something was up with Sonia, and he wished she would tell him what it was. Did he do something wrong? Or was it that he was just being overly sensitive and reading too much meaning into whatever was wrong with Sonia?

Although he couldn't tell what it was but he knew that she was hiding something from him, and maybe it was best to let her be alone if that was what she wanted for the time being. He wanted to believe that she would come around to tell him what the problem was. Or should he just ask Lucy about it? Bryan mused.

"Jady?" Desmond called when she said nothing, and she sighed as she dropped her cutlery and rose.

"I have stuff to attend to in my bedroom. I'm full," Jade announced as though everyone at the table was blind and couldn't see that she had barely touched the meal in front of her.

"Alright," Desmond responded, not bothering to ask her what the problem was.

After his conversation with her the previous day, he was sure she could deal with whatever the problem was, as he suspected it had to do with Harry.

As always, Desmond was right about the cause of Jade's sad demeanour. It was true that her mood was because of Harry.

Jade had no idea why she was still feeling so worried about Harry's date with Aurora despite all that had happened between them over the weekend and the assurance he had given her.

Did her insecurity run so deep? Right now, she was more worried by her worry over their date than she was about the date itself. Why couldn't she just act like it wasn't a big deal? Why couldn't she just go about her day normally? Why was her heart racing? Why was her stomach churning?

"Jade," Candace, who Jade hadn't noticed was following her, called softly behind her, and Jade turned.

"Hey!" Jade forced a smile.

"Are you alright?" Candace asked since she considered Jade, a close friend.

"Yeah. What about you?" Jade asked as she let Candace get in step beside her, and they continued up the stairs together.

"I'm okay. I've decided to move back to Sogal after Aaron gets well and is ready to leave," Candace announced, and Jade paused.

"Why? Because Matt is moving to Ludus?" Jade asked, and Candace tried not to roll her eyes.

"You're smarter than that question, Jade. My life doesn't revolve around Matt," Candace said in a disapproving tone.

"Well, if you must know, I want to live with Aaron and get to know him better. If possible, catch up on lost years. I will always have time to do that with Harry, but Aaron is getting older by the day. Besides, I need to make something out of my life before getting involved with anyone. Something I can be proud of," Candace said, and Jade sighed and nodded as they stopped in front of her bedroom.

"Alright. I understand. Sorry I brought Matt up," Jade said, and Candace smiled.

"It's okay. So, how are things going between you and Harry?" Candace asked with interest since she had been wondering if Harry was responsible for Jade's mood.

Jade smiled as she thought of Harry, and Candace could tell it was genuine, "Beautifully. Harry is everything," Jade said as she opened the door, and Candace smiled as she walked in with her.

"If that's the case, why have you been sulking all morning?" Candace asked, and Jade sighed.

"I wasn't sulking. I don't know. I'm just anxious about his meeting with Aurora. And no, I'm not thinking about going there to spy on them. I'm just worried, and that is what is bothering me," Jade said as she dropped onto her bed, and Candace sighed in understanding as she sat beside her.

"I see...." The rest of her words trailed off when her phone rang with a call from Harry, "It's your boyfriend," Candace told Jade with a wink as she received the call.

"Hey, twin brother!" Candace greeted cheerfully, knowing it would make Harry wince.

"Hey, twin sister!" Harry greeted back in an equally cheerful tone, determined not to let her ruffle his feathers, and Candace giggled.

Jade smiled as she watched Candace, feeling somewhat happy to observe the interaction between them even though she couldn't hear what Harry was saying.

"Did you call because you want to hear my voice or because you want to talk to your girlfriend?" Candace asked curiously.

"I was hoping you'd be home when I got back from work yesterday. Why are you always in a hurry to leave when I can easily drop you off?" Harry asked with mild annoyance, and Candace's heart skipped at that word 'home'.

"Well, I didn't want to be a bother and...."

"You could never be a bother even if you tried...."

"Are you sure about that?" Candace interrupted in a teasing tone, and Harry could hear the smile in her voice.

He paused to reconsider what he had just said, "I think I can tolerate you," Harry said with a grin, and Candace giggled. She could never get used to knowing she had her own family now.

"Can you not leave tonight? I will love to see you and Jamal when I get back. I want us to talk," Harry said, and Candace paused her lips. He was asking her to spend the night.

"About what? Did Dad tell you I'm moving back to Sogal with him?" She asked, and they both paused.

Jade smiled. It was the first time she was hearing Candace refer to Aaron directly as her dad.

Candace cleared her throat, "I mean...."

"Yeah. He told me. That's not all I want to talk to you about. When you're coming, come prepared to spend the night, okay? We should have a proper family dinner and spend the night together," Harry urged her, and Candace nodded.

"Alright. I will be stopping by the company with Evelyn and the others. I want to see where you work," Candace said, and Harry glanced at his wristwatch.

"I might not be here when you arrive, but I promise to show you around before you leave for Sogal," Harry said, and Candace smiled.

"Jade is here. Want to say hello to her?" Candace asked, and Jade looked at her expectantly.

Although she had spoken with Harry earlier that morning already, she was eager to hear his voice again.

"No. If I want to say hello, I will dial her line. Tell her I love her eyes. And ask her to try not to worry too much about the meeting with Aurora because I will be thinking about her the whole time," Harry said before hanging up.

"He said to tell you he loves your eyes," Candace said, and Jade's lips curved in a smile.

"And he said you should not worry about his meeting with Aurora since he will be thinking of you the whole time," Candace added, and Jade sighed.

"I'm trying not to."

"I guess he can see through you even when he is not with you," Candace said, and Jade smiled once again.

"I told you he is everything, remember?" Jade said with a small smile.