One Wild Night

"I don't think you should give them a call," Alicia said the moment Bryan walked into the living room, making it clear to him that his voice had been loud and they had all heard what he said.

"I don't remember asking you what you think," Bryan hissed at her, his eyes flashing angrily as he picked up his phone from the table and switched it on. Once the phone came on, he received several text message notifications from both his parents, Jade, Matt, Mia, Jeff, the CEO, and some of his colleagues and friends.

Alicia ignored his comment and went on as though he had not just dismissed her opinion, "I think if you really want to deal with this issue, it will be best if you both make a live video together. People would believe you only when they hear from you directly," Alicia suggested as both Lucy and Sonia joined them.

"You must be a very nosy person," Bryan observed with annoyance as he scrolled through the contents of texts, most of which were expressing concerns over his scandal with Sonia, while his mom, Jade, and Matt asked him to give them a call the moment he sees their text.

"It comes with the occupation," Alicia responded with a smile.

"I think she has a point. We both know that Paul won't listen to you. He only wants what's best for your career. He's not interested in your personal life," Tom pointed out.

"Still, I need to give him a piece of my mind!" Bryan said as he dialed the CEO's line, and walked away from them once the call connected.

"Good Lord, Bryan! I've been trying to reach you. Where are you?"

"What the fuck did you do that for?" Bryan snapped at the CEO.

"Do what for? Calling Sonia or releasing a press statement to salvage the situation?" The CEO asked.

"You even called her?" Bryan yelled angrily.

"Calm down, Bryan. If you've seen the news all over the internet, then by now you should know that it's a mess and I needed to act fast, especially since I couldn't reach you," The CEO explained.

"Act fast? By coming up with such preposterous lies, and putting all the blame on Sonia? Do you want to ruin her career? Do you know how much damage your thoughtless action would cause her?" Bryan yelled at him, unable to control his rage.

"What else could I have done? All the companies are on our neck asking for refunds and compensations. How many of them do you think we can compensate?" The CEO asked, beginning to get angry at Bryan for being unreasonable.

"That should be for me to worry about! It wasn't in your place to drag Sonia into any of this! I am the one who proposed to her for crying out loud!"

"And she dumped you in front of everyone! She couldn't even wait for the show to end before she did that! She used you, and after getting the fame she wanted she walked away without caring about the effect her action would have on you. How can you defen..."

"Shut your fucking ignorant mouth! You know nothing about her or my relationship with her, so do not utter such useless words! Take down that press statement this moment or this will be the last time I talk to you as an actor under golden star agency!" Bryan threatened, and hung up the call before the CEO could say anything else.

Even after making the call he still felt very upset, and he threw his phone on the bed and combed his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry," Sonia murmured from the doorway, making him turn to look at her. He hadn't realized that she was at the door.

"What for?" He asked with a slight frown.

"I don't know. I just feel bad that you're in this mood," she said, and Bryan forced a smile as he walked over to where she was standing.

"You do understand that I'm not mad at you, right?" He asked as he stopped in front of her, and she gave him a nod.

"Yeah."

"Good. Then you don't have to be sorry. I'm used to being involved in scandals, but you're not. I'm the one who dragged you into my mess," Bryan said apologetically.

"I'm the crazy one who accepted your proposal and refused to return the ring," Sonia pointed out, wanting to share the blame with him.

"As long as you know that you're crazy, we are fine," Bryan said with a teasing smile, and Sonia giggled despite the seriousness of their situation.

"What do you think about what the nosy lady said? Are you comfortable with it?" Bryan asked, wanting to know her opinion on it before giving it a thought.

"I don't think it is a bad idea. But I also have to be in Lucy's live video," Sonia explained.

"Are you okay?" Bryan asked, looking at her with a concerned expression, and Sonia smiled despite how worried she actually was.

"Is it because you're an actor that you're this romantic? Or you have always had romance in you?"

"Who knows?" Bryan asked with a faint smile before returning her attention to his question, "You didn't answer my question. Are you fine? I noticed you do more worrying for others than you actually worry about yourself. And even though it's nice, I'm not sure I like that," Bryan said with a serious expression on his face.

Sonia sighed, "How can I be okay? Lucy is going through this because of me..."

"You must think so highly of yourself to think that everything happens because of you," Bryan cut in dryly, "I hope you don't only take the credit when bad things happen?" Bryan continued, not liking how she always managed to take the blame for everything bad that happens.

"What do you mean?" Sonia asked with a scowl.

"You always find a way to take the blame. I don't understand why you will think that what happened between your half-brother and your best friend is your fault. Did Lucy ever say so or do anything to make you feel that way?" Bryan asked, and Sonia shook her head.

"It's just that she would never have been involved with a psycho like him had she not been friends with me," Sonia pointed out.

"That is you making assumptions. Some things in life are bound to happen. You should stop regretting things you have no power over," Bryan said as he brushed his lips on her forehead.

"And please stop keeping things to yourself, alright? Always tell me what you're thinking, and if things get too difficult, don't just lean on me, leap on me," Bryan said as he embraced her, and then patted her hair softly.

Sonia smiled as he held her, "Where have you been all my life?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"On your television screen, entertaining you," Bryan joked, and Sonia giggled softly.

"I love you, Bryan. I really do," she whispered as she looked up at him and met his gaze.

"I love you even more my crazy green-eyed witch," Bryan said with a grin, and Sonia raised her brow.

"Witch?"

"Yes. That's what you are. You bewitched me and captured not just my heart but my soul," Bryan said, and then cringed as the words left his lips.

"That line was too cheesy for you, huh?" Sonia asked with a knowing giggle, and Bryan chuckled.

"We should join the others in the living room," Bryan suggested as he led her out of the bedroom.

"Alright, I will take my leave now. I will get you the information you need," Alicia promised Tom as she stood up.

She turned to look at Bryan and Sonia who just walked in and smiled, "It was nice meeting you both in person. And it's good to know that you're really in love with each other," she said before heading for the door.

"Alicia," Lucy called as she escorted her out.

"Yeah?" Alicia asked turning to look at Lucy.

"Thanks for looking out for me," Lucy said, and Alicia smiled as she patted her shoulder, and then she opened the door and walked away.

Alone now, the four of them sat down. Sonia was seated on one couch with Bryan, and Lucy sat on the adjacent couch with Tom.

"So what is the plan?" Bryan asked, looking at Tom curiously.

"You haven't told us what you found out last night," Lucy reminded both brothers.

"Oh, yeah," Tom said and went on to explain how Harry had sent him the details of the first person who started the viral post, and how he and Bryan had tracked the culprit who turned out to be a college student. He went on to tell them how they had then gone to the club to check the security footage so they could find the man who had given the college students the job. And then they had checked the footage of the exterior of the club to see how the man had come and left. They had taken down the plate number of the car he had used, and how by means of their special connections they had been able to track him and find out his identity and where he lived.

"Wow! That must have been a lot," Sonia murmured.

"Yet someone was upset with me for not calling," Tom said as he glanced at Lucy.

"Not that I don't appreciate what you did, but calling or leaving a text wouldn't have taken more than five minutes of your time. Just saying," Lucy insisted, and Sonia nodded in agreement.

"She has a point. You could have called," Sonia said, taking her best friend's side, and both brothers exchanged a look and shook their heads.

"So were you able to meet him?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Yes. However, he insisted that he received the job from a lady he doesn't know personally. He claims that she called him with a burner phone, and sent the details and money he needed to get the job done without meeting him.

"A lady?" Both Sonia and Lucy asked in unison.

"Yes. And I'm sure you're thinking what I thought too. Which is why I'm going to meet with Anita's uncle to make sure that her family has nothing to do with this," Tom said, thinking that he would use the information he had just gotten from Alicia to blackmail Mr. Wyatt. He never really liked the man anyway, so doing something as dirty as what he was about to do didn't affect him in any way.

"Why do you think her family is involved?" Lucy asked curiously since although she suspected Anita, she didn't think Anita's family had anything to do with it.

"Her mother once hired a private investigator to tail me. So I won't put this past them," Tom explained.

"They did? When? How come you never mentioned it?" Lucy asked with a frown.

"I didn't? My apologies. It must have slipped my mind," Tom said apologetically as he patted her hand.

"It's fine. While you meet with Mr. Wyatt, I will talk to my family about my plan to address the issue on a live video."

"Yeah, I'm with you on that," Sonia said supportively.

"I suppose I'm not coming with you to this meeting?" Bryan asked, and Tom gave him a nod.

"Yeah. There's no need for you to come with me," Tom said with a nod.

"Alright. I also have a couple of things that I need to handle on my end," Bryan said before turning to Sonia.

"I was thinking, what if all three of us do the live video together? I think my presence might help. Knowing Lucy has my backing will go a long way in making people more willing to hear her out." Bryan said, making Tom raise a brow.

"You really want to get the brother-in-law of the year award, don't you?" Tom asked dryly, and Bryan grinned at him.

Tom turned to Lucy, "Don't do the video without me. Let's just get it all out in the open and be done with the secrets. Knowing you don't just have my brother's backing, but that you're actually my girlfriend will help to resolve things faster," Tom said confidently.

"You want to reveal your identity?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"I don't see why not.. No time is better than now, to do so," Tom said with a wink.