One Wild Night

"I kind of feel relieved that it wasn't Jeff or Mia. I feel sorry and embarrassed that I suspected them in the first place," Sonia said once she was alone in the bedroom with Bryan.

"I suspected them too. Everything pointed to them," Bryan said as he lay his back on the bed while his legs remained on the ground.

"So what is your plan?" Sonia asked Bryan with concern.

"About Simon?" Bryan asked in confusion.

"No. Your career. You have a plan, right?" Sonia asked as she looked at him with a slight crease on her brows.

"I will just be a freelance actor until I find a befitting entertainment agency. Don't worry, I'll be okay. I'm Bryan Hank after all," Bryan said confidently.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? About what?" Bryan asked in confusion as he sat up and turned to look at her, "If you're going to start apologizing because you think it's your fault or Lucy's fault that any of this happened then you should probably not say anything. You're smarter than that."

Sonia sighed.

"Instead of apologizing, I'd rather you spend the time plotting out different ways we can make Anita pay. I don't think pulling her hair is good enough," Bryan said, and Sonia giggled.

"Yeah. I should do that."

"It's past 7 PM already. Let's join them in the living room," Bryan suggested as he stood up and held out his hand to Sonia. Once she stood up, he kissed her forehead, "I'm glad we told the truth." He said.

"Your mom..."

"Oh, shit! I forgot about her. She's going to be pissed," Bryan complained, knowing that she was going to give him hell.

"Not as pissed as she would be when she finds out the help she gave you is a traitor," Sonia pointed out.

"Yeah! You're right," Bryan said with a grin since Simon's betrayer was like a silver lining in the cloud.

"We should join the others," Sonia reminded him.

"Remember what I said, right? You're passing the night with me," Bryan said, and then quickly walked out of the bedroom before Sonia could argue.

In the living room, Lucy smiled as she gazed at Tom, "You know I never would have done this without you, right?" She asked, looking at him with serious eyes.

"I think you would have," Tom said confidently.

"You have met Lucas?" She asked, turning to Lucas so that she would do the introductions.

"Yeah. You can tell him about our dinner plan," Tom suggested.

"Dinner plan?" Lucas asked curiously, and Lucy nodded.

"He is inviting us to his home to have dinner with him," Lucy explained.

"Mom would love that," Lucas said with a grin, and Lucy giggled, while Tom watched both siblings with a smile.

"That reminds me, I should inform Samantha of the plans. Excuse me," Tom said as he walked away.

"He is a really cool guy," Lucas said as they both watched Tom.

Lucy sighed, "Yes, he is. Do you like him?" she asked as she turned to look at Lucas,

"If I say I don't like him what are you going to do? Will you end your relationship with him?" Lucas asked with a snort.

Lucy grinned, "No. I'll just ask him to give you lots of money. I'm sure he can buy your affection," Lucy teased, and Lucas chuckled.

"Lucas," Lucy called in a serious tone, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was insensitive of me."

Lucas let out a sigh, "Yes, it was insensitive of you. I would have preferred you consoled me instead of saying that, but it's fine. You had every reason to feel that way. I never should have let Rachel come between our friendship. I realized today that somewhere along the line I stopped being your friend, and only related with you as just my sister. Not even as my twin sister. I'm sorry," Lucas said apologetically.

"If you love her you can make things work with her. I just..."

"You don't have to do that, Lu. I loved her. Maybe I loved her more than she deserved to be loved. I will get over the hurt and move on."

"Hi! You're Lucy's twin brother?" Alicia asked with a wide friendly smile as she approached them. Thanks to Jasmine she had been able to put herself together and was back to her cheerful self.

"Yes, I am Lucas. Thanks for helping her," Lucas said with a smile of his own as he tried to stand up to shake Alicia, but Lucy tugged the edge of his shirt when she saw his dimples.

"She's married to the lady behind the camera so don't waste your dimples on her," Lucy teased under her breath, and Lucas slapped her hand away as he stood up.

"I can see you're fine now. I should go and inform mom that we are having dinner with the in-laws," Lucas said with a smirk before returning his attention to Alicia.

"It's nice meeting you, Alicia. I need to leave now."

"Same here. See you around," Alicia said with a wave as Lucas walked away.

"Lucy, I don't know what to say to you. Thank you so much for proving me right. I'm glad to know that I wasn't wrong about you," Alicia said as she took the seat Lucas had just vacated and embraced her.

Lucy smiled as she embraced Alicia, "Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me," Lucy said in gratitude. She was still very surprised that Alicia and Jasmine had both come through for her in this manner.

"You are so strong, Lu. It takes a lot of courage to live through that and still turn out this way," Alicia said with a smile as she pulled away from Lucy.

"Congrats, Lu. You said your truth, and now the netizens are on your side," Jasmine who was now reading the comments, announced and Alicia hurried over to check some of the comments, while Sonia returned to Lucy's side.

There were over four thousand comments and most of them were in Lucy's favor.

'I'm nineteen, and I have been struggling with self-harm since I was raped a year ago. I can't believe you found the strength to live after that. Thanks for sharing this story, it gave me hope'

'I'm sorry for all the mean things I said about you and your family without knowing the truth. Please forgive me'

'That is a horrible thing to experience. It's a nightmare. I'm glad you got through this. I take back everything I've said against you'

'I should find the son of a bitch that brought such false accusations to the internet!!!'

'I couldn't keep a dry eye as I watched this interview. I could feel your pain. I pray you heal completely'

'This is the most emotional piece I've seen on the internet. I hope that bastard keeps burning in hell'

'Please can you continue with the interview? I will like to know about what happened after she was found'

'I'm glad your experience didn't ruin your friendship with Sonia. I'm officially rooting for you all!'

'You're so brave. I never would have survived something like that'

'I'm a full-grown man, yet I cried watching this. I can't imagine how your family must have felt'

'How do we know you're not putting up a show? It's not like he is here to tell the side of his story' Alicia scrolled to the responses under this comment.

'Someone finally spoke my mind!'

'Shut the fuck up if you have nothing reasonable to say'

'You're a bastard for trivializing her tears and pain'

'Why don't you go to hell and find out his side of the story, you arsehole?'

'She would have to be one hell of an actor to be faking this.'

'I think this guy is a rapist and a stalker just like Jamie. Psychopath alert!!!'

"It's getting late. We should continue with the interview so that we can finish up quickly. Let's leave the comments for later," Jasmine suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that," Alicia said as she looked around for Tom, "Where is Tom?"

"I'm here. What's up?" Tom asked as he returned from his bedroom.

"Are you still willing to reveal your identity and your relationship status? If you're doing it for Lucy's sake then you don't have to anymore. Her name has been cleared already." Alicia pointed out.

"We are sticking to the plan."

"Okay then," Alicia said with a nod as she returned to her seat while Tom returned to Jasmine's side.

"You know something? I still can't believe I've been living opposite a billionaire this whole time," Jasmine said, making Tom grin.

"What does it feel like?" Tom asked in amusement.

"It's actually embarrassing," Jasmine said with a sigh, remembering the first time they were flirting with him, and the time she had collected his phone number.

"How so?"

"Alicia told me that she told you about our initial plan," Jasmine said in embarrassment, and Tom couldn't tell if the subject was more embarrassing for him or her.

"Let's forget about it, please."

"Yeah. We probably should," Jasmine said with a nod, and then turned on the camera once she received the signal from Alicia who was seated now, ready to resume the show.

"Hello, viewers! Welcome back!"

*****

Author's NOTE!!!

Thank you for being with me in February and for supporting this book every way you could. Thanks for the comments, power stones, golden tickets, and gifts. I don't take your support for granted.