One Wild Night

"Good morning, everyone," Jade greeted with a yawn as she padded across the room to the dining where the others were gathered for breakfast.

"You still look so exhausted," Desmond observed as she took the seat next to him, "Don't tell me you didn't sleep well," he asked, concerned.

She had stayed up for quite some time after her phone call with Harry, thinking, plotting, and strategizing. "It took me a while to fall asleep. Where are Tom and Lucy?" She asked when she noticed that they were missing.

"They left for the office already. Why couldn't you fall asleep? Do you have insomnia?" Evelyn asked curiously.

"She probably had nightmares," Bryan said dryly, and Jade scowled at him.

"Doesn't seem like either of you have any plans of outgrowing your bickerings, do you?" Evelyn asked in amusement, and Jade raised a brow.

"Do you want us to?"

"Please don't. Pass it on to your kids too," Evelyn said, and Bryan exchanged a look with Jade.

"Change the subject now, else she's going to start asking us about marriage and kids," Bryan told Jade in a loud whisper, making them laugh.

"It's not a crime to want my kids to get married and have kids of their own, is it?" Evelyn asked defensively.

"Of course, it's not. We all have plans to settle down but at our own pace. We don't need you constantly breathing down our neck on the subject," Jade said, and Evelyn sighed.

"Very correct!" Bryan seconded.

"That's the only time you ever agree with your sister. When you want to join forces against me," Evelyn said with disapproval.

"Sonia, you are very quiet this morning. Are you okay?" Desmond asked, making everyone turn to look at her.

"Did Bryan do something to upset you?" Evelyn asked with concern.

"Why do you have to assume I did something to upset her?" Bryan asked with mild annoyance.

"Because you are always doing something wrong and can be very annoying too," Jade said, and Bryan glared at her, but before he could say another word, Desmond silenced them with a look.

"Other than a slight headache, I'm fine," Sonia assured Desmond.

"Oh, dear! Have you taken anything for it? I think I have some pain relief medication in my bag somewhere," Evelyn said, wanting to stand up.

"I already took something for it before coming down. You don't have to worry," Sonia rushed to assure her, and Evelyn relaxed.

"It must be stress. I doubt you've gotten enough rest since you got here. Hopefully, you'll get enough rest once we get to Sogal," Desmond said sympathetically, and Sonia gave him a weak smile.

"Eat up," Desmond said as he rose and transferred a chicken waffle sandwich from his plate to hers.

"Thank you," Sonia said and continued to eat quietly while listening to the conversations going on around the table.

"Why haven't I seen little Jamal this morning? Isn't he coming down for breakfast?" Evelyn asked after some time since she had reserved the seat beside her for him.

Jade cleared her throat, "I'm leaving with his mother today. We are leaving him behind, at least until we are done with the case, and it is safe for them to return to their home," Jade explained, and Evelyn frowned.

"Who is going to watch over him when you leave him here?"

"Samantha, Adolf, and the others can keep their eye on him, at least until Tom returns from work," Jade said reasonably.

Evelyn frowned, "Tom agreed to that?" She asked.

"Yes, he did. Oh! That reminds me, I need to ask Candace to make a list," Jade said as she quickly stood up and excused herself.

"The kid needs more attention than that. Can't we just take him with us?" Evelyn asked her husband with concern.

"No, we can't. We also have serious business to deal with. He should stay here. Tom and Lucy can look after the kid," Desmond insisted.

"But they're both busy, and I can..."

"There is no buts, love. If he was Tom's kid, would you want us to take him along with us? His mother wants him to stay here because it is safer here. I'm sure Tom will find a way to ensure the kid is fine," Desmond said confidently.

After breakfast, Bryan stayed behind to talk more with his parents while Sonia excused herself.

The moment she walked into the bedroom, she noticed that her phone's screen light was on, and she picked it up to check why. She sighed when she noticed that she had missed her editor's call.

Even though she probably shouldn't be angry, she was pissed at him at how easily he had bought the story about her riding on Bryan's coat-tail. She had expected a little more understanding from him than others since she had worked closely with him for a couple of years. She had expected that he at least would have given her the benefit of the doubt especially considering the fact that he had been the one who had suggested they hold a book signing event in Sogal because her relationship with Bryan would attract more fans to the event if they found out Bryan would be there.

When the phone started to ring again, she reluctantly picked received the call, "Good morning," she greeted coolly as she sat on the bed.

"I know I owe you an apology..."

"Let's not bother with that. Why are you calling?" She asked dismissively.

"Sonia, I'm sorry. I know I should have handled it better. I was upset when I..."

"I really don't care about that, James. If that's the only reason you called..."

"No! That's not the only reason I called," he rushed to stop her before she would hang up.

"About the book signing event..."

"I'm not doing that anymore," Sonia cut in before he could finish.

"But we have already started the plans..."

"Then are you ready to hold a book signing event without the author? Because I can assure you that I'm not going to show up."

The editor sighed. He knew he deserved this much, "Alright, I understand. I also wanted to find out when you can come down to sign the contract with the movie producer. He is ready to sign the contract immediately. Some other producers have also shown interest in some of your other stories and would like to discuss the details with you in person," her editor rushed to inform her, and Sonia paused.

Of course, she should have known that the scandal was going to give her this much publicity. "I will get back to you on that later," she said and hung up the call just as the door opened and Bryan walked in.

"How are you feeling now, babe?" He asked as he went to sit beside her.

"Not good. When are we leaving?" Sonia asked as she leaned into him.

"Within the next hour."

"You might have to leave without me. I need to fly down to Heden and meet with my editor. There's a contract he has been trying to seal with a movie producer for a while now. I need to get down there and sign it," Sonia explained.

"They will wait. They need you more now than you need them. Besides, there's no way I can let you go down there on your own when you're not feeling well. Let's get to Sogal first since my parents are coming with us, and we can't just cancel the trip. Once I've settled all I need to do there, we can all go down to Heden together since that's where my parents live. You will get to do your work and visit the home where I was raised at the same time," Bryan suggested as he kissed her forehead.

"Okay. That sounds like a good plan," Sonia said with a nod.

Away from there, Lucas raised a mug of coffee to his lips as he observed a uniformed lady lift plate after plate out of a food service trolley as she arranged their breakfast on the dining table.

She first placed a bowl containing some diced fresh fruits at the center of the table, and then she arranged the other plates around it.

Lucas eyed the table, wondering why they had prepared so much for a simple breakfast. There was egg McMuffin, sweet potato, fried egg tacos, crispy fried egg, scrambled egg, a bowl of oatmeal, milk, sugar, and different flavors.

Once the lady was done, she bowed politely before excusing them. By now, the strange lady was done with her cigarette, and she had dumped it in her ashtray.

"I hope you enjoy the meal," she said, gesturing for him to eat.

"Do you usually have such a lavish banquet for breakfast?" Lucas asked, and she shrugged.

"Not exactly. It's a recent development," she said as she rubbed her hands together. She was already itching to have another cigarette.

"What is your name?" Lucas asked, and her lips curved.

"Why? Don't tell me you don't eat with strangers, and so you have to know my name before you eat with me?" She asked with a teasing smile, and Lucas felt himself smile back involuntarily.

"Something like that."

She sighed, "As I said, you can call me Savior. There will be no need to know my name after now," she muttered the last part under her breath as she stood up.

"I need to wash my hands," she excused herself, and Lucas watched as she walked into the bedroom. He heard the sound of running water a moment later.

Once she returned, she smiled at him as she sat, "Why haven't you started eating yet? Scared I put something in the food?" She asked as she served some quantity of the oatmeal into a white china bowl and added milk, sugar, and what he suspected to be cinnamon flavor before adding some diced fruit.

"After you warned me about being too trusting, I figured I should be less trusting," Lucas said, and she giggled.

For some reason, Lucas found himself smiling as he watched her laugh. As annoying as she was, she was charming.

"You have no reason to fear. I mean you no harm. I'm just a bored young lady trying to find little excitement in the short time I have left," she said as she took a spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth and chewed softly.

The medical doctor in Lucas became activated, and concern crept into his eyes as he watched her with a frown, "Short time? Are you ill?"

"Yeah. It's terminal. Don't feel sorry for me. It's not a big deal. People die all the time. I like to believe that I've lived a good life thus far," she said flippantly as she continued to eat, "You should eat," she said when Lucas just stared at her.

"What's wrong with you? How long have you known about it?" Lucas asked, and she dropped her spoon with a sigh.

"Glioblastoma. I found out about it three weeks ago," she said with an indifferent shrug, but looking at her eyes, Lucas could tell that she was still shaken by the news even though she was trying to sound brave.

Lucas swallowed, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she said with a forced smile as she looked upward and blinked back the tears which had gathered in her eyes.

"How bad is it?"

"Eat. I doubt you ate before drinking last night. And please do not ask me any more questions about it," she said as she picked up her spoon and resumed eating.