“We are both very fine, although we are going to the hospital for our monthly check-up tomorrow. What about you? Are you okay? Bryan is very worried that you are upset with him. Did he do something to upset you? You can talk to me,” Bryan’s mother said, making Sonia sigh.
What could she tell the lady? That she was upset because Bryan didn’t feel anything for her? “No, he didn’t. I was just busy with work and he assumed I was upset. I’m fine,” Sonia assured the lady.
Although she could tell it was more than that, she decided not to push Sonia, “So, I was wondering, what plans have you both put in place concerning your wedding? Have you picked a date yet?” She asked, switching to the reason for her call, and Sonia’s gaze darted to Bryan immediately.
“A date?” She asked, making Bryan raise a questioning brow as he moved into the room.
“Yes. I don’t suppose you both plan to just be engaged and live together without getting married, do you?” She asked again, making Sonia glance at Bryan.
“What is she saying?” He mouthed to her.
“Uhm… Well, we have both been too busy to talk about it. Maybe we can all plan for the wedding when we visit you,” Sonia said still looking at Bryan.
Bryan’s heart skipped a beat when he realized what Sonia was talking about. Wedding? What wedding? His mother was asking about their wedding? Bryan thought in alarm.
“Bryan wants to speak with you,” Sonia informed her when Bryan stretched out his hand for her to give the phone back to him.
“Okay, my darling. Make sure to take my number from him, and give me a call, alright?”
“I will do that. Have a lovely evening,” Sonia said before handing the phone to Bryan.
“Mom, I will call you some other time. I love you,” Bryan said and hung up before his mother could say anything else.
Once he was done, he looked at Sonia who returned to where she lay on the bed and picked up her laptop like she was busy.
“Were you eavesdropping on my conversation with Jeff?” Bryan asked, making Sonia snap her head up from the laptop to look at him guiltily.
“Is that why you are being cold?” Bryan asked, looking at her with interest when she looked away guiltily like a little girl who had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
She didn’t have feelings for him, did she?
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Sonia said in a small voice without meeting his gaze.
Bryan sighed as he moved closer to the bed and took her hands, “What exactly do you want from me?”
What did she want from him? Love? Companionship? Friendship? She definitely couldn’t tell him she wanted any of those. Why was he asking anyway? It wasn’t like he was going to offer it to her just because she says she wants that. He might even make fun of her if she told him she was beginning to develop feelings for him, she thought with a sigh when she remembered the discussion they had some days back about who was going to fall in love with the other first.
“I don’t want anything from you. I’m just busy with work,” Sonia said, trying to pull her hand away from his grip, but Bryan kept a firm grip on her hand as he got on the bed.
“What are you doing?” Sonia asked, wondering why he was acting like he cared about her when he already told Jeff that he didn’t feel anything for her.
Bryan tried to put himself in her shoes by thinking about how he would have felt or reacted had he been the one who had overheard her saying what he had said to Jeff. He decided that the only reason he would feel upset was if he was interested in her. So why did she seem so upset? Was she really interested in him? He hoped so.
“Why don’t I sit next to you and watch you while you work? I promise not to disturb you,” He said as he moved closer to her.
“Suit yourself,” Sonia muttered as she moved away from him, even though her heart was beating really fast because of his proximity.
Sonia tried to focus on the words she had previously typed which were displayed on her laptop’s screen, but she couldn’t make sense of the words or concentrate on anything, as she was distracted by Bryan’s thumb which was lightly rubbing over her arm as he scooted closer to her.
When she couldn’t bear it anymore Sonia cleared her throat, “Do you mind excusing me? I can’t concentrate on my work while you are here like this,” Sonia told him quietly.
“You asked me to suit myself. Besides, I can’t concentrate out there while you are in here like this either. So, what do you suggest we do? Do you want us to talk about it now?” He asked, looking at her face with searching eyes, as though trying to discern her thoughts.
Sonia felt a painful lump in her throat when she recalled the words he had said to Jeff, and tears welled up in her eyes, causing her to look away from him, “Talk about what?” She asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about as the thought of what he had said still made her heart ache.
“Talk about the reason you are so upset,” Bryan answered patiently.
“I already told you I’m not upset,” Sonia insisted.
“Can you stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about? I’m trying my best here, so you should at least help me too. I really didn’t mean what I said to Jeff. I only said that to get him out of my face,” Bryan confessed with a sigh even though he knew she still wouldn’t believe him. He just didn’t want her to keep feeling hurt or upset because of what he had said.
Sonia turned to look at him. She wanted to ask him what he meant by that. Did that mean he had feelings for her? But she was too scared to bring herself to ask him that question.
She didn’t want him to say something that might hurt her even more, and she didn’t want him to have the impression that he could hurt her either, so she shook her head, “I really don’t know what you are talking about. I didn’t hear anything,” Sonia stubbornly insisted.
It was apparent to Bryan that she was lying to him, but he couldn’t understand why, “I have no idea why you are being so stubborn or denying this, but if you’re feeling upset because of what you heard, you really shouldn’t be,” Bryan said as he raised her hand to his lips, and kissed her palm, making Sonia blink at him as heat spread from her hand to the other parts of her body, and her heart fluttered in her chest.
“What are you doing?” She asked in a small voice.
“Trying to make you feel better? I don’t like you like this. I like you better when you are happy and acting like a witch,” Bryan said with a small smile even though he couldn’t understand why he was saying things like this, or trying so hard to cheer her up when he had decided that he didn’t want her to know about his feelings.
“Acting like a witch?” Sonia asked with a scowl even though she somehow found his words amusing and comforting.
“Are women generally fault finders, or is it just a Sonia Bardi thing? How come you skipped the part where I said I like you better when you are happy?” Bryan asked, making Sonia roll her eyes.
“Are you here to pick a fight or to apologize?”
“Ah! So finally you agree that I did something to make you upset?” Bryan asked with a grin, and Sonia picked up the pillow to hit him, but Bryan quickly caught hold of it.
“What did I do?”
“How could you ask me such a stupid question?” Sonia asked with a slightly raised brow.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.