The Hank family gathered together for breakfast later than usual that morning before Evelyn and Desmond would prepare to leave for the airport, since they had all had a late night.
It didn't take long for Jade and Bryan to observe that something was wrong since both Tom and their parents were unusually quiet as they ate.
"Did we miss something? It seems like something happened when we weren't looking," Jade said to Bryan and Sonia.
"Is everything alright?" Bryan asked his parents and Desmond smiled.
"Sure. We are going to miss you kids," Desmond said, and Evelyn nodded in agreement.
"And you, Tommy? Are you alright?" Jade asked, looking at Tom with interest.
"I miss Lucy," Tom said, and Jade rolled her eyes, while Sonia smiled.
"I trust she will be back now that you're back from your trip. I guess she will come back after her parents leave," Bryan said, and Tom shrugged without saying anything.
"I seem to be the only person whose partner isn't living under this roof. Perhaps I should ask Harry to move in too?" Jade l asked, and this time even her parents and Tom laughed.
"By the way, Sony, how did the house hunting go yesterday? Did you find any place of interest?" Evelyn asked since she had not seen him since they left for the house hunting.
"We did. I can see why Tom is so successful. He employs only the best. The I-Global realtor who took us around seemed to know just what we wanted," Bryan said with satisfaction.
"You won't believe Bryan handled the paper works and paid for the house yesterday," Sonia said, her eyes shining with excitement at the prospect of buying their home.
Jade exchanged a look with Bryan, knowing that statement meant he was going on with his plan to engage Sonia in their new home.
"It was an eye opening experience. You won't believe Sonia wanted to pay half the money for the place," Bryan said, and Jade raised a brow as she looked at Sonia.
"Why would you want to spend a dime? Your boyfriend is wealthy. I would suck him dry if I were you," Jade said, and Sonia giggled.
"I can't wait to see how you suck Harry dry," Bryan said and Jade stuck out her tongue.
"I intend to do just that…"
"I guess I will have to let him know," Tom cut in, and Jade rolled her eyes.
"He knows and he loves me just the same. Nothing you say can change his mind. You will only end up making him fall harder in love," Jade said with a smug smile and her parents laughed.
"Must feel good to be so confident," Tom muttered.
"How did the party go last night? Did any interesting thing happen? Sonia, please tell me. I trust your storytelling skills," Evelyn said, and Sonia shrugged.
"Well, it was going well until Matt showed up with some girl, and they both sat on the same table with us and Candace," Sonia said with a scowl.
"It was awkward. Candace kept glaring at her," Jade said with a giggle.
"Awkward? That's an understatement," Sonia said with a snort and Evelyn laughed.
"So, what happened? Any cat fight?" Desmond asked with interest, and they all laughed as Sonia and Jade told them about the meeting in the ladies' room and how Gemima had busted them.
"I guess you all had a nice time then," Evelyn said with a small smile when they were done talking about the party.
"Yeah. And today we are going to continue. We are going clubbing. Just us girls," Jade said, and Evelyn turned to Sonia.
"You are not taking alcohol…"
"She won't. I'm going to be there to look after her and my little Nibling, don't worry," Jade said, and Evelyn nodded.
"I thought I was the one meant to look after you alcoholics?" Sonia asked dryly, and Jade giggled.
"Eve, we need to go get ready to leave for the airport," Desmond said as he glanced at his wristwatch and pushed away from the table.
After their parents left, Tom left as well, leaving Sonia, Bryan and Jade on the table.
Sonia picked up her phone when it rang and smiled when she saw it was Lucy, "Hey, baby!" Sonia greeted cheerfully as she rose and excused herself.
Immediately she left, Jade leaned closer to Bryan, "So, we are going ahead with your original plan?" Jade asked, and Bryan nodded.
"Yes. Perhaps if you have time later in the day I can take you over there to show you the place and then you can figure out what to do," Bryan suggested and Jade glanced at her wristwatch.
It was past ten in the morning, "Is there a way we can do that without Sonia being suspicious or wanting to come with us?" Jade asked, and Bryan shrugged.
"Even if she does go with us, she doesn't need to know the reason I took you there. Nothing wrong in flaunting my house to my sister, is there?" Bryan asked, and they both pulled away when they heard Sonia coming back.
"Babe, I'm sorry. But can we cancel our appointment with the interior decorators? I need to go over to Lucy's," Sonia said as she joined them and the siblings exchanged an amused look.
"Sure, we can. Is everything alright with Lucy?" Bryan asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah. It's been a while we spent some time together alone. And since it's weekend and she isn't so busy we figured we chill together before hanging out with the others later," Sonia said as though it wasn't a big deal even though she could tell that whatever Lucy wanted to discuss with her was very important.
"Don't worry, we don't have to cancel. I can meet with them myself if you tell me what you want…"
"But I will like to be there when the decisions are made," she cut in with a frown.
"We will just be discussing the ideas today. No major decision making. Whatever we discuss I will let you know and we can meet with them again on Monday," Bryan said as he took her hand and kissed her palm.
"Alright," Sonia said reluctantly. Lucy came before any other thing. She could let Bryan handle it today and on Monday she would tell them exactly what she wanted.
"Why don't I come with you? I will like to see the place. And since Sonia won't be with you, my feminine opinion might come in handy," Jade asked hopefully and Sonia smiled.
"That's right! Great! Jade will go with you, babe. And I can just meet with them on Monday," Sonia said with a smile and Jade grinned at Bryan.
"Alright, then. It's settled. We will drop you off at Lucy's on our way," Bryan said, and Sonia kissed his cheek happily.
"Great. Thanks baby. I should go get ready to leave then," Sonia said and then turned to Jade.
"I might not be back before the time for our outing, so Lucy and I will join you girls when it's time," Sonia told Jade.
"That's fine. I have to see Harry anyway. I will pick up Candace while I'm there and we can all meet at the club," Jade suggested, and Sonia flashed the siblings a smile.
"Great. I'll be upstairs getting ready," Sonia said before walking away.
The moment she disappeared from view they both laughed, "This makes the whole thing easier. Everything seems to be going your way," Jade said, and Bryan grinned.
"Must be a sign that I'm doing the right thing," he said as he pushed away from the table and rose.
"I should go get ready to drop her off at Lucy's. You should too," Bryan said before walking away.
Less than two hours later, Sonia stood outside Lucy's apartment and rang the doorbell, and a moment later Lucy opened the door.
"What did you want to talk about," Sonia asked as she walked inside and Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Really? You're not even going to sit first?" Lucy asked in amusement.
"What difference does it make whether I sit or not? By the way, Tom misses your presence in the house. You both seemed fine yesterday. I take it his trip helped smoothen things out?" Sonia asked as she went to the refrigerator to find something to munch on and Lucy shook her head as she sat down on the couch, waiting for Sonia to settle down.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Sonia asked as she sat down opposite Lucy and opened the Maltesers chocolate she had taken from the refrigerator.
"Because I'm about to have a serious conversation with you, and I can't do that if you're not settled," Lucy said and Sonia frowned.
"You're making me worried. What's this about?" Sonia asked, and Lucy picked up her phone and after unlocking it she handed it to Sonia.
"What am I supposed to do with your phone? Aww!" Sonia said with a wide smile when her eyes fell on the picture of the cute little girl dressed in matching outfit with her mother on the screen.
"Kimberly and her daughter Dawn…"
"How do you know their names?" Lucy asked in surprise when Sonia mentioned their names, and Sonia bobbed her head.
"Yeah. She recently followed me on Instagram even though I've been following her for years…"
"How long have you been following her?" Lucy asked curiously and Sonia shrugged.
"Long before she even had her daughter Dawn. Dawn is such a sweet little princess. I hope I have a little girl. Would love to dress up this way with her too," Sonia said with a wide smile and then after a moment of admiring them she paused and frowned when she noticed that Lucy was silent.
"Why are you showing me their pictures anyway? Does it suddenly make you feel maternal?" Sonia asked with a teasing smile as she looked up at Lucy.
"That's the lady who was with Tom in the club picture which Cora showed me," Lucy explained.
"Oh! Really? Why are you checking her out? Didn't you say that was resolved already since she was related to the person Tom was meeting?" Sonia asked as she looked at the picture again.
"Scroll to the next picture," Lucy said, and Sonia did as she was told to a selfie photo of the little girl alone.
"Take a closer look at the kid," Lucy suggested before Sonia could speak, and Sonia's eyes narrowed as she zoomed in on the picture.
"I told you I've seen the kid's picture since she was born. I know what she looks like. What do you need me to see?" Sonia asked as she looked up from the picture.
"Doesn't the kid bring anyone you know to mind?" Lucy asked, and Sonia frowned.
"What's going on, Lu? What's this about?" Sonia asked as she met Lucy's gaze.
"Doesn't she remind you of Tom? The eyes? That smile?" Lucy asked, and Sonia shook her head in exasperation.
"Don't tell me you allowed that girl get into your head and now you think Tom has a family somewhere. The kid might look a bit like Tom but that doesn't mean anything. People have doppelg?ngers all the time, and she is not even close to being Tom's doppelg?nger. Resemblances like this happen randomly between strangers," Sonia said dismissively.
"And the fact that Kimberly was at the club?" Lucy asked, wanting to get a rise out of Sonia.
"I believe it's just coincidence that she met Tom at the club. Tom isn't hiding anything from you," Sonia said with a frown.
Lucy resisted the urge to smile at Sonia's heartfelt defense of Tom, "Why are you so sure he isn't hiding anything?" Lucy asked, wanting to see how far Sonia would defend him.
Sonia dropped the chocolate and rose up eyeing Lucy angrily, "Because he is TOM! How can you even ask me that? That guy is crazy about you and he wouldn't do anything to hurt you or jeopardize your relationship. It's crazy that you're even questioning his integrity right now! I find it annoying on his behalf! Listen to me, if you're doing this because you're looking for an excuse to break up or…"
Sonia stopped talking abruptly when Lucy began to giggle, "What's funny?" She asked with a frown.
Lucy shook her head as she kept laughing, "It's you. You're funny," Lucy said, laughing out loud.
Sonia remained where she stood, watching Lucy as she waited for her to stop laughing and explain what she meant, "When you're done tittering, I hope to know what you find amusing," Sonia said, and Lucy sighed as she looked at her.
"Why are you so quick to defend Tom when I'm your best friend?" Lucy asked, and Sonia frowned.
"It is because I'm your best friend, that I am defending him. You've changed so much for the better and become happier since he came into your life. Tom is good for you, and I know it. So, I won't let you ruin it because some stupid girl at work showed you a stupid picture which you were stupid enough to let get into your head," Sonia said, and Lucy nodded.
"I'm glad you think so highly over my boyfriend. Now, sit down, Sony. You shouldn't get so worked up. It's not good for our baby," Lucy said, and Sonia scowled as she went to sit down beside Lucy on the twin sofa.
"Lu, I'm being serious right now. I think…"
"I know you're serious. I am too. So, keep shut and listen," Lucy said, cutting Sonia off.
"Kimberly showed up at the club to inform Tom about the kid. According to her, the kid is his," Lucy said, and Sonia frowned.
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," Sonia said with a frown.
"Tom had a fling with Kimberly once. She claims the kid is his…"
"Tom told you that?" Sonia cut in.
"Yes, he did. And I chatted with Kimberly myself," Lucy explained and Sonia sighed as she let her head rest on the headrest of the couch.
"You could have just said so earlier," Sonia said with a slight frown.
"And miss your theatrics?" Lucy asked with a small smile.
"How is Tom taking it?" Sonia asked, and Lucy shrugged.
"We submitted DNA samples at the lab for paternity test already. We are awaiting the result on Monday. He said a part of him hopes she is his, and the other part of him hope she isn't," Lucy explained, and Sonia nodded.
"That makes sense. What about you, then? How do you feel?" Sonia asked, and Lucy took a deep breath.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
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