The moment Jade walked into her bedroom, she picked up her phone, which was lying on the bed, and just as she had expected, she saw that she had missed two calls from Harry.
She decided to first return Harry's call before speaking with her mother.
The phone rang for some time before Harry received the call, making her raise a brow, "What took you so long?"
"I just got out of the shower. I'm surprised you called back. For a moment there, I thought you were deliberately ignoring my call because you were mad at me," Harry said as he towel-dried his hair.
Jade rolled her eyes, "What happened is hardly enough reason for me not to want to talk to you," She said with a pout as she sat on the bed as if Harry could see her.
"Yet you didn't deem it fit to say you love me or bid me goodnight," Harry pointed out.
"That was because you left the way you did. You made me feel like I was nagging, and you couldn't wait to leave," She said, and Harry sighed.
"That wasn't my intention. You seemed like you wanted to fight…"
"We are saying the same thing, are we not? I wasn't fighting with you, but you made it look like that was what I was doing. And then you left just like that," Jade cut in.
"I was really exhausted, esquire. I barely slept last night, and I've been busy all day. I could have gone home directly after work, but I wanted to see beautiful you, and then we ran into Sara, and my mood almost got ruined, but you fixed it. It has been a really long day for me, and all I wanted was to end it on a pleasant note with you, but you wanted to fight over something unnecessary," Harry said, and Jade scowled.
"I didn't want to fight, and my annoyance wasn't unnecessary. But fine. I've heard you. Let's not stress you anymore by arguing over it. It's past now," Jade said, and Harry smiled.
"Thanks for being understanding. So, now that we have gotten that out of the way, what are you up to? Are you ready for bed?" Harry asked, changing the subject.
"I'm not sure. I plan to give my mom a call after speaking with you. A lot has happened in just one night. By the way, did you know about Lucy not wanting to marry Tom?" She asked, and Harry raised a brow.
"Why?" He asked, wondering how she had found out about that.
"Why what?" Jade asked in confusion since that wasn't the response she had been expecting.
Was he asking her why she was asking him that, or he was asking her why Lucy didn't want to get married to Tom?
"Why are you asking me that? And where did you hear that from?" Harry asked, and Jade nodded as she crossed her legs.
It was obvious that Harry knew about it, as she had expected, "Mom told Bryan. Everyone knows about it now," Jade said and went on to tell him how Lucy had yelled at them when they asked her about it.
"Why didn't you tell me about it this whole time?" Jade said with displeasure, and Harry shook his head.
Were they about to argue over this too?
"Because it is not your business. If either Lucy or Tom wanted your opinion or interference, they would have told you themselves. I guess none of them told you about it because they knew if they did, it would become public knowledge. Besides, if I had told you about it, what would you have done to help the situation?" Harry demanded.
"What do you mean if they had told me about it, it would have become public knowledge?" Jade asked, feeling very offended by that.
Harry took a deep breath, "Do you remember one of the reasons I didn't want to get involved with you?" Harry asked, and she sat up, wondering what that had to do with her question.
"Other than the fact that you didn't think I was interested in you?" Jade asked with a frown.
"My friendship with your brother. I told you before, and I'm going to say it again. I don't want our relationship to affect my friendship with Tom or vice versa. I love you as my girlfriend, and I cherish Tom as my best friend. I would like to keep my relationship with you both separate. The last thing I would want is for us to have issues over my loyalty to Tom. Don't expect me to share the personal details of his life, which he told me in confidence. Tom's business is his business, and our business is ours."
"Alright. Fine. Make sure you don't get mad when I keep stuff about Candace away from you, too," She warned.
"That's fine by me."
"That's fine by me, too," Jade hissed, and his lips twitched.
"Esquire, I'm sorry if I sounded harsh, but I just had to tell you the truth. I really think you need to stop being so interested in other people's business. It's this same trait in your mom that has caused all this mess tonight," Harry said, and Jade sighed.
"Fine. I won't ask you any personal stuff relating to Tom and Lucy anymore," Jade said grudgingly, and Harry smiled.
"And you won't pry or interfere in issues that concern the others as well unless you are called upon, right?" Harry asked, and Jade scowled.
"Well, I don't think the others mind…"
"C'mon, sugar," Harry coaxed.
"How can I not interfere? What's the point in having family and friends if I can't be involved in their personal life and business? It's boring," Jade complained, and Harry smiled.
"It's not boring. It is called respecting boundaries. You should only interfere in people's business when you are asked to get involved. Every human relationship needs healthy boundaries, esquire. And you need to start having your own boundaries, too," Harry said patiently, like he was talking to a kid.
"So, we can't gossip about our family and friends as normal couples do?" Jade asked with a frown.
"Sure, we can, only on issues that concern us. We can't pry into their business," Harry said, and Jade sighed.
"I didn't bargain to make so many changes when I decided to date you," Jade said, and Harry chuckled.
"I will never ask you to make any character adjustment that isn't for your own good, sugar. I don't want Lucy or anyone else speaking harshly to you again because of this," Harry said, and Jade sighed.
"Alright. Fine. I will try. But you also need to work on being less blunt and harsh. I'm your girlfriend, for crying out loud. You should do your best to be romantic and talk sweetly to me even when I'm upset or being unreasonable instead of leaving the way you did earlier," Jade said, and Harry smiled.
"Alright. I promise to work on it. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. It wasn't my intention. I love you too much to ever want to deliberately hurt your feelings," He said, and Jade smiled.
"Alright. I've heard you. I'm sorry for adding to your stress as well. I should let you go to bed now. I have to give my mom a call before she goes to bed."
"Alright, love. Sleep well when you do. I love you," Harry said, and she smiled.
"I love you more. Make sure you go to bed now and don't open your eyes until morning. Sleep as much as you can and get rid of all that stress, okay?" Jade said, making him chuckle.
"Yes, milady. Goodnight," Harry said before hanging up.
Jade smiled, glad that her conversation with Harry had ended well, and then she rose and braced herself as she dialed her mom's line.
The call connected almost immediately, but Evelyn said nothing, making Jade's brows pull together.
"Mom?" She called when she heard a sniffle.
"Are you mad at me too?" Evelyn asked pitifully, making Jade feel sorry for her.
Jade sighed, "You should have known better than to call Tom and try to blame Lucy…"
"I was only trying to make him see reasons why he should have handled things himself instead of letting Lucy get involved, but he hung up. What did I do that was so wrong? I didn't ask your grandfather to do such a thing, so why is everyone blaming me? Why is no one seeing reasons with me?" Evelyn asked as she broke into a sob.
"Mom, as much as I feel sorry for you right now, I have to tell you that you brought this upon yourself. You were wrong to make this about Lucy. All you had to do was sincerely apologize for the role you played, and all would have been forgiven and forgotten. Why did you have to question Tom about letting his girlfriend handle things? Have you considered what would have happened had she broken up with Tom over it, only for them to find out it was all a prank? Do you think Tom would have forgiven you or grandfather?" She asked, and Evelyn sniffled.
"We were only looking out for him…"
"That is still not the point! You are missing the point. Right now, it doesn't matter why grandfather did what he did. The point right now is that you made everything worse. I came back home to see Tom enjoying dinner with Lucy. They both looked happy until you called Tom and ruined his evening. You ruined the evening for all of us, not just for Tom. Why couldn't you have just called to apologize?" Jade enquired impatiently.
"I wasn't thinking straight. I was upset because your father got mad," She said as she sobbed softly.
It wasn't every day one received a scolding from her husband and all her kids in one evening.
"It's okay. I'm sure Dad will let it go after he cools off. He never stays mad at you…"
"No, Jade. He's really mad this time. I've never seen him so angry. He raised his voice, and he has locked himself up in the guest room. He had never done that before," Evelyn cried, and Jade sighed.
"Don't you think instead of making things worse, you should be doing all you can to resolve things so he can stop being mad? How do you think he is going to feel when he finds out you are blaming Lucy instead of taking responsibility for your action?" Jade asked, and Evelyn's lips wobbled.
"What should I do? Tom turned off his phone already," Evelyn said, and Jade shook her head.
It was funny that the only time their mother acted like a clueless child was whenever something involved her husband.
"I'm sure Lucy's phone is on. You should call her and apologize to her directly. That way, she can calm Tom on your behalf, and they both can calm Dad on your behalf," Jade suggested.
"Apologize to her? She knows I blamed her?" Evelyn asked, feeling a surge of shame at her action.
"Of course, she does. She was pretty upset earlier and even yelled at Bryan and I when we asked her about not wanting to get married to Tom…"
"Bryan told her I told him about it?" Evelyn asked in alarm.
"Of course. If you didn't want him to say it, why did you tell him?" Jade asked and then winced when she remembered what Harry had said about Tom and Lucy keeping things from her so it wouldn't become public knowledge.
"I was wrong. I made everything worse," Evelyn said, and Jade smiled.
"Yes, mom. You were wrong. That's why Dad always says we are bound to make mistakes whenever we react emotionally to things instead of logically," Jade said, and Evelyn sighed.
"Thanks, Jade. I will call her now. I hope she doesn't reject my call," Evelyn said before hanging up.
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