Chapter 700 Hurt Feelings
"I don't think you should have gotten involved in it," Bryan said as he and Sonia walked into Bryan's bedroom after breakfast.
"It's okay if you don't think I should have gotten involved," Sonia said and Bryan raised a brow.
"What?"
"It's okay for us not to always agree on everything. I did what I believed I needed to do. If you think it was wrong, it's fine. Since I also think you are wrong for telling me I shouldn't have gotten involved," Sonia said as she got on the bed and picked up up laptop.
"Song…"
"Bryan, let's change the subject, please," Sonia said testily.
Bryan sighed as he joined her on the bed, "I'm not saying this because I want us to fight. I just don't want you to be in a bad place with my mom," Bryan said softly.
"And you think I want to be in a bad place with her? I only stated a fact that you all were too relaxed to want to state," Sonia said, giving him a pointed look.
"You only did that because this was about Lucy…"
"Really? Are we back to that? You know what? I don't want to have this conversation right now. I will just go find somewhere quiet to do my writing," Sonia said as she started to rise from the bed, but Bryan held her back.
"Let's talk it out. I want us to talk not fight or argue," Bryan said calmly and Sonia looked at him.
"You agree that your mom was wrong but you also think it was wrong of me to point that out to her? Tell me, is it because we are not married yet and you think I'm not a part of the family so I shouldn't express myself freely? Should I excuse myself whenever you're having family discussions going forward?" She asked and Bryan frowned.
"Of course not. You know that's not what I mean. I'm only looking out for you, babe," Bryan said reasonably as he rubbed a hand down her arm to calm her since he could see she was upset.
"And I was looking out for Lucy because none of you were going to say a word," Sonia said and Bryan shook his head.
"That's not true. Lucy was handling things well enough and didn't need you to speak on her behalf. My dad had her back already. All I'm saying is I would prefer you stay neutral next time. If anyone should be in a bad spot with her, let it be me. I will speak up on her behalf next time. I just don't want you to be on bad terms with my family." Bryan said and Sonia raised a brow.
"You are not trying to ask me to apologize to your mom, are you?" Sonia asked suspiciously.
"I would appreciate it if you do because I don't want any friction between the both of you. My mom is big on respect and you came off a bit rude. She might have been wrong but she is still my mom and I love her. And I love you too and wouldn't feel comfortable knowing she is not happy with you," Bryan said and Sonia sighed.
"Alright. Fine. If that's what you want, I will apologize to her," Sonia said and Bryan kissed her forehead.
"Thanks," Bryan said and Sonia scowled.
"I'm a bit disappointed in the way Tom handled things earlier. I don't believe he wanted to walk away just like that," Sonia said when she remembered how he had been about to leave.
"I would have done the same. I don't think Lucy discussed with him before raising the subject there. He had every reason to want to leave. Tom has always been the closest to our mother and he already expressed how he felt to her the other night over the phone. He didn't have to speak up there in front of everyone to prove anything," Bryan said and Sonia shook her head.
"He should have been the one to do what your dad did," Sonia said but Bryan shook his head.
"And he has to do that in front of everyone in order for you to know he is defending Lucy? Do you want to know what I honestly think? Tom isn't necessarily upset because our mom went behind him to talk to our grandfather. He is mainly upset at her because she ignored what he said about letting things be and kept wanting to find out about Kimberly. And also because she tried to make it about Lucy instead of apologizing to him for not listening to him. The only thing we all blame our mom for is trying to put all the blame on Lucy. If our grandfather had not pulled that prank and he had only talked to Tom about getting married, do you think anyone would be mad at her for seeking grandfather's help?" Bryan asked, and Sonia frowned.
"Not exactly," Sonia said honestly.
"So, how is it her fault that our grandfather pulled such a prank? Tom understands that it wasn't entirely her fault, and that was why he wasn't going to do anything about it. This whole thing put Tom in a bad spot of having to take sides…" Bryan stopped when Jade knocked on the door, and he went to open the door.
"Can I come in?" She asked, looking somewhat downcast, and Bryan let her into the room.
"I think we hurt mom's feeling," Jade said, feeling bad as she sat on the bed.
"No doubt about that," Bryan said with a sigh, and Sonia rose to excuse them but Bryan pulled her back on the bed once again.
"What should we do?" Jade asked, and Bryan shrugged.
"Nothing. Let's stay out of it and leave it to dad, Tom, and Lucy," Bryan said and Jade sighed.
"I don't like the way all of this is going. Maybe Lucy should have just let things be especially now that grandfather is no more. And you too, Sonia, you didn't have to also attack her. She must have felt like everyone was against her," Jade said, but to Bryan's relief, Sonia said nothing.
"It doesn't change the fact that we needed to talk to mom about this. We were not willing to do this because we didn't want to hurt her feelings, but Lucy made us face it. I've always found it annoying the way she gets the people who work for us to spy on us. All my previous assistants did that and I had to keep firing them until Mia showed up and proved she was different. Simon always reported to her about everything I did so it's no wonder he could rat me out to Anita and to the press. In case you didn't notice, Adolf does the same to Tom. I don't know how she keeps tabs on you, but I'm sure she did too. It is all a lot. What I'm trying to say is that this discussion was necessary. It may not have happened at the best time or in the best way, but we needed to talk to her about stepping back. She might be hurt now, but I know once she gets past this feeling she will understand us and do better," Bryan said, and Sonia eyed him, not sure where he stood.
One moment he was defending his mother to her, and the next he was sounding as though he had been tolerating her for so long and waiting until now to speak out.
Jade sighed, "She told me some time ago that she did a background investigation on Todd, and grandfather did on Harry before he started business with Tom," Jade said and Bryan sighed.
"You see what I mean? I understand they were trying to look out for, but that's too much," Bryan said and Jade nodded.
"I don't suppose she did any background search on Lucy and I?" Sonia asked with a slight frown.
"She didn't have to. The scandals told her all she needed to know about the both of you," Jade said and Sonia relaxed.
"You know what I think? It's our fault. If we had been honest with mom this whole time and told her how we felt, Lucy wouldn't have had to be the one to do it," Jade said after some time, and Bryan nodded in agreement.
Away from there, as Lucy joined Tom in his bedroom, she could tell that he wasn't happy with her for raising the discussion during breakfast without discussing it with him first.
Although he did not say a word, but she had come to know him well enough to know when he was upset.
"You are mad at me, aren't you?" Lucy said when Tom said nothing to her and kept his gaze on his laptop.
Tom raised his gaze from the laptop to look at her briefly, "I'm glad you are aware," Tom said as he shut down his laptop.
to stir things up. I know you well enough to know that was a calculated move. That is my family out there. If you were going to "I only wanted to clear things up before your mom brings it up."
"That did not look like you were trying to clear things up. I know you, and that's not how you clear things up. You deliberately tried to stir things up. I know you well enough to know that was a calculated move. That is my family out there. If you were going to address them, you should have spoken to me first, especially since this involves me," Tom said as he rose to face her.
"I wasn't trying to stir things up. I know I should have told you beforehand…"
"Just last night you assured me you were going to apologize to her and do your best to adjust and be more accommodating of them…"
"I did apologize to her already and was getting to the other part before all the interruptions," Lucy cut in.
"Do you really expect me to believe that was what you had in mind? Someone who planned to apologize wouldn't say some of the things you said out there…"
"You mean what I said about her running the company in your stead? Cause that's the only thing I know I said wrong there. I was out of line and for that I apologize."
"You shouldn't have said anything in the first place. Things were messy already…"
"I wouldn't have had to utter a word if you had handled it all yourself from the beginning," Lucy hissed irritably, and Tom frowned.
"I beg your pardon?" Tom asked in a tight voice.
"You heard me. Are you scared of your mom? While I agree that I may not have handled things right, it wasn't in my place to handle any of this in the first place. Do you have any idea how mortified I was the first time I met your mom and she told me to 'keep things down tonight'? Do you think I don't know Adolf reports everything to her? You knew about it the whole time but did nothing about it. Do you think I reacted this way just because of the prank?!" Lucy asked and Tom shook his head as he headed for the door, not willing to get into an argument with her.
"Sure. You can walk away. You wanted to do that earlier during breakfast anyway. So, go ahead and leave. Or better still, you don't have to leave. I will leave since this is your home and I'm causing too much trouble for everyone. I was wrong and I admit it, but you have no right to be mad at me when you're the one who put me in this position and you're the one making me look like the bad one now," Lucy said as she looked around for her stuff.
Tom shook his head and continued for the door, but before either of them could leave the bedroom, a knock sounded on the door and Tom scowled as he opened the door, "Your parents want you downstairs. They said to tell you that Kimberly is here," the housekeeper announced before going to pass the same information to Bryan and Jade.
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