Chapter 523 No More Conflict

While Lucy and Tom were busy in his bedroom eating and being eaten, Sonia made her way to Bryan's bedroom after he called her to let her know he was back.

Once she opened the bedroom door and walked into the bedroom, Bryan who was taking off his trousers, turned to look at her, and they both remained where they stood staring at each other.

"I saw your live video," Bryan said, breaking the silence that hung in the air between them.

That was the first message he had seen when he got off the jet. Mia had screen-recorded it and sent it to him.

"I read about your interview and your appearance at the cinema," Sonia said, and Bryan sighed.

"I wanted to surprise you," they both said at the same time and broke out in laughter.

"I'm sorry," they both said simultaneously once they stopped laughing, and then paused as they smiled at each other.

"Come here," Bryan said, and Sonia went to him.

Bryan embraced her and held her in his arms as she also hugged him back fiercely. They remained in each other's arms that way for some time without saying anything until Sonia pulled away.

"Give me a minute, I need to catch my breath," she said as she took a deep breath because she was feeling suffocated with her face pressed against his chest.

Bryan watched her for some seconds with a blank expression, and then he sat on the bed, and patted the space beside him for her to sit.

"You must be exhausted. Let's talk in the morning," Sonia suggested, but Bryan shook his head.

"I don't think I will be able to have a good night rest if I don't get this off my chest," Bryan said, and Sonia sat beside him.

They both remained silent for some seconds as Sonia gave Bryan the time he needed to gather his thoughts, and after some time Bryan took her hands, "I love you, Sonia. I really do and I'm glad we both came back to our senses," Bryan started, while Sonia simply stared at him.

"I'm deeply sorry about my reaction. Regardless of whatever you did, I overreacted and I take responsibility for all of it. I'm immature as you sai...."

"No. No. I didn't really mean that," Sonia quickly cut in.

"Yes, you did. And even if you didn't, I think I acted very immaturely. Seeing Tom handle his misunderstanding with Lucy made me realize how badly I handled ours," Bryan said with a sigh even though it bruised his ego to admit that.

"Well, you can't be so sure that he wouldn't have handled things like you did had he been in your shoes. Their misunderstanding wasn't as serious as ours," Sonia said, trying to defend Bryan since she could understand how hard it must be for him to admit this out loud.

"Not Tom. He is my elder brother and I know that much about him. He would have handled things way better. Sure, he would have beat Derek up, but he would never have done it so carelessly or publicly for it to get in the news, and he definitely would not have left Lucy alone at the station the way I left you," Bryan explained, and Sonia smiled.

"You packed a pretty good punch though. I never thought you had it in you," Sonia teased, and Bryan chuckled.

"I love you, Bryan. So much more than you think. And I'm sorry. I know I hold part of the blame. I'm sorry for being so distracted when you were trying to talk to me, and I'm sorry for not listening to you at the station. I wanted to help," Sonia said, and Bryan nodded.

"I know that. But I expected you to trust me. I was going to handle it. Even if you hadn't done anything, I would never have spent the night at the station. From the moment the officers realized who I was they were willing to let me go in the car but I didn't want them to do that. Besides, I asked them to let things play out because I also wanted to see how far Derek was willing to go," Bryan explained, and Sonia frowned.

"Why were they willing to let you go? Because you are an actor?"

"No. Because they could lose their job if my grandfather hears of it," Bryan said, and Sonia's brows pulled together.

"Your grandfather?"

"Yes. Lawrence Hank," Bryan said, and Sonia gasped.

"The one time president?" she asked, and Bryan gave her a nod.

"So I really did not want you to get involved. I could have had him locked up at the end of everything..."

"But the situation didn't look that way when I got there," Sonia said with a frown, when she recalled that both his hands had been cuffed.

"The cop told me you were refusing to settle or give your statement and you were cuffed too," she pointed out.

"I was cuffed so I wouldn't attack Derek. When he was giving his statement he made some remarks and I was forced to hit him. It was either they cuffed me or locked me up temporarily," Bryan explained, and Sonia nodded.

"I see," Sonia said, still surprised about the identity of his grandfather.

Although, the man was old now and never made public appearances, he had been one of the best presidents the country had ever had.

"How come I never knew he is your grandfather? It's not on your bio, is it?" she asked, and Bryan shook his head.

"You know how easy it is for people to tie your success to your family background. I didn't want anyone to assume I got to this level because of family connections. I worked hard for it. Besides, our father never allowed us to brag about it or introduce ourself as the former president's grandchildren. He didn't do that himself either. Tom is the only one who used our grandfather's influence to get the caliber of investors he needed for his company. And as you can see, he pretty much hid his identity even after doing that," Bryan explained, and Sonia nodded thoughtfully.

"Why? I mean your dad. Why didn't he want you to introduce yourself that way? Is he not on good terms with his father?"

"He was a good president and he tried to be a good father but he wasn't a present father. He was almost always absent, and because of him my dad was kidnapped. So it's more like he likes his father, but doesn't like the title attached," Bryan explained and then remembered that they were not done clearing up their misunderstanding.

"Back to what I was saying. I want you to know that I don't have a problem with your writing about us. I'm sorry I let that text get to me the way I did. Also, you should know that I do not hold anything you did in the past against you. About your friendship with Lucy, I want you to understand that I'm not against Lucy. I love her both as your best friend and of course as my brother's partner...."

"I know that," Sonia cut in, "And I want you to know that you and Lucy have your special places in my heart. I wouldn't have hesitated to leave Lucy's side in the blink of an eye like I left you that day, if the situation was reversed and you needed me. She is my best friend, and you are my man. I understand there is a difference," Sonia assured him.

"It's not just about leaving me. It's the way you left. It's about coming up with decisions on your own. I don't like that. I will never make a decision that involves the both of us without discussing it with you first. We are a team. No one person should be calling all the shots," Bryan said, and Sonia sighed. Lucy had been right.

"It's not a deliberate act. I think I've been this way for a long time. Maybe it comes with being alone and making all decisions for myself for too long I don't know. Or maybe I'm just a control freak that wants to treat my life the way I do my stories. Lucy talked to me about it, and apparently it's not just you I do it to. She claims she has been tolerating me all these years. I will do my best to work on it. The change might not come at once. But I will do my best to pay attention when you correct me," Sonia promised.

"Does that mean you are willing to review the subject of moving in together?" Bryan asked, and Sonia paused.

"I didn't ask for us to go on a break, Bryan. I only brought up that suggestion because I thought we might be going too fast when we barely know much about each other...."

"And how do you know we don't know much about each other?" Bryan asked, and Sonia shrugged.

"Hasn't this whole episode proved it? We both don't trust or understand each other enough yet," Sonia said patiently.

"Has it occurred to you that this could have also happened to people who have been in a relationship for years or are married? Besides, don't you think it is easier to understand and learn more about a person who lives under the same roof with you than a person who lives far away from you? You don't have to travel with me to movie sites if you don't want to, but I need you to be with me under the same roof when I'm not working," Bryan pleaded and Sonia looked at him contemplatively for a moment.

"Do you believe I love you?" she asked, and Bryan gave her a nod.

"I do."

"Then you just don't think I love you enough?" she asked, and Bryan sighed.

"Not exactly. Or maybe I thought so before now. You gave me the feeling that you were fine on your own and even if I decided to walk away you wouldn't be very much affected," Bryan answered honestly.

"Do you still think so now?"

"No. I think you love me, but not the way I want to be loved. You don't get my love language. And maybe it's the same for you. Maybe I'm not loving you as you want to be loved too," Bryan said, and Sonia nodded thoughtfully.

"We could talk about that tomorrow. You need to have dinner and relax," Sonia suggested.

"We are not done yet. We haven't concluded on whether we are moving in together as we planned or not," Bryan said, and Sonia nodded.

"Fine. Let's go ahead with it. If it does not work out then we will have to live apart," Sonia said, and Bryan smiled.

"Agreed. Although I'm not asking for any more conflicts, but I think we need to discuss more suitable ways of resolving conflicts in the future without having the world in our business. I learned that from Tom," Bryan said and Sonia nodded in agreement.

"I'm in. It's a good suggestion."

"So, you don't need any more conflicts for our story, right?" Bryan asked, and Sonia giggled.

"Do you even need to ask? Please, no more conflict," she said, and Bryan smiled as he pulled her close to himself and kissed her.

"I need to freshen up," Bryan said after he broke the kiss.

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"You do that. I will go down to the kitchen to see if I can find something for you to eat while you shower," Sonia suggested as she rose but Bryan caught her wrist before she could leave.

"I'd rather redeem what you were offering in the shower yesterday. We can go down stairs together to find dinner after we are done," Bryan suggested with a naughty smile.

"You turned me down yesterday. That offer is no longer on the table," Sonia said with a sultry smile.

"Then how about make-up sex in the shower?" Bryan suggested, and Sonia sighed lustily.

"Too bad I can't resist you. Let's go," Sonia said as began to undress.