Chapter 228 - Break Up

After confirming from Tom that it was Sonia's family that was involved in this, he couldn't bring himself to stop her. She had said her half-brother had committed suicide and her parents blamed Lucy for it, so why was Lucy being accused of her half-brother's murder?

Looking into her eyes, Bryan could tell that her mind was made up, "I will come with you." He offered instead.

He could tell that she was going over to offer her best friend the needed comfort and support. Even though she liked to act like she was very tough, she also needed to be comforted herself. 

Sonia shook her head, "You shouldn't. First of all your ankle is yet to heal completely. Secondly, you're a celebrity, and public opinion matters to you. My getting involved in this is bad enough for you..."

"What's going on? Everyone is waiting for the both of you so we can start," Jeff said as he walked over to where they were discussing.

"Can't we just wrap it up now? Sonia needs to leave. She has an emergency that needs to be taken care of, and I'm leaving with her," Bryan said, ignoring what Sonia had been saying earlier.

Harry turned to Sonia, "Is it very urgent?" 

"Yes. You're Bryan's manager, you shouldn't let him come with me. It might end up becoming a career suicide for him if he gets involved in this," Sonia informed Jeff who turned to Bryan with questioning eyes.

"What kind of a fiance would I be if I let you go through this alone?" Bryan asked in annoyance, not liking how she was bringing up the whole celebrity thing again.

"What kind of a fiancee would I be if I let you get involved in this knowing the damage it would do to you? I love you Bryan, and I won't let you get hurt," Sonia said as she slid off the engagement ring on her finger, while the onlookers gasped in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Bryan asked, feeling his heart shatter as he watched her take off his ring. Although he had given her the ring without meaning to, somewhere along the line of their relationship he had come to see her truly as his fiancee.

"Can you give us a moment alone?" Sonia asked Harry and Mia who had come to join them and were watching in confusion.

Sonia lowered herself so that she was squatting in front of him, "Let's break up. After I have cleared up all of this we can get back together if you still want us to," Sonia explained.

"We only just started dating last night! How can you be saying this?" Bryan asked through gritted teeth so that no one else would hear him. 

"Jamie abducted Lucy, and he died. I stood as a witness in court to clear Lucy's name when my mother and her husband accused her of murdering Jamie. Now Lucy is being accused of murdering them all and I need to clear her name since they were my family. We both know that I can't do that if I'm your fiancee," Sonia explained as patiently as she could. 

"I will keep in touch. I love you," Sonia said as she brushed her lips against his cheek. Once she pulled away, she placed the ring on his thigh, and without allowing him to say anything else Sonia straightened up and walked over to where the producer was standing, "It has been nice doing this shoot with you all. I'm sorry I have to leave now. I need to deal with something," Sonia said and walked away without waiting for him to try to stop her.

Mia hurried after Sonia as she walked away, "Did you just break up with him?" She asked as she tried to catch up with Sonia.

"Yes."

"Why would you do that? You promised not to hurt him, but you just did," Mia said in confusion since she knew that Sonia genuinely cared for Bryan.

"I'm sorry I can't give you the exact details right now, but Lucy needs me and I can't be there for her as Bryan Hank's fiancee. We can get back together when all this is over," Sonia assured Mia.

She suspected that whoever had dug up this story to ruin Lucy, was likely going to do the same to her if she defended Lucy. And she knew that her supposed false relationship with Bryan could likely be used against her, so she needed to end their false engagement.

"I should drive you home and to the airport then," Mia offered.

"What about Bryan?" 

"Don't worry about him. He won't mind," Mia assured her as they both walked out. 

After picking up her stuff from Bryan's place, Sonia's heart felt heavy as Mia drove her to the airport. Just last night and this morning they had been making love, and now she had to leave his side. 

She blinked back the tears that stung her eyes and looked out of the window so that Mia wouldn't see her face. She felt like she was leaving a part of herself behind. She felt empty.

However, her loyalty to Lucy would always come before anything else in her life. Including her own happiness. She couldn't afford to be happy when Lucy wasn't happy. She still felt partly responsible for all that had happened to Lucy. 

If only she had reported Jamie to their parents immediately they found out what he was up to, none of this would have happened. He was her half-brother, and he had almost ruined Lucy's life. Lucy was just trying to recover, and she couldn't allow something like this to pull her down once again, even if doing this was likely going to negatively affect her own career. 

"Are you okay?" Mia asked after a while. She could tell that what Sonia had done wasn't easy on her either.

"Yeah. Thanks for everything, Mia."

"C'mon, don't sound like it's the last time we are going to see each other. I'm sure you'll resolve this and you'll be back. You and Bryan are a perfect fit," Mia said confidently, making Sonia's lips curve in a small smile as she thought of him.

When she had come, she had only hoped to have him fall for her, she hadn't expected that she was going to fall this hard for him too. 

She was already missing him sorely, and maybe if she didn't know how much he loved his career or how much it meant to him, she would have gladly allowed him to come with her without caring about the consequence.