Chapter 323 Snooping

Chapter 323 Snooping　　"What? You are joking, right? It has got to be a sick joke!" Sonia said in disbelief after Lucy told her about Rachel's involvement with her abduction and Rachel's relationship with Anita.

"I wish it was," Lucy said with a shake of her head as she looked around her closet, contemplating what to take with her to Tom's house. She had no idea how much longer her parents were going to be around, and there was no way she could return to her apartment and leave them at Tom's house. She also couldn't ask them to leave either.

"You mean Rachel was involved with Jamie? And now Anita? And she had the guts to want to marry, Luc? How callous can she be? I swear by my tits, I'm going to tear her apart when I see her," Sonia promised, and Lucy's lips twitched with amusement as she paused to look at Sonia. 

"Your tits?"

"You know how much I revere my tits," Sonia said with an easy smile, glad that Lucy could still find the humor in what she said despite the seriousness of the conversation.

"Wow! This just goes to show that stupidity and entitlement are hereditary. Have you told Lucas about this?" Sonia asked with a concerned frown, and Lucy shook her head as she leaned against the closet door while looking at Sonia.

"No. I wanted to talk to my parents first."

"No. I don't think that is a good idea. You should talk to Lucas and then he will decide whether or not he wants your parents to know about it. Your parents are the ones you should keep this from, not Lucas. This is a woman he was engaged to for chrissake, Lu! I don't think he would want to be the last to about this after everyone else has heard about it. Talk to him first before you tell your parents," Sonia said, and Lucy pursed her lips as she considered it. 

"I was going to tell my parents first because I'm still contemplating whether or not to tell him about it. He's already so broken by the breakup. He is going to feel very hurt and then guilty..."

"You do realize that nothing stays hidden forever, right? How do you think Lucas would feel if he finds out that you kept something like that away from him? There is no doubt that he is going to feel really pained when you tell him about it, but he will get over it eventually as you will too. But if you keep it away from him, you will hurt him twice as much when he eventually finds out. He will feel hurt by Rachel's betrayal, and yours too," Sonia said, and Lucy nodded. 

"I think you have a point. Sometimes you can be so wise..." 

"I am always wise, bitch! You are the one who is too slow to keep up with my wisdom," Sonia said with a grin, and Lucy laughed softly as returned her attention to her closet, and picked out a couple of office wears.

"Why do you bother to do this when you can easily shop for new clothes? I'm sure Tom wouldn't mind releasing his money card," Sonia said as she watched Lucy fuss over the clothes from the comfort of the bed. 

"First, because I love my clothes. Secondly, I mind even if Tom doesn't mind. This is about me, not Tom," Lucy said as she walked over to the bed with a couple of work clothes. 

"Yeah. You are miss independent after all," Sonia said as she watched her best friend.

"Yes, I am. I told Tom about not wanting to get married," Lucy announced as she carefully laid out the clothes on the bed.

Sonia tilted her head to the side as she watched Lucy, "Did we not just discuss it this morning in your office?"

"Yes. Why?" Lucy asked, wondering why Sonia was asking her that instead of asking her how the conversation with went.

"I'm wondering when you had the opportunity to raise such an important subject between then and now. Please don't tell me you told him that on your way here? Or did you tell him at work?" Sonia asked, and Lucy nodded.

"We talked about it in the car," Lucy said as she went to her dressing table and opened a drawer to take out her jewelry box. 

"What? C'mon, Lu! I know you are new to the whole relationship stuff, but that isn't the kind of conversation you should be having when you are both..."

Lucy turned to face Sonia, irritation flashing in her gray eyes, "What is wrong with you?" She asked, cutting Sonia off. 

"What?" Sonia asked, confused. 

"Can you stop giving me relationship lectures and just listen when I'm talking to you? I already raised the subject and talked to him about it, so your lectures right now aren't necessary. Maybe if you hadn't gone on and on about marriage this morning, I wouldn't have misunderstood his actions or raised the subject like I did when I did. So please stop!" Lucy said, and Sonia pressed her lips together and raised both hands.

"Okay. Go on. I'm listening."

Lucy said nothing for a moment as she sat on her dressing stool, and looked into the jewelry box that contained her stylish, but inexpensive jewelry. "I told him I don't want to get married, but he says he wants to get married," she said as she took out three pairs of earrings.

"Am I allowed to speak now? Or should I just keep quiet and listen?" Sonia asked, and Lucy tried not to roll her eyes.

"I said don't give me relationship lectures, I never said be mute."

"Great. My mouth was already itching to speak. I don't want the summary version of your conversation. I want the details. What happened?"

Lucy turned to look at her, "You are not going to include this in your story, are you?" She asked suspiciously.

"I will change a couple of things, I promise," Sonia said, reasoning how she would change the way Lucy's character in her novel would present the subject to Tom's character. She would rather a discussion like that happens in the bedroom, probably after an hour of intense lovemaking. 

Lucy drew in a deep breath before going on to tell Sonia about all that transpired between her and Tom, "...he says we will find a way around it. Do you think there is any way we can reach a compromise without both of us getting what we want?" She asked, and Sonia rolled her eyes. 

"You said you don't want relationship advice from me," Sonia reminded her. 

"I'm not asking for a lecture. I just need your opinion. Both my heart and stomach are jumping at the thought of having this conversation again with him later, and I need to be objective when the time comes," Lucy said, unable to hide her worry.

"You should relax."

"I can't. I love Tom. I don't want us to break up, and I don't want to be selfish either. But I really don't think I can do this marriage thing..." Lucy said, and Sonia raised a brow. 

"Can't or won't?"

Lucy shrugged, "Both have always meant the same to me."

"Then perhaps it is time for you to learn to distinguish between them. Can't is a matter of lacking ability, and won't is a matter of lacking willingness," Sonia said as she rose and walked over to where Lucy was seated by the dressing table. 

"I understand that this whole thing is not easy for you, Lu, and I'm sorry that I pushed too hard this morning. You didn't need that. You don't need the pressure from me or anyone else for that matter. I'm both happy and grateful that you have a man as thoughtful and considerate as Tom in your life who loves you so much. I'm confident that you will both figure this out and work something out, I trust you, and I trust Tom," Sonia said with a confident smile as she brushed a hand over Lucy's hair. 

******** 

Once Jade arrived at Harry's apartment, instead of going straight to the guestroom where she had spent the last two nights to pick up her bag, Jade decided to look around Harry's apartment before leaving. By apartment, she meant his bedroom. 

It still surprised her that he had never been with a woman before. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that a full-grown, wealthy, and good-looking man like him had never been with a woman. She had been with just Todd since he was her first love, and she had given in to having sex with him after much persuasion on the night of her twentieth birthday. 

She paused when something else occurred to her. Did that also mean that he had never kissed a woman before? Was that possible? Kissing wasn't the same as sex, was it? Or was the kiss they had shared the previous night, his first kiss? Her heart fluttered at the thought of giving him his first kiss, and she raised her finger to touch her lips as they curved in a smile.

Although she knew that she was snooping and invading his privacy, she was too curious about him to care. Her conversation with Sonia earlier had ignited a kind of longing within her for him, and since she couldn't see him physically, she wanted to feel close to him in other ways. She wanted to know him better and understand him more. 

As she pushed open the door that stood between her and his bedroom, her lips curved of their own volition when she stepped inside and saw the state of his bedroom. As expected everything was in its place. Harry was a meticulous man, she thought as she walked further into his bedroom. 

His bed was laid out so straight that it called to her. She stifled the urge to lay on the bed and inhale his scent, as that would be creepy even for her, and she knew that even if she decided to give in to the urge, it would be next to impossible for her to straighten the bedspread the same way she had met it. Then Harry would definitely know that she entered his bedroom.

She walked around the bedroom like an inspector, hoping to find something that she didn't already know about him. Hopefully, something that would tell her that he was interested in her.

She walked over to his bedside table when she noticed two photo frames sitting on it, facing the bed. She leaned forward as she picked up both frames, and her heart felt heavy when she saw that one of the frames was a picture of a beautiful young lady. She studied the lady's face, and something about her seemed so familiar, but Jade couldn't place her fingers on it. 

The lady had honey-brown eyes like Harry's, and her hair was a mass of curly gold hair. Her eyes were gleaming with laughter, and her lips were curved with an infectious kind of smile with dimples flanking both sides of her cheek. She looked so beautiful and of life.

Jade didn't need anyone to tell her that was Harry's mother. The resemblance between them was striking, and maybe that was why the woman seemed so familiar. She couldn't imagine how much Harry must miss the mother he never met to have her photo by his bedside. 

Her gaze moved to the other frame in her hand. It was the photo of a very attractive-looking middle-aged man with Amber eyes. He was holding a fishing rod and scowling at the camera, even though his eyes were gleaming with laughter, and the corners of his lips looked like he was struggling not to smile.

"I thought I heard someone come in," a deep masculine voice spoke from behind her, causing Jade to spin around in surprise. 

Her mouth dropped open in surprise when she gazed into the same pair of Amber eyes she had just looked into in the photo. 

Great! What a nice way to meet the senior Mr. Jonas for the first time.