Chapter 879 Lover/Hater
Jade leaned back against the door, the sapphire dress clinging to her curves like a second skin as she kicked off her heels, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Harry, his tie loosened and the MacBook tucked under his arm, turned to face her. His eyes, the same ones that had captivated her that first night, held a familiar glint that sent a shiver down her spine.
Before he could speak, she took a playful swipe at the MacBook.
"Careful with that," he chuckled, dodging her hand. "We wouldn\'t want to break our prize on the first night, would we?"
"Oh, I\'m sure we can find another use for it besides work," she teased, her voice laced with a suggestive edge.
Harry set the MacBook down on the couch close to them, his gaze lingering on Jade for a moment too long before he closed the distance between them. He reached out, his fingers brushing against the soft fabric of her dress as his hands snaked around her waist, pulling her close.
Their lips met in a heated kiss, a slow burn that quickly ignited into a passionate dance. Jade melted into his touch, the worries of the day fading away with each deepening kiss.
"I need you, Jade," Harry said as he pressed his face into the curve of her neck.
"You have me. Take as much as you want," she said in a voice that was unfamiliar to her.
Taking that as the go ahead he needed, he brought his mouth back to her, his kiss hungrier and more possessive now. Her moan caught on a gasp when his hand moved to the V neckline of her dress and he ripped it.
The sound of her dress ripping made her blood leap. Her heart hammered in her chest, a delicious mix of anticipation and nervous energy coursing through her veins.
When Harry lowered his head to the black material of her Demi-cut bra, Jade arched her back against the door as she pulled his head down.
Harry helped her get out of the dress as he kissed her nipples through the bra, and just as Harry reached to unhook her bra, a flicker of concern crossed his face. He pulled away abruptly, leaving Jade breathless and slightly confused.
"Harry?" she questioned, her voice laced with a hint of disappointment.
"I just remembered something," he began, his voice strained. "There\'s something I forgot to tell you."
11:36
Jade frowned, a playful pout forming on her lips. "Can\'t it wait? You can\'t just stop in the middle of this, you know?"
Harry\'s expression remained serious. "It\'s important. You might be mad I didn\'t tell you earlier."
The playful glint in Jade\'s eyes faded. She stepped back, and looked at him with a frown. "What is it?"
He took a deep breath, bracing himself for her reaction. "It\'s Sonia," he started, his voice low.
"Sonia? What about her?" Jade asked with a frown, wondering what Sonia had to do with what Harry was keeping from her.
"She... she had a threatened abortion," he blurted out, his voice laced with guilt.
Jade gasped, the shock momentarily stealing her breath away. "A threatened abortion?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "How could you forget to tell me something like that?" She asked in disbelief as she walked past him in search of her phone.
Shame washed over Harry. He knew she would be worried and he should have told her, but he had forgotten. After she returned from her solo adventure, he had been too busy thinking about the proposal arrangement and then she had said she wanted to take a nap so they had slept together because she wanted him to cuddle her. They had received the invitation to the \'couple mingle\' shortly after they woke up and had spent what was left of their time getting ready.
"I\'m sorry. It wasn\'t intentional," Harry said apologetically.
Jade, who had found her phone, looked up at him and when she saw the genuine remorse on his face she went to him.
"It\'s alright. No need to feel so bad about it. I understand that it wasn\'t intentional," she said, pecking his cheeks so he would relax.
"When did you hear the news? Who told you about it? Tom?" Jade asked and after Harry answered her questions she nodded.
"I need to call her. See if she\'s alright."
"Wait," Harry interjected before she could dial Sonia\'s line, "She\'s probably sleeping. You should call Bryan instead," Harry suggested, since he knew if he were in Bryan\'s shoes he\'d want all calls to go to him and not to his wife who should be resting.
Jade nodded, "You\'re right." In her moment of panic, she\'d completely forgotten about Bryan.
She dialed Bryan\'s number immediately and it rang once, twice, before going to voicemail.
"No answer," she reported back to Harry, slumping onto the bed.
"Maybe you can try again in the morning," Harry suggested, his voice tentative.
"I\'m glad she is fine. And the baby too," Jade said and Harry nodded as he sat beside her and she leaned on him.
"It must have been very scary for them. Poor Bryan," she said, thinking about how terrified Bryan must have been.
"How about we give Tom a call? We can find out if he\'s with them now or how they are doing," Harry suggested and Jade nodded.
"Let\'s do that," she said as she dialed Tom\'s number.
Away from there, Tom drove back to Lucy\'s place after they had dropped Bryan and Sonia back at their home.
"Sonia asked Tyler to record the conversation with Henry," Lucy informed Tom.
"That won\'t exactly be necessary," Tom said and Lucy raised a brow.
"Why not? Don\'t you need to know what is going on there?" She asked and he shrugged.
"I know what\'s going on already," he admitted.
"You do? How?"
"Barry," Tom confessed.
Lucy\'s eyes widened when she realized what he was saying, "Really? When did you get him involved? Is Mia aware?"
"No. She wanted us to go with her plan and we are doing just that. But we also need to take necessary precautions. You know, something like a plan B in case plan A doesn\'t go as planned. You should know that I like to know my enemy better than they know me and to be several steps ahead of them," Tom said as he kept his gaze on the road.
"But how is Barry able to hack into a system of someone that far away?" She asked, intrigued.
Tom shrugged, "It\'s his thing. He knows how to hack into anything from anywhere. But just to be safe and to make sure he doesn\'t make any mistakes, I sent him and his team to Husla before Henry came to get Mia," Tom said and Lucy looked at him incredulously, unable to believe he had kept that away from her.
"Before he came to Husla? When exactly?" She asked, wondering why he didn\'t tell her of the plan.
"The next day after she asked for our help," Tom said and Lucy sighed.
"Why didn\'t you tell me about it?"
"Maybe it\'s because I figured you know me well enough to know I\'d do something like that. Or perhaps I wanted to impress you once again with my quick thinking," he said, turning to wink at her and she scowled at him.
Although she was mildly annoyed that he had withheld such information from her, her curiosity made her ignore her annoyance, "So? Has he reported back to you yet?"
"Well, he did earlier when Bryan and I left you girls alone. I guess things are not exactly going according to Mia\'s plan. There are security cameras in her room, and Henry\'s lover has taken over the house, so Mia won\'t be having much say when it comes to the domestic staff management. And Henry\'s lover is also keeping watch over Mia," Tom said and Lucy frowned.
"He has a lover? Why then did he not just grant her the divorce?" She asked in annoyance.
"Do you want me to give you my phone so you can give him a call and ask him yourself?" Tom joked, and Lucy hit his arm playfully.
"Don\'t be silly," she hissed and he chuckled.
"But there is another interesting angle," He said and she looked at him with interest.
"What?"
"His lover might not exactly be his lover. Seems more like his hater," he said with an amused twitch of his lips.
"What do you mean?"
"From Barry\'s digging, she seems to be out for revenge. She has something against Henry. He destroyed her only brother\'s life and it led him to take his life. I\'m not sure he knows exactly who she is," Tom said and Lucy frowned.
"Doesn\'t that make things sort of dangerous for Mia? What if she murders Henry and pins it on her?" Lucy asked thoughtfully and Tom grinned.
"Detective Lucy," he said teasingly, and she giggled. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn
"I\'m being serious. Think about it. What if she has been waiting for the right moment to strike and now that Mia is back she decides to do it?"
"Relax, detective. She is out to destroy him not just kill him…"
"But she might get in the way of Mia\'s plan," Lucy pointed out.
"True. But you know what they say? The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Tom said and Lucy looked at him with interest.
"Hm. You think she might be a good ally?" Lucy asked and Tom nodded.
"We know her secret. One word to Henry and she is done for. We will keep her secret as long as her plans don\'t get in the way of Mia\'s plan. If you ask me, I think it\'s a good thing. Henry trusts her, unlike Mia. If she dismisses the staff and replaces them, Henry wouldn\'t raise an eyebrow," Tom said and Lucy smiled.
"That\'s good then. For a moment I was worried about Mia," Lucy said, feeling genuinely relieved.
"Can I tell Sonia about it?" She asked, knowing that Sonia would be happy to know that Tom was still in control of things.
"I\'m sure Bryan would let her know about it since I told him already," Tom said and just then his phone buzzed with a phone call.
Lucy picked up the phone, "It\'s Jade," she told him.
"Take the call," Tom said and Lucy received the call and placed the phone against Tom\'s ear.
"Tom, I just heard about Sonia from Harry. How is she doing? I tried reaching Bryan but his line wasn\'t connecting. Are you there with them?" Jade asked the moment the call connected.
"She is fine. The baby is fine too and they are back home now. Bryan\'s battery was flat earlier. You can call them in the morning. He needs to sleep. How are you enjoying your vacation?" Tom asked, wanting her to calm down.
"Oh, alright. The vacation is going smoothly. Harry and I won the couple of the night award at the couples hangout this evening. We got a MacBook and a free vacation ticket," Jade said and Tom smiled.
"I\'m glad you\'re both having a nice time. Enjoy yourself, okay? And don\'t worry about a thing. Sonia is doing okay," Tom assured her.
"And Lucy? How is she doing? Is she there with you?" Jade asked and Tom turned to Lucy.
"Jade wants to say hello," he told her.
"Hello, Jade! You\'re having a swell time, yeah?" Lucy asked with a pleasant smile.
"I was until I heard about Sonia. Hearing how normal you sound assures me that she is fine. So, I\'m going to relax now," Jade said and Lucy smiled.
"It was so scary last night, but she\'s fine now," Lucy assured her.
"Alright then. I need to get back to my man. Be good. Love you. Don\'t miss you," Jade said before hanging up, making both Lucy and Harry to laugh.