*BRAN'S POV*
A part of me became elated the moment I heard her say thank you to me, it felt as though she was beginning to try to open up towards me.
I smiled at her and continued to tend to her ankle until I was done.
"You would have to stay home for a couple of days, at least until the pain and swelling subsides."
"A couple of days? I don't think I can do that, I just resumed work and there is a lot of work to do too….I can't take days off at this point," she argued.
"Yes, you just resumed, but then this is about your health. Your health comes first, even for me….. I am sure Tessa will do a good job in your absence, or better still, I can oversee the meetings in your place."
"Oversee the meetings in my place? How well diversified are you about baby wear?"
"Well, I don't know much, but this is me just trying to put your mind at ease."
She shook her head slightly with a soft smile and looked away.
"I still don't know the reason behind you starting a company that designs and makes baby wear to date."
It was as though these last words of mine struck something in her; the soft smile she had a while ago suddenly disappeared, and the distant Sophia emerged.
"I would like to sleep now, if there is nothing else, goodnight," she said, got into bed and covered herself up.
"Goodnight," I said, and left the bedroom after switching off the lights.
I sat down on the couch in the living room when Ken's call came in. I pulled out my phone from my pocket.
"How is she? Is she good?" he asked over the phone.
"Yeah, she's good….just a sprained ankle"
"A sprained ankle?? Was the fall in the pool that bad?" he asked, concerned.
"No, no, it wasn't at the pool."
"Oh, then where? The house?"
"Yeah, it's kinda a long story."
"Okay, but she's good now, right? Even with the sprained ankle"
"Yeah, she let me take care of it."
"She really did? That's progress, man!"
"It is," I said, not so motivated.
"You say it is, but your voice says something else. What is wrong?"
"I don't know, things were going smoothly, but I think I said something and it upset her, her mood just changed drastically."
"Shit…..what did you say? I hope you did not mention the other guy."
"Nah, I didn't."
"Okay, good, then what did you say that made her upset?"
"I only said I still did not know the reason behind her starting a company that designs and makes baby wear, that was all I said, man."
"But that is what the company does, isn't it? Why would that make her upset?"
"I really do not know, I have been sitting here in the living room trying to figure out what ticked her off."
"Well, women can be quite sophisticated, I think it might be a change in mood or something, or better still, I think you might still have to figure out the true reason yourself, so you can avoid switch-ups like that."
"The true reason?"
"Yeah, the true reason behind her starting up Hems and Halo, I mean."
"Okay....left the party?"
"About to...you didn't tell me you had Henna move into the house with you and Sophia"
"I did not have her move in, and I am sure I told you about it."
"I don't have memories of you telling me, but then, why the hell will she be in the same house with you and Sophia?"
"It's complicated, man."
"She is still blackmailing you with the baby issue?"
"Yes, I can't seem to get her off my neck."
"Hmm, don't you think you are being too lenient with her?"
"This isn't just about me or Henna, a baby was involved between us and died," I said in a low voice.
"According to her, Bran, you really have to do your findings and be certain that the cards she is pulling on you are even genuine."
"I remember not being myself that night and seeing her with me while I was in my room, I just find it hard to piece together what happened afterwards."
"Does Sophia know about this?"
"No, she doesn't….at least I don't think she does"
"This is all complicated, man…. She can't keep blackmailing you to do whatever she wants with that history, you have got to do something about it before it gets worse."
"There is just a lot, I have to deal with my uncle and his wife trying to take over the company by every means, and now it's Henna."
"What about her father's debt? Does she really know what went down that day?"
"She is not aware, and I don't want her to be aware."
"Why, though? She needs to know that you sacrificed a lot to save her family."
"Not now, I did it because I loved and still love her."
I then heard a knock on the main door.
"Let me call you back."
"Sure"
Ken hung up the call, and I stood to head to the door. I opened it and it was Jane.
"Jane"
"Sorry to bother, didn't think you would still be awake, just tried my luck," she said with a fake smile.
"Well, I am still awake."
"Heard Sophia had a little mishap at the party, how is she?"
"You have really got ears everywhere."
"Oh please, I have got some acquaintances who went to the party as well, it was just a harmless talk," she said.
"Well, she is fine, nothing serious….thank you for checking in though"
"Oh, that's good, my regards to her then. Goodnight"
Jane said this and returned to their own side of the residence while I closed the door behind me.
*JANE'S POV*
I opened the door to our main house and walked in. Tom was in the living room smoking a cigar and having a drink when I walked back in.
"What did he say?"
"What else would he say? That it was nothing serious."
I said this and pulled off the sweatshirt I wore on my silk sleeveless dress, and sat down.
I grabbed a cup and poured myself a drink, and gulped it down.
"I heard there was another guy involved, he supposedly saved Sophia from the pool."
I was surprised to hear this from Tom, as my informant didn't tell me about it.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, it almost looked like it was a love triangle."
"Now this is getting more and more interesting," I said with a pleased smile.
"What do you intend to do with this?"
"What I will always do, use it to our advantage."
I picked up my phone and dialled a number, it rang for a while before it was picked up.
"Mathew"
"Mrs Jane, been a while since you called me."
"Hmm, yes, and I am sure you know why I have called"
"Of course, you have always called when you want something done .... what can I do for you this time?"
I looked at my husband, Tom, and I just didn't feel like discussing it with him sitting there.
So I stood and went up into our bedroom to continue the call.
"You still run your daily news blog, right?"
"Of course, it is still running…..do you have a big scoop for me?"
"Yes, a big scoop indeed… I want you to post some news tomorrow morning."
"Hold on, let me get a pen and paper."
This took a while
"Alright, I am ready now."
"Bran gets stuck in a love triangle with his wife and her secret lover at a party of popular influencers."
"Wait, what?? Bran? Bran Garner??"
"Are you taking this scoop or not?"
"I am sorry, I just was not expecting the main character of this scoop to be your husband's nephew."
Mathew wrote down the news headline just the way I said it over the phone.
"I want you to post it the exact way I told you to, I will text you the details of how the whole thing went down at the party later tonight. Can you do this?"
"Yes, of course, this news would really shake a lot of things and last for a while."
"Of course, that is the whole point….and remember, the source of this information came from you."
"Yes, Mrs Jane."
I hung up the call, and a wave of satisfaction and the excitement I would get when the news headline is everywhere from tomorrow, filled me completely.
I placed my phone on the dressing table, slid off the dress I wore from my shoulders, walked into the bathroom and switched on the shower.
The trickles of water rushed down onto my head and then flowed all the way down to my body, that feeling of having executed a beautiful plan to your advantage overwhelmed me as I enjoyed the cold shower.