“James,” Sofia sighed. “I-” “-Does this have anything to do with Ryan?” James cut in. “Apart from Ryan, I have to be truthful to myself and to you. You’re such a great guy but I don’t- I don’t love you.” “But you said yes. We felt the spark between both of us,” James countered. Sofia sighed again, oh the spark, the spark. This was harder than she had anticipated. “I know, I know,” she conceded. “Like I said, you’re a great guy, and yes we felt the spark, an even more vibrant one than what I felt with Ryan. So I said to myself. He is a great guy, and I would learn to love him. And at times, it felt like I had achieved it but just like with alcohol, I would later wake up and find myself at ground zero and the recent events,” she held up her hand before he could cut in. “I’m not gonna lie, they affected this decision but I guess this is me waking up sooner than later.” James nodded repeatedly. “Tsk, so this is it?” He finally asked and Sofia nodded hesitantly, her gaze faltering
After the photoshoots and interviews, there was an open press conference for the cast of Heart of Stone—Ryan’s last film.Amanda was in attendance as well and took the seat on Ryan’s left side, clinging to him at every opportunity she got and acting overly emotional.Sofia had never been one to hide her feelings so she was visibly irritated by Amanda’s antics. Everyone shared their thoughts, emotions, and feelings on the series and working with Ryan, seated around a table on a stage while the audience watched, with most sobbing.The man playing Niko’s adviser suggested that Niko die too in the film because no one else could fulfill the role.After the press conference, two hosts from the organizers joined them to discuss the film, Ryan’s career, and his special recognition at Cannes while a short film showcasing his career played on a large screen behind them.When all was said and done, Ryan took Sofia straight to his chateau, and having called ahead, everything was already put toge
Before the hurricane and the tornado, Jessi and Sofia had left Ryan at the merchandise unveiling and Reyes joined them after a short while.He and Jessi left for the hotel in a cab and once inside, they shared a long kiss.“Glad I didn’t run into Rico today,” Reyes confessed as they separated.“What? Why? You two met? When?” Jessi gushed, giggling.“Yeah, the last time we met up. The uh, gala dinner. I saw him when I went to the bathroom. He seemed really stiff about us.”“Rico?” Jessi scrunched her face.“Are you sure?”“Yeah, I recognized him. Plus he knew my full name and everything. Your friends are not fans of handshakes I’ve come to learn.”Jessi chuckled slightly.“Sorry about that, but what did you guys talk about?”“Oh, I brought up his funny way of spoiling our date nights-”“-And what did he say?” Jessi asked impatiently.“Relax,” Reyes chuckled.“He said he didn’t have to give me explanations, then asked me how many times my PA got off work before me.”He felt Jessi go ver
After Sofia left, closely followed by James, Amanda crept to where Ryan still knelt, sitting on his calves. Tears rolled down his face but he wasn’t making any sound and his eyes were closed.“Ryan?” She called tentatively.He opened his eyes and got to his feet with the deepest frown she had ever seen on him.“Get the f*ck out of here now,” he growled.Amanda backed away, shocked.“My things are-”“Remain at the gate if you need them.”“Someone’s bringing them?” She asked but she didn’t get an answer as he walked towards the house.***Ryan was sitting on the steps to his porch with a bottle of root beer in his hands and a six-pack with five bottles left, in an ice bucket next to him when he saw the cab stop at the gate and Rico dropped from it.He remained there, drowning his sorrows in alcohol until Rico got to him.Ryan took a long draw as Rico sat next to him and helped himself to a bottle.“You look a mess,” he said.“You don’t look too good yourself,” Rico countered and put th
It was 02:40 am in Cannes.Ryan, Rico, and Michaelson were in the study—in Ryan’s chateau, thinking of a way to get around this mess.“What were you thinking?” Michaelson growled, swinging his arms in frustration.“This is not just you on the line. I’m on the line here. Rico’s on the line. In fact, the entire studio is on the line, you moron!”“Damn,” he cursed, walking away from Ryan.“Rico,” he turned. “How could you let him do tis?”“Me? Of course, I had no idea, Pete. Come on.”“We need to come up with a way to fix this and we need to do it yesterday.”“I’ve got a plan,” Ryan said.“F*ck no,” Pete replied.“I’ve had enough of your plans for the next three days.”Ryan shrugged, but Rico intervened.“Actually, Pete, I think we should listen to what Ryan has to say. After all, he does have some experience in fooling everyone.”Ryan chuckled drily, and Pete stared at him like he would kill him if he didn’t go ahead and die.“So, here’s the plan,” Ryan said.***“Oh my God, I can’t bel
“What happened?” “I have no idea. I just heard a thud and then silence.” “Think she’s coming back here?” Michaelson asked. “Either on my jet or on the next flight,” Rico replied with absolute conviction. *** “Alicia,” Trish called, as Tye and Alicia alighted from the cab. “Thank God I caught you before you’d disappear behind your door for the rest of the day,” she added, as she approached them. Alicia sighed but didn’t reply. “Hey, Tye. How are you?” Trish smiled at the kid. “I’m alright,” he replied eagerly, busy with his triple scoop of ice cream, and Trish nodded. “I see that,” she said. “Come on, you’re never going to forgive us?” She asked, turning her attention to Alicia. “Honestly, I have no problems with any of you,” Alicia replied. “At the same time, it’s going to take a while for things to return to how they were. If that even happens at some point.” “I understand,” Trish said. “Anyways, that wasn’t why I called you. I believe you’ve seen the news about Ryan, r
Slowly, he came to, and his eyes blinked open. His neck felt sore from the position he’d been in. Instinctively, he reached for the back of his neck, as he flexed his head. Was that Sofia? James sat up abruptly. That was definitely Sofia, on the TV, in Cannes. How? When? Why? “Bloody hell!” He sprang to his feet. Just a short nap and she’d already run back to him? After everything? He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed Sofia’s line… Voicemail. He tried again. Same thing. “Fvck!” He tossed the phone onto the sofa, and paced, rubbing his temples, while trying to think of something. His phone began to ring, and he rushed to pick it up. 'Scumbag Richards,' it read. He sighed disappointedly, and turned on plane mode- -almost. As his finger hovered over the screen, something began to form in his mind, and his sigh turned into the wryest of smiles. “Hello, David,” he said, in a voice that would have made Heath Ledger proud. *** “The only reason why a woman would call he
The cafe bells jingled as she followed Tyler through the door.A slight feeling of nostalgia hit, and she swallowed slowly, praying that perhaps he didn’t come to work today.But there he was, on counter duty.There was no avoiding him, especially now Tyler had suddenly disappeared and reappeared at Kim’s table.Their gazes met briefly, and Fred returned to what he was doing.Ouch, she thought, and taking one deep breath, she picked up the courage to walk to him.“What can I get you, ma’am?” Fred asked, rearranging the rolls.“Fred-”“-Alfred Duperly, to you, ma’am,” he cut in.“That’s how we’re playing it?”“There is no we here, Ms. Mercano. Do you have an order to place or not?”There were little teardrops forming in her eyes. She kept blinking them away, but she was always the softest in the room, and they kept pushing until she had to use her hands.“I’m sorry, Fred.”Her voice sounded so fragile; it could have broken at a feather’s touch.“Don’t you think it’s too late for that?”
If you're reading this, then, thank you for sticking with us through this journey. I can only hope it was worth your while, and that you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.I'm surely gonna miss writing to about Ryan's shenanigans, Sofia's love, Tyleer's curiosity, Jessi's presence, Rico, and Pete's worries, Tanya's madness, Alicia's gentleness, Ted's chubbiness, Fred's helpfulness, and Paco's wisdom.Not that there's nothing more to say, you know there's much more lol, but I feel that this is the best point to stop.They're all mostly happy, minusing the mishaps here, and there, and death too. But, let's save those parts for another story..All things eventually come to an end, and so must we..And so I bid you farewell, reader.Thank you for picking this one up, xoxo!
The ringing of his phone roused him from sleep.“Hello?” His voice was groggy.“I know what you did.” The voice was distorted.The sleep fled from James' eyes.“Who are you?”“So you can kill me like you killed Richards? Fat chance.”“What do you want?” James asked.The line suddenly went dead.“Oh boy,” James muttered.***Amanda was home alone, by the pool, when James arrived.“It was you, wasn't it?”“I'm sorry what?” She asked, taking off her shades.“Oh, now you wanna play dumb?”“James, if you think I have time for your shenanigans, I do not. Never. Especially now that your accomplice, Richards has gone missing. Or are you gonna tell me you have nothing to do with that?”***“How could we have kept ourselves from this?” Rico muttered, in bed, kissing the back of Jessi's neck.“You, kept us from this,” she corrected, turning to face him.“Touche,” he conceded, planting a kiss on her lips; one to which she willfully obliged.“We have a lot to catch up on,” Rico whispered against h
On a normal day, Sofia would playfully chastise Ryan for such an idea, especially in front of the boy, but maybe it was Tanya’s influence, or the look in Steph’s eyes at Ryan’s words, whatever it is, it had Sofia smiling, and leading Ryan into the elevator.“Tyler, go wait for me in the car, okay?” She kissed the top of his head.“I forgot something in my room,” she added, a bit more forceful, with her eyes on the elevator.“Okay,” Tye replied innocently, and left for the waiting Mercedes Benz SUV.Steph obviously had other plans…*** “Slow down, Ryan,” Sofia chuckled, as he broke off their playful kisses to move down her neck, while his hands went lower..“We're outside,” Sofia added, kissing him back.“Someone might see us.”“Well, let's make it worth their while,” Ryan replied, leaning against the balcony of the terrace.“You must be joking,” Sofia frowned, moving away from him.Immediately, a potted plant dropped where she had been standing!Sofia gasped, her hand flying to her c
Tanya yawned, as she stepped into the sitting room in her black skimpy nightwear.“Hey, isn't that the Richards guy from the other studio,” Tanya said, nodding at the TV.“Yeah, it's him,” Alicia replied.“It says he's missing,” she added, and looked at Tanya.“What?” She asked.“You won't find him on me,” she said, stretching.“Oh, Tanya,” Alicia shook her head, returning her attention to her system.“What?” Tanya asked.“Oh, you didn't tell me that you, and Mendes made up,” Tanya said, leaning in on Alicia's left from behind the sofa.“Who told you that?” Alicia asked, leaning to her right, and losing a battle to hide her smile.“I heard he came in late, the night I spent at T.D.'s place, and didn't leave that night.”“Oh, I see you're gossiping with your girls again, huh,” Alicia said, nodding.“Tea is meant to be drunkk!” Tanya exclaimed, laughing.Alicia just shook her head.“Oh, hey. You said you spent that night at T.D.'s place?”“Oh I didn't tell you?” Tanya laughed.“Great st
“I'm telling you, we need to-”“Mom, can I go to the Taco Place to see Kim?” Tyler asked, stepping into the sitting room.He glanced between Steph, and Myles—her shrink, sensing that he'd come at the wrong time.“Am I interrupting something?” He asked innocently.“Oh, no, my love,” Steph cooed, coming to stoop next to him.“Uncle Myles was just telling me something about our business back in Mexico, but it can wait, can’t it, Myles?” She smiled at the guy; he just sighed, and left.“He didn’t seem too happy to me,” Tye remarked.“I know, I know,” Steph smiled, ruffling his hair.“So tell me, who’s this Kim?” Steph asked, taking Tye to sit with her.“A girl?”“Yeah,” Tye replied, his eyes lighting up.“She’s my girlfriend,” he announced cheerily.“Oh, big steps already?” Steph asked, poking his ribs, while he squirmed, laughing.“Stop, mom!”“Ok, ok,” she smiled.“But I’ll come with. Go, put on something nice while I do too, and then we can go see Kim.”“Alright,” Tye said, running off,
“You haven't said anything, Sof,” Jessi noted.Sofia took a deep breath.“I'm just trying to process everything, she said, leaning into the sofa.“On the one hand, you have you, my friend, whom Rico definitely, and horribly wronged by the way he handled the situation. But then, there's Rico who has been suffering from PTSD all these years. And I'm not saying that that validates what he did to you but I try to imagine how deep his fear has been for so long, that he couldn't confess his love for you. Believe me I know how the heart reacts to holding in such feelings. It's all just a lot. And I don't want to say you should do this or that, because honestly if I were you, I have no idea what I'd do in this case,” Sofia exhaled deeply.“But if I know one thing, it's that Rico has a good heart; damaged, but good nonetheless.”“I guess that saying is true,” Tanya replied, nodding slightly.“Which?” Sofia asked.“Damaged people, when they don't heal, end up damaging people,” she said.“Exactly
“Hmm, there’s something different about you, Rico. But I can’t place my finger on it,” Ryan said, stroking his chin.“You mean the lack of makeup?” Pete asked, serving himself another plate of chicken wings.The three of them were at a barbecue at Ryan’s home.“Exactly,” Ryan said, clicking his finger at Pete.“Besides, you’ve been strange ever since France. So what’s up? One brother to another.”“Does something have to be up for someone to make a change around here?” Rico drawled, setting up himself on the beach chair with his own plate, and booze.“Even the voice!” Ryan exclaimed.“What is wrong bro?”Then he turned to Pete who was approaching them.“I think it’s too late for a mid-life crisis, Pete. Help me out here.”Pete laughed as he sat down on the recliner, and faced the other two.“But seriously Rico, what’s up? You know you can trust us.”“Exactly. James isn’t here.”Rico sighed, and glanced around. Then pulled off his shades.“I had a fight with Jessi,” Rico said, matter of
Someone knocked at the door.Alicia groaned, unwilling to abandon her solo movie night.She stayed put, but the person didn’t leave, piquing her curiosity.Tanya was sleeping over at Ted’s tonight so it couldn’t be her, plus if it was Tanya, she’d know by now.“Who’s there?” She asked, peeping through the tiny hole.“Josh,” he replied.And she could see that he wasn’t lying.Alicia hesitated, and grabbed a coat from the rack next to the door to put over her flimsy nightwear, before opening the door up for him.“Hey, Alicia.”“How did you find me?” She asked, crossing her arms.“So it’s true,” he nodded.“You were avoiding me.”“Don’t try to change the subject, Josh. I asked you how you found me.”“I paid someone to hack into the school’s database to retrieve your data-”A slap from Alicia cut him short.“You just don’t know when to stop right? Because your family has the cash you feel like you can pay off anyone to get whatever you want. Why invade my privacy? Again, and again?”“What
“Where are we going?” Sofia asked, laughing. She couldn’t see past the blindfold Ryan had put on her eyes, but she could feel the excitement build up inside of her.“It’s a surprise, no peeking,” Ryan reminded her with a light kiss at her neck.The car slowly pulled to a stop, and Ryan got down, then came around her side to help her down too.“Easy, easy,” he advised, guiding her.Sofia could hear the sounds of traffic, and of people—though, French, she couldn’t understand, but it made her uncomfortable.“Are we there yet?” She asked nervously; eager to see again.“Almost,” Ryan assured, leading her into an elevator while his bodyguards kept the pedestrians in check.“Ooh,” Sofia shocked slightly, when the elevator suddenly started to move.“Where are you taking me to, Ryan Barnes?” She chuckled, leaning against him, and turning slightly.Ryan knew an invitation to share a kiss when he saw one, and he took this one without hesitation.The blindfold was still on, but neither seemed to