Chapter 517 Movie Hall Surprise
Instead of going quietly to the mall where the cinema was located, Tom and Bryan had decided to make a grande entrance since it wasn't all the time that both Hank brothers were spotted in the same place at the same time, especially now that Tom's identity had been revealed.
As a result of this, they pulled up in front of the mall in a gold Mansory Rolls-Royce Phantom limousine, drawing the attention of everyone.
They had decided to take the limo so there would be enough room for all four of them inside, and they had settled for such an expensive ride because Tom wanted to splurge and they both wanted to show off a bit.
"We are here," the Hank family driver who had received them from the airport announced, and Bryan opened the door.
Once they stepped out of the limo, people gathered around to watch them while capturing pictures with their phones and whispering amongst themselves as they made guesses on why the brothers had decided to make an appearance there.
Tom and Bryan stood beside the car as Bryan scanned the area in search of the delivery man with the bouquet.
He spotted the delivery man heading towards them with the bouquet and he received it from him and generously tipped him, they both walked inside the mall with a multitude of people following them.
Most of the people around them wanted to ask Bryan for his autograph and take photos with the brothers, but the brothers were too preoccupied with their mission to pay them any attention so no one could approach them.
They had barely taken a few steps inside when the manager of the mall ran out to welcome them, "Hello, Mr. Hank! It's a pleasure having you in our mall. Please what can we do for you?" he greeted with a deep bow as he stopped in front of them, blocking their path, and both brothers looked at each other in amusement, wondering which of them he was referring to since they were both Mr. Hank.
Realizing his error he cleared his throat, "You are both welcome. It's not every day we have such dignitaries at our mall," He said, and Tom nodded as he shook hands with the man.
"Thanks for the warm welcome. Now, if you don't mind, we would love to be excused. The movie isn't exactly waiting for us," Tom said as he glanced at his wristwatch.
The movie would be ending in less than twenty minutes, and they needed to get in there in time to surprise the girls.
"Alright. Let me know if you need anything," the manager said as he stepped out of their way, and they walked away.
Bryan stopped in his track when something occurred to him and he returned to meet the manager who was still standing where he was looking down at his hand.
Tom stood and watched Bryan as he went to speak to the man, and when Bryan returned he raised a brow, "What did you say to him?" He asked, and Bryan smiled.
"I'm putting up a little show for Sonia," Bryan said with a proud smile as they got on the escalator and headed for the part of the mall where the cinema was located.
Once they got into the mall, they tried to look around to see if they could spot them, but it was too dark so they sat on the available seats at the back of the hall and joined in watching the movie.
Once the movie ended and people started to rise from their seat, instead of the usual cast display at the end of the movie, "I LOVE YOU, SONIA SMITH. I'M SORRY" was displayed on the screen just as the lights came on, and sounds of "aww" rented the hall.
Bryan and Tom rose from their seats to find the love of their lives, and while some of the ladies in the hall were taking pictures of the screen to post on social media, others were gushing over the handsome brothers.
"I can't see Lucy. Can you see Sonia?" Tom asked with a frown when he scanned the hall and didn't see Lucy.
"No. She is not here either," Bryan said with a slight frown, both brothers ignoring some of the ladies that were now trying to flirt with them.
"Maybe they left to use the restroom?" Bryan suggested.
"Let's get out of here," Tom said, hating the attention they were receiving.
As they walked out of the hall, Tom dialed Lucy's line to find out if they were still in the mall or had left.
Bryan followed, still holding the bouquet of flower in hand. By now the news about their visit to the mall was all over the internet and thanks to those who were in the movie hall and had captured the display on the screen, people had figured out that the brothers were there to see Sonia.
The manager who had been standing just outside the movie hall, ran up to them them, "Mr. Hank…."
Tom turned to the manager when Lucy didn't take his call, "Could you help me make an announcement. My girlfriend is not receiving my call, and I will love to know if she is still somewhere around the mall…."
Just as the manager gave them a nod and was about to scurry away, eager to please them, Bryan stopped him.
"Maybe I should give Sonia a call first. What if they've left the mall?" Bryan asked, and Tom nodded.
Away from there; Lucy and Sonia looked stunned as they tried to process what they had just been told, while Evelyn, and Janet were busy glaring at Desmond and Andrew who were still laughing uncontrollably.
While Lucy was cringing as she remembered how she had just lied to Tom a while ago that they were seeing a movie in the cinema, Sonia was thinking about the fact that Bryan had traveled back to see her.
That had to mean he was really ready for them to work things out now and was not taking a break anymore, right? She knew she still owed him an apology for misunderstanding him and all, but she was happy that he was as willing as she was to work things out.
"What if Tom called me because they wanted to meet us?" Lucy asked Sonia with a slight frown, feeling guilty for deceiving Tom.
"You think they went to the cinema? We should call them," Sonia said, while Jade looked at them curiously.
"What Cinema?" Jade asked, and Sonia explained how they had told Tom they were seeing a movie.
"This is why people should not tell lies," Harry muttered under his breath, feeling sorry for Tom who was now on a wild goose chase.
"Cut it out. She's feeling bad enough already," Aaron scolded as he looked at Lucy.
"Don't beat yourself over it, dear," Aaron told Lucy who looked very upset.
"Tom won't get mad. I will ask him not to be mad," Jamal said as he tugged on Lucy's hand, and she gave him a small smile of gratitude.
"When did you meet Desmond and what did he tell you?" Evelyn asked, and Sonia scowled at Desmond as she told Evelyn and the others how they had met him in the plane and all he said. She didn't leave out how he had called her after they left the plane to ask them to come to Harry's apartment.
Aaron, Harry, Jade, and Candace listened to her story with amusement as they tried not to laugh, seeing how pissed the ladies looked.
"How can you play such a prank on them? Don't you know how important this is to them? I can't even believe you find this funny," Evelyn snapped at Desmond.
"If you give it some thought, it's funny. The surprisers ended up becoming the surprisees, if that English is correct," Andrew said with a roaring laugh that stopped abruptly when his wife threw her handbag at him.
"And you too? You plotted this with him…."
"No, I didn't plot anything. It's all Desmond," Andrew said defensively, and Desmond turned to him with a slightly raised brow.
"What are you looking at me that way for? Did you tell me that Tom and Bryan traveled to surprise them?" Andrew asked Desmond before turning to his wife and Lucy.
"I swear to you, I'm only just finding out about it all now. I'm only laughing because it's funny, not because I was in on this plan," Andrew said, not wanting to be on the bad side of the women.
"You have no honor," Desmond said with a shake of his head, his tone dripping with disapproval.
"And you have no shame! For Christ sake!, Desmond! How can you play such a prank on the kids?" Andrew asked with a straight face as he moved away from Desmond, joining the women and looked down on Desmond, and this time Aaron chuckled.
"Grown men behaving like boys," Evelyn shook her head with disapproval as she looked from Andrew to Desmond.
"Well, let's look at the bright side. At least this shows they're both willing to work on their relationship. I mean just take a look, Bryan traveled all that way, and Sonia came this way…."
"Desmond! That is not the point!" Evelyn hissed at him.
"But what could I have done? I met them in the plane on their way here. Nothing would have changed, would it? Tom and Bryan were already on their way over there. What would have changed if I told them the truth? Besides, didn't you say it was meant to be a secret and neither of us could tell them about it? Well, I took that seriously and I kept the truth…."
"DESMOND!" Evelyn yelled, startling Jamal who was watching the adults and wondering why they were all making so much fuss over nothing.
"I will stop arguing and apologize now if I were you," Andrew advised Desmond, and Aaron chuckled when Desmond glared at Andrew.
"Alright! Fine. I'm sorry but…." Desmond suddenly burst into a peal of laughter again.
"I wish I could see the look on the boys' faces right now," Desmond said amidst his laughter, and this time even Harry, Jade, and Candace joined the men in the laughter.
The only people that were not finding the situation funny were Evelyn, Janet, and of course Lucy, and Sonia.
"Tom is calling," Lucy announced when her phone started vibrating, and immediately Sonia looked at her.
"Receive the call," Sonia suggested, and Lucy frowned.
"I lied to him," she said with a sigh not knowing how to face Tom.
It was beginning to look like she always ended up in awkward situations whenever she took Sonia's advise.
"He lied to you too, didn't he?" Sonia reminded her and Lucy paused.
That was true. Tom lied… no. He didn't exactly lie. He left out the detail. He told her he was traveling out of Ludus to take care of something urgent and would give her the details later. She on the other hand had lied.
"He didn't," Lucy said with a sigh.
"Still, you should receive his call," Evelyn urged her.
By the time she wanted to receive the call, it had disconnected already.
"Bryan is calling," Sonia announced, her heart beating very fast as she received the call.