One Man Band System

That evening at the hotel, Eric stayed inside his room and didn’t step foot outside. He spent his time piecing together and searching for lyrics to match a melody he had only just composed. After spending hours sitting at his desk and watching random videos on streaming apps, he leaned back in his chair, slipped off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Turning his head to look out the window, he realized the night sky had already settled in without him noticing.

"It’s already late. I’ll just head out to grab some dinner," he thought in his head.

Eric stood up and walked toward the door, snatching his jacket off the chair and pulling it on along the way. He pulled the door open, "whoaaaah," Eric leaped backward as he caught sight of Emma standing right outside his room. Emma’s eyes were still puffy and swollen. She was holding a tray of food, her hand raised mid-air as if she had been just about to knock.

"Emma?" Eric asked.

"Um... hi... um... I brought some food... can I come in?" Emma asked.

"Sure... come on in," Eric said, opening the door wide.

Eric helped Emma carry the tray inside. Before stepping in, Emma happened to glance down the hall and saw a totem pole of faces: Priya at the bottom, Heidi right above her, Laura above her, followed by Chloe, and finally Monica peeking out from the room at the far end. They all flashed Emma a thumbs-up without saying a single word, their faces half-hidden by the doorframe.

Emma nodded, then stepped inside and shut the door behind her. Eric arranged the food on the table and sat down, while Emma took a seat right across from him. The atmosphere grew dead silent and a bit tense. Emma kept her head bowed anxiously, her hands tightly wringing together under the table. Eric stayed quiet too, not knowing what to say. He wasn’t anxious, but he stared down at the table as if it had suddenly become the most fascinating and important thing in his life. After a moment of silence,

"Mom just called... she said Wesley called her," Emma said.

Eric raised his head, looking at Emma, who was still staring down at the table and the plate in front of her. He listened without saying a word. Emma unlocked her smartphone, placed it on the table, and slid it toward Eric. Naturally, Eric looked down immediately and was stunned to see a middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to himself sitting alongside Wesley. Seated right in front of them with his head hanging down was a bruised and battered Jason, held firmly in place by two hulking men who looked like bouncers.

"So what is this supposed to mean?" Eric asked, confused as he studied the photo.

"This is what Mom told me,"

Emma recounted the conversation she had with her mother. Wesley had explained everything, and according to him, the bombing wasn’t his father’s doing. Wesley admitted to Miranda that he was the one who told Arthur about Emma’s piano competition, but when they met at Arthur’s office, Jason was already there. After that, Jason left and orchestrated the whole thing with one of Arthur’s henchmen—the same guy who had originally introduced Jason to Arthur and was also a friend of Blake. Hearing this, Eric flew into a rage.

"Unbelievable. That absolute idiot has completely lost his mind," Eric said in frustration.

"Mom said Wesley told her your brother actually wanted to force your hand so you’d take their side, do what he wants, and set up a meeting with your dad. That’s why his real plan was just to issue a threat, but something unexpected happened," Emma said.

"What happened?" Eric asked.

"Mom wasn’t super clear on the details, but basically the guy who was supposed to back him up from behind got busted by the cops, which created a huge mess. In the end, Jason blew up the venue, planning to use it to blackmail you, Ruby, and your dad if any of us got hurt in the blast," Emma answered.

"And that friend who got arrested dragged your dad into it, pulling your dad, who was already under investigation, even deeper into the mud, right?" Eric asked.

"Yeah... pretty much... Mom said Wesley also mentioned that their dad handed over all the evidence of their plan and execution straight to the police... and he plans to go dark after this... he doesn’t want any contact with us anymore," Emma answered.

Eric didn’t know what to say, but one particular detail infuriated him, making him want to track Jason down in person.

"So he targeted you guys just because he wanted a sit-down with me, using you as collateral in case the talk went south... that explains why Tania saw Jason inside. He was definitely looking for me, and when he couldn’t find me, he panicked," Eric muttered bitterly.

"Plus, when he heard his friend got arrested, he panicked and set off the bomb—that’s how the story goes," Emma said.

"Thank goodness you and Tania are okay," Eric said, reaching across the table to take Emma’s hand, noticing the ring on her finger. He glanced down at the ring, "right, the ring’s purpose really showed itself today," Eric thought in his head.

"Also... there’s one more thing," Emma said.

"What is it?" Eric asked.

Emma went quiet for a moment, her eyes locked onto Eric across from her until he started feeling a bit uneasy.

"What’s up? Why so serious?" Eric asked.

"This Saturday... Mom wants the two of us to come over for dinner... Wesley is coming too... Mom said it’s to introduce you and smooth things over," Emma said.

Eric went quiet, opening his mouth only to close it again. He felt an odd mix of emotions about Wesley, even though he knew full well that Wesley was Emma’s biological brother.

"Mom explained everything earlier... she said Wesley isn’t thrilled about you being close to me, even though Mom tried explaining things to him multiple times... I don’t really get his reasons, and back then I was annoyed because he kept approaching me... turns out he just wanted to talk to his little sister, and his little sister had no clue he was actually her brother," Emma said, keeping her head down.

"Oh... so that’s it. He doesn’t accept me, huh?" Eric said.

"I don’t know, which is why you should just come with me this Saturday," Emma replied.

"Hmm... sounds fine to me. Alright... I’ll head back with you on Saturday," Eric replied.

Hearing Eric’s response, Emma seemed visibly relieved, her tense shoulders noticeably relaxing. Silence fell between them once again, but this time it wasn’t suffocating. They both began enjoying the food in front of them, until in the middle of eating,

"Babe... I’m sorry," Emma said out of nowhere.

Eric, holding his burger mid-bite, raised his head, his jaw slowly chewing his food.

"Sorry for what?" Eric asked, confused.

"I snapped at you earlier... and assumed you were keeping a bunch of stuff hidden from me... without realizing that my mom was the one who asked you to... but even if I didn’t know... I shouldn’t have jumped straight to anger, I should’ve asked first... I should’ve listened to your explanation... so I’m sorry... something like this won’t happen again, I promise," Emma answered.

Hearing Emma’s words, Eric smiled. He set his burger down on his plate, wiped his hands clean, stood up, and stepped forward. He lifted Emma’s chin and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, followed by a kiss on her lips. After pulling back from the kiss,

"I’m... sorry too," Eric said.

"For what?" Emma asked.

"For not telling you sooner, for keeping quiet about Wesley when your mom told me," Eric answered.

"That wasn’t your fault, if anything I should be the one apologizing. My mom put you in an awkward spot where saying something was wrong and staying quiet was wrong too... plus, this is actually my family’s business, my mom shouldn’t have told you even if you asked," Emma explained.

"That’s just it... I’m sorry because I pried out of curiosity back then and your mom ended up telling me... so I’m in the wrong here too for poking into someone else’s family business," Eric replied.

"Sigh... fine then, we were both in the wrong, how about that?" Emma asked, her cheerful mood returning.

"Now that’s more like it. We’re both at fault, so we’re reset back to square one," Eric answered.

They kissed once more, then went back to finishing their dinner. Once dinner was over, they headed into the bathroom together to take a shower.

***

Meanwhile, in the room next door, Monica, Chloe, Laura, Priya, and Heidi sat in a circle on top of the bed.

"Don’t you think this is totally unfair? How come Emma gets another turn?" Heidi asked.

"What choice do we have? Emma’s going through a tough time, so we just have to step back," Laura answered.

"Still, I want time with Eric too. It’s been throbbing since yesterday," Monica said.

"You really have no filter, do you? Even if I feel the same way, I don’t just say it out loud," Priya chided Monica.

"Ugh... you two are exactly the same. Just let Emma have her fill today, stop being jealous," Chloe said.

Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura turned to look at Chloe, who appeared completely relaxed and wasn’t restless like the rest of them. On top of that, Chloe looked thoroughly satisfied and refreshed.

"How come you look so satisfied?" Monica asked.

"Ah, says who? I look normal," Chloe answered nonchalantly.

Heidi and Laura moved closer to Chloe, and then "riiip," they yanked Chloe’s t-shirt up.

"Hey... what gives?" Chloe protested.

"Aha,"

"Aha,"

Turns out, hidden beneath Chloe’s t-shirt were numerous red marks showing she had just finished fooling around with Eric. Caught red-handed, Chloe could only force a stiff smile.

"Ooops... sorry, I kind of slipped earlier... hahaha," Chloe said awkwardly.

"Grrr... get her!" everyone shouted, grabbing Chloe and pinning her down on the bed until they were satisfied.

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