Chapter 3 Part 3

Bryant stared at the microphone in his hand, then joked back when he was ready.

"That's what my wife looks like, closed up," Bryant squeezed his arms from the side, "Darl, I hope this secret of yours makes me the only man in the world who knows you best."

The first applause and cheers came from the emcee.

"Turns out the bride meant it! Lucky you,"the emcee opened his lips again, "Is the false news about the woman you are going to marry and the name on the invitation card your wish?"

Bryant chuckled,"Really, the message and the invitation card mix-up were completely against our will."

Bryant finished his sentence before quickly kissing Wanda on the cheek, "The gossip about me and Selena spread so quickly beyond both of our predictions. My extended family, as well as Wanda's family, never wanted to be exposed to the mass media, so we prefer not to clarify anything that would end up exposing us more frequently."

Bryant's expression turned serious, "However, things got even more complicated, somehow a misunderstanding occurred that was too late to realize. My closeness to Selena, which had been publicized in the mass media, distorted other people's memories so that the invitation card was printed in Selena's name two weeks ago and immediately distributed by the printers who were also in charge of the mailing. We wanted to do it all, but in the end we decided not to. Sounds cliché, but my wife is the best wife.

Wanda snorted. This man next to her turned out to be an impostor. If the man next to His was a screenwriter, he would be famous. All the fake stories he tells are coherent and full of mystery.

"How come? Aren't you jealous or disappointed? Why are you so resigned?" the host asked Wanda. This forced Wanda to look ahead, at the guests present.

Looks like now is the right time to unleash all the power of imagination he has. After all, they will not meet again.

"I was jealous, disappointed and angry. I didn't give up at all, I rebelled, annoyed," Wanda replied, looking at Bryant with an annoyed look, "but what can I do? It's better to skip some problems so that other problems don't arise. Don't you know by now that I am the legal wife of...?"

Wanda's sentence stopped when she realized that she did not know the name of the man next to her.

"That annoying guy," Wanda continued after a few seconds of silence.

"Is annoying man your nickname?"the host asked with a teasing smile.

"Sure," Wanda replied without hesitation.

"A nickname for a man who won't change his bride's name just because he doesn't want to have anything to do with the public."

"How is that? It turns out you are angry!"

After that, Wanda decided to sit back on the sofa in the middle of the stage and let Bryant feign regret and play a romantic song for her. The man's fingers danced on the piano keys, emitting melodious tones that made everyone believe that one second after the song was over... Wanda and Bryant would be reconciled, forgetting the problems that had occurred before the wedding.

"Already. It's done,"Wanda said, waving her hand at Bryant, who was in the process of removing his black bow tie.

"Yes, it's done,"Bryant extended his hand to Wanda.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"Forget you ever saw me sneak into a stranger's party as an expression of your gratitude," Wanda quickly replied, taking Bryant's outstretched hand.

"Of course I'll forget about the fifty grand too," Bryant teased as he sat down on the couch in his hotel room.

"How do you know?"she asked.

"I'll tell you when I see you again, and if I'm helped again,"Bryant raised both eyebrows before chuckling.

Wanda cleared her throat, trying to reduce her nervousness,"I'm not curious either."

"It's a good thing you're not curious. Then Tony will drive you home,"Bryant instructed Tony to escort Wanda out of her room.

"No need, I can walk home myself,"Wanda said quickly. She immediately grabbed her purse from Tony and walked out the door alone.

"Even better,"Bryant held up his hands as if to allow Wanda to make up her own mind.

Wanda left Bryant's room and took the elevator down, followed by Tony, "I think I asked you not to take me home. Shouldn't we have some privacy so that neither party wins or loses unilaterally?"

"Sure. I'll just walk you to the lobby."

Wanda nodded her head in resignation, then stepped out of the elevator as soon as the door opened. She took a wide step toward one of the cabs that stopped in front of the lobby door.

Not long after the taxi in which Wanda was riding disappeared from sight, Tony spotted a man wearing closed clothes and a camera hanging from his neck getting into a black van that immediately sped off in pursuit of the taxi in which Wanda was riding.

This can't be happening!

Bryant's cell phone rang, causing Bryant to move his hand to reach for the phone on the nightstand. Tony. What happened to make Tony call him? Instead of meeting him in the room? Bryant answered the call with only a grunt.

"Miss Wanda was followed by someone I believe to be a journalist,"the short sentence immediately raised Bryant's eyebrows. Followed by journalists? How could that be?

"How come? Aren't you the one who took him home?" asked Bryant, somewhat surprised, this was the first time Tony had been negligent in his duties.

"I didn't take Miss Wanda home," Tony replied a little loudly because the sound of other vehicles was so obvious. He was having trouble even hearing his own voice, let alone Bryant's.

"Don't tell me you're after them?" Bryant decided to leave the room for the balcony. The room suddenly felt stuffy, he needed fresh air to solve the problem that was happening again...Of course I'll catch up with Miss Wanda's taxi and the black van that followed," Tony explained. "Sorry, I have to hang up the phone first."

At that moment, Tony and Bryant's phone lines were cut off. Bryant left everything to Tony. Not because he was too relaxed and irresponsible, but because Tony was more responsible than he was. So he let Tony do his thing.

He had to think about the next steps for his and Wanda's marriage. He should not voluntarily dig his grave any deeper. He really needed to find the best way out.

***

Tony received another call immediately after hanging up the phone with Bryant. He hoped it was from the cab Wanda was in.

"Yes," he replied as he turned the wheel to follow the two cars in front of him. He didn't try to get ahead of them because he still didn't know where Wanda was going.

"Grand Spark Apartments," Tony repeated as he began to pull ahead of the other two cars.

Tony parked the car in the basement of the apartment building and then walked with wide steps to the elevator in the lobby. He needed to be faster than the reporter to secure Wanda.

Tony's steps widened as he recognized Wanda from a distance. It was true that the people following Wanda were journalists because Tony knew them well. The journalist who had always been around the top class and yes... the most annoying journalist this year. The most ambitious journalist in his field, Jeremi.

When Jeremi hid behind a large pillar of the hotel while he was fixing his hat and mask, Tony immediately pulled Wanda away from there. The two of them walked out of the apartment building and made their way down the stairs to the basement.

"Who are you? What are you doing?"asked Wanda as she struggled to free Tony's hand from her wrist while her other hand was busy clutching her purse and blazer.

"I'm Tony," Tony replied as he opened the car door for Wanda.

"Oh, you. Isn't my business with you guys done? What more do you need from me?"asked Wanda without intending to get in. She pressed her body against the car so that even if she was forced to enter, Wanda would have a handle.

"You're being followed by reporters, you better get in first so we can get out of here quickly and avoid trouble,"Tony pointed into the car and motioned for Wanda to get in immediately.

"Turns out it wasn't just my hunch. I felt someone following me,"Wanda said as she lowered her head into the car. Once inside, Wanda fixed her eyes on Tony's back,"Where am I being taken?"

Tony buckled his seat belt, then looked back at Wanda through the windshield, "I'm taking you back to the hotel."

When Wanda started to cut him off, Tony continued his sentence more firmly, "It's better to be near Mr. Bryant, at least for the foreseeable future you both will avoid unpleasant news."

Wanda thought for a moment, then nodded her head in agreement, "Sure, I'm known to some as his wife, so it's safer to be around her."

Tony smiled slightly at Wanda's decision and then drove the car back to the hotel.

"Sure, you really have an open mind, so it's easy for you to listen to other people's suggestions,"Tony praised.

Tony thought Wanda wasn't talking to him because he was busy looking out the window. It turned out that when the car stopped at a red light, Wanda opened her lips and asked in a somewhat reluctant but demanding tone, "What happened to him?Tony raised his eyebrows then looked at Wanda from the main mirror, "Who?" The question left Tony's lips not because he pretended not to know who Wanda was asking, but because Tony really didn't know. Wanda's question was too ambiguous. Who was Wanda asking?

"His future wife,"Wanda replied after a moment of silence.

"It would be wiser for Mr. Bryant to explain it to you later."

This sentence ended their conversation. Occasionally Wanda looked as if she wanted to ask a question, but she always refused.

***

Wanda studied Tony standing right in front of her. Tony is tall and broad shouldered, though not muscular and rather thin. Tony pressed the bell a few times and then held up the hotel card. This made Wanda jump. Why would Tony ring the bell if he had a key to the hotel room? How strange.

Tony opened the door and let Wanda in first, followed by himself, who came back to check the atmosphere outside the hotel room before closing the meeting door.

Actually, Wanda was a little worried because she had never been in a hotel room with a man before. Meanwhile, this time she was in a hotel room with two men at the same time.

Wanda's image of a handsome man with his back to her through a wall-sized window was shattered when she found Bryant sitting on a desk chair with her legs propped up on the table and his mouth wide open. Bryant was fast asleep, too fast! It seemed the man was really tired.

Tony walked over to Bryant and tapped him lightly on the shoulder while holding the back of the chair so that Bryant wouldn't fall backwards when he got up. From what Wanda saw, it could be inferred that Bryant was a man who woke up instantly. The proof, the man did not look surprised, nor was he still half asleep. The man immediately became one hundred percent awake and then brushed his hair.

A mischievous smile immediately appeared on his face when he saw Wanda standing on the other side of the desk.

"We meet again."

Wanda stared blankly at Bryant, "Just happened. Against my will."

"Yeah, that's right. I didn't think any journalists would be interested in what happened today," Bryant said. He walked over to Wanda with a sweet smile.

"Please solve this problem right away. I don't want any more journalists following me," Wanda said. He wants nothing to do with the media, not because of this problem and not because of his work as a writer. He wants to live a quiet and comfortable life behind the scenes. He can move around as usual and no one knows him. It was the most comfortable thing Wanda could think of.

"I doubt it," Tony interjected. Tony handed Bryant his cell phone, then explained briefly while letting Bryant read it, too. Wanda could only hear the rest of their conversation.

"Difficult?"she asked.

"What's wrong? What happened?"Tony looked up from the phone screen.

"Yes. The news about Jeremi was all over social media. The news about you returning to the apartment after the wedding, leaving Mr. Bryant alone in the hotel, and the news about the possibility that this marriage was a sham."

"Jeremy?" asked Wanda, one eyebrow raised.

"The name of the journalist who followed you earlier," Tony explained quickly.

"I'd better book you a room across from Mr. Bryant's so you can get some rest without arousing suspicion."

"I have to go home soon, I have work to finish," Wanda said. Really, he had to finish the last chapter of his novel tonight.

Tony looked at Bryant and tried to guess what was on Bryant's mind.

"Just stay in the front room tonight. Consider it my thanks for your help today," Bryant said with a friendly smile.

"No, thank you. I really need to get home now. I think my help is enough for you and I don't need your return. I don't need to stay in a hotel," Wanda refused again.

"If you really don't mind being followed by journalists, who probably have more than they used to, then go,"Bryant said, trying to pull at the invisible rope between them.

Wanda was silent. She tried to consider several conditions and risks in the future.

Seeing Wanda's silence, Bryant began to feel calm. There was a possibility that Wanda was thinking about what she had just said.

"I'll do you another favor by staying across from your room, but on one condition,"Wanda offered. She felt that this was the best consideration for both of them. Bryant could survive the gossip, and maybe he could get some ideas for his next novel.

"What do you want in return?"

"Tell me the reason for your bride's absence today,"Wanda replied, "and allow me to get my laptop."

"Easy. I will do both of your things,"Bryant shoved his hands into his pants pockets and leaned his hips against the desk behind him.