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Tawni's POV

It's been two days after the disastrous wedding, and Sonny is still sulking away, as if Chad was actually now married. It's so obvious to everybody but Sonny and Chad who Chad really loves. I read the script. It was late one night and I snuck into the writer's room. Chad's laptop was left on the table, and he must have forgotten it because I saw him leave the studio a half hour before. Unable to help myself, I opened his laptop to see the script on there. It wasn't finished, but the premise was still the same. A boy sees a mermaid, and he believes in life. Then the mermaid goes away, and his intellect and logic are telling him that it won't come back, but it does. And his life is whole again. Anybody could see that that mermaid fits Sonny perfectly. If Sonny could just read the script, she'd understand.

But instead, she decides to whine and complain about how Chad said "I do", as if that's all there is to it, but there is so much more that she hasn't seen. Sonny walks into the kitchen around 10 AM, still wearing her pajamas and wearing a blanket like a cape. She walks over to the fridge and grabs a bowl of watermelon before grabbing a fork and digging in.

"Sonny, it's day two of this moping around. You have got to stop," I tell her, shaking my head at her.

"Tawni, this is worse than Chad getting married," she tells me with makes me give her a non-believing, questioning look, ushering her to go on. "I had prepared myself for him getting married. But now, he's in love with a girl that won't marry him because she thinks he's in love with me when he obviously is not. No matter what I do, whether it's directly or indirectly, I always end up hurting him."

She takes a seat at the bar stool and sets her bowl on the counter. She bites a big bite of watermelon, and the juice falls down her chin.

"Sonny," I say, grabbing a napkin and handing it to her. She takes it and wipes her mouth. "He's still in love with you. And you'd know that if you'd just talk to him instead of living all couped up in this house in your pajamas with ratty hair."

She shakes her head before solemnly saying, "I'm starting to think he never was."

I roll my eyes at her and slap my hand on the kitchen counter. "Sonny, do you hear yourself? He proposed to you!"

"Okay, but that was a spur the moment thing when he was 19," she denies. "He probably proposed, came back to LA, realized what a mistake he made, and moved on that night. I bet when he started that movie, he took one look at Olivia and thanked God that I rejected him."

I let out a sigh, tapping my fingernails on the counter, thinking over whether I should tell Sonny what happened the night Chad came back from New York.

"Sonny, I never told you this, but after Chad proposed to you, he came back to LA the next night, and we hung out," I tell her, biting my lip.

"What all did you guys do?" she asks, raising her eyebrows, sounding a little betrayed.

"Talked a lot. Went out to eat. Sonny, he was an absolute wreck. More of a wreck than he's been over losing Olivia," I add.

"What happened?" she asks, her curiosity peaking.

I wait in the classy, upscale restaurant, checking my phone every few minutes. Fifteen minutes have passed until I finally get a message.

"Can't make it tonight. Something suddenly came up," reads the read.

I clench my jaw from anger and a twinge of humiliation before locking my phone and shoving it back in my purse. I stand up and turn around to see a face I haven't seen in over a year. He's sitting at a table with a man, who walks off soon after. A smirk crosses my face as I walk over to the now deserted TV star.

"Well, well, well," I say behind him, crossing my arms. "Chad Dylan Cooper."

He turns around and a smile crosses his face. "Tawni Hart," he says with a twinkle in his eye, standing up.

"Are you cheating?" I ask him playfully, putting my hands on my hips.

He looks at me questioningly before realizing what I meant, which causes him to chuckle. "That was the casting director for a new movie I'm shooting. He invited me here for a few drinks."

"So you're a big time movie star now, huh?" I ask him with a small grin on my face.

"You're a big time fashion designer," he retorts. He stares at me for a few seconds before letting out a sigh, "Gosh, it's so good to see you, Tawni."

I smile at him. Gosh, Sonny's changed him. "Yeah, it is."

"I haven't talked to you in ages," he tells me. "Want to find a place just to talk? I wanna know what you've been up to."

"Well, how could I pass up on a night on the town with a big time movie star?" I ask him with a grin.

We decide to go back to my house. It's a huge mansion with great big columns and lavish furniture. My clothing brand has really taken off, thank to help from my mother. She really does know how to manage and make money out of her investments. I'm just the designer.

"So, my mother moved in here with me since my dad travels so much," I inform Chad as we walk into the living room. "But I think they should just call it what it is: trial separation."

"Hm," he nods, looking around the house with his hands in his pockets.

"I can't believe you're going to be in a Spielberg movie. You're gonna be so legit," I tell him, slapping him playfully on the arm.

"You're the one with the big clothing line," he tells me. I've never seen Chad deflect a compliment. Something seems off, but I cannot quite place what it is.

"True," I tell him, reaching down on the coffee table and picking up my design up. "But my mom thinks we can do better with that too. Look at this." I take a seat on the couch and open the book. He sits beside me. "We have...high end couture," I say, flipping through the pages. "A cosmetic company, and my own magazine," I say, sounding a little patronizing about the ideas.

He makes a sound that's a mixture of a scoff and a laugh. "T. Hart?" he asks. "Hey, it can give my movie its first good review."

I give him a soft smile before shutting the book and placing my arms atop of it. "Sometimes expanding seems like a good idea and sometimes...I don't know. I mean, I get to spend a lot of time with my mom, which is great, but I'm scared if I let her take over, Threads isn't going to mine anymore, ya know?"

"Yeah, I do," he says with a nod. "That casting director tonight was talking about all these little changes he wants me to make for the role, mannerisms and such, but I want the character to be my own."

"Pretty high class problems we got," I say with a small laugh, making him chuckle as well. "We should be celebrating, not complaining. Where's Sonny? She must be so thrilled for you."

He pauses, shaking his head from side to side, and announces with a shrug, "We broke up."

"Shut up," I say playfully, not believing him at first, but he just looks me in the eyes, swallowing hard. "Oh, Chad, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

He bites his lip, "I went to New York, I asked her to marry me, and she said no."

My mouth drops open at the words he says, and I close my eyes for few seconds, shaking my head, before opening them to regain my thoughts. "Are you stupid?"

He stands up and steps a few steps away from the couch with his hands in his pockets as I start to rant, "You stormed New York and went all Teen Mom without the baby on her? Did you even buy a-"

He turns around to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring in the opened box.

"Ring," I finish, my mouth dropping open. "Oh my gosh, Chad, you're insane! What did you even say? You probably scared her to death!"

"Well," he says with a slight bitter laugh. "I got down on one knee," he says, acting out his words as he gets down on a knee, holding out the ring to me. "And I said, I want us to be together forever."

His voice breaks a little at the end, and I give him a sad smile. Suddenly, I hear the front door open, and Chad and I both turn to see my mother walking in. She gasps and drops her shopping bags.

Chad and I exchange looks before I smile, "Nevermind. You definitely did it right."

I laugh as we sit at the table outside a nice restaurant under the stars.

"Did you see the look on her face? I've only seen that look once before, and it was when someone accidentally dropped ice cream on her Jimmy Choos," I giggle.

"I'm glad you're enjoying this so much," he says sarcastically, obviously offended at my mother's reaction.

"Oh, come on, Chad. You and Sonny will work it out. You always do," I tell him.

He shakes his head, looking down. "I don't think so, Tawni. Not this time. This time it's...different."

"Well, to me, it sounds like you gave her and ultimatum, and trust me, there is no quicker way to get rid of a girl," I inform him, raising my eyebrows as I lean back in my chair.

"Okay, let's see," he says. "How many times have you talked to Sonny since she left for New York?"

Whatever trace of a smile that was on my lips is now gone. "That is not fair, okay? We're both really busy."

"And today, she broke up with her boyfriend," he says with a nonchalant shrug. "Did she call you?"

I turn my head, not wanting to answer his question, but my lack of response is answer enough.

"Things have changed, Tawni," he tells me.

"I think you're saying that because you're hurt," I tell him. "And I get it, but I don't think you really mean it."

He just looks down, and this time, his lack of response is answer enough.

"Ya know what?" I tell him, trying to cheer him up with a suddenly peppy tone. "I think we need to get drunk."

"Alright," he smirks, about to call the waiter over before I say, "But first, let me see the ring again. I'll give you a designer's opinion."

I hold my hand out and he reaches into his pocket, handing me the ring. I open up the box and admire it.

"It's really beautiful," I say.

"Well, well, well, congratulations!" says one of the waitresses passing by, causing us both to look up. She starts clap, and everyone looks over to us, beginning to clap as well.

"Oh," I begin, holding my hand up.

"Champagne on the house!" she exclaims. "We have an engagement, everyone!"

I look over at Chad who just gives me the look of a kid who got his hands caught in the cookie jar, but a small mischevious smile is on his lips.

The champagne cork pops off the top, and a waiter serves us.

"No," I say, but it's obvious that no one will listen to me. I finally surrender with a shrug, putting the ring on my finger. Chad and I both giggle a little at the ridiculousness of it all.

"So who knew the ring trick would get us free drinks all over the city?" I ask, playfully slapping him on the chest with my purse as we walk down the sidewalk.

"I know. Gah, I hope no one recognized us," Chad says with a small chuckle.

"They were all either old or drunk," I assure him. "We're fine."

We start to pass between a man sitting on a bench and a white horse carriage parked on the road.

"Can I give you two a ride?" asks the elderly man.

Chad and I exchange looks and he says, in a very formal voice, "Why not? It is our engagement night, after all."

He holds his arm out for me to interlock with mine, which I do as I hold up my other hand to showcase the ring with an exaggerated smile on my face.

"In that case, the ride's free," the man says, getting off the bench and onto the driver's seat of the carriage.

"This diamond ring is gold!" I exclaim, climbing onto the carriage, Chad following behind.

We clop down the street, smiling at each other at the craziness of this past night.

"So what do you two have planned for your lives together?" the man asks us as he directs the horse down the road.

Chad and I look at each other, contemplating our answer.

"Um," I mumble, before coming up with my answer. This man is obviously too old to know who we are. "We're going to be a power couple. He's going to be a famous movie star, and I'm going to be a high end fashion designer," I say confidently with a grin.

"But we're still going to have time for a big family," Chad interjects, putting his arm around me.

"Two boys and a girl," I throw in.

"And I'll coach little league on the side," he says.

"Oh, and I'll bake treats for the team!" I exclaim giddily. He raises an eyebrow at me. "Or buy them."

"And then we'll spend our summers in our beach house in South Carolina," Chad tells me.

"And winters in the south of France," I say dreamily, leaning into him.

"But it won't matter where we are, as long as we're together," Chad says with a mischievous grin on his face and I have to hide my laughter.

"That's the key," the man says. "Success is wonderful, but finding someone to love and having them love you back...love is what life is all about."

I look over at Chad to see him looking down and biting his lip, obviously too sensitive to those words right now. I just pat him on the knee, hoping to console him in any way I can.

We walk into Chad's apartment building, Chad leaning on my shoulder, roaring drunk from all our free drinks. They finally kicked in on the walk home.

"Alright, boozy," I say, my arms wrapped around his waist. "Let's get you to bed. Come on."

He aimlessly looks around the room, all of his weight leaning into me. I lead him into his room and set him down on the bed so his feet as still touching the floor.

He examines the bed before deciding, "The bed is spinning."

"Alright," I tell him, starting to unbutton his collared shirt. "I'm going to get you into some pajamas, and then I'm going to take a cab home, and you can just sleep all the alcohol off."

I get done unbuttoning his shirt as he starts to fall down into the bed more. I try to grab him to pull him up a little, but instead, he grabs me by the arms and pulls me into him slowly.

"Or," he begins in a husky voice. "You could stay."

And before I know it, he's kissing me. I'm so shocked by his action that it takes me a few seconds to pull away.

"Okay," I say, holding my hands out to him as I stand up completely. "That was the second stupidest thing you've done in the last twenty four hours."

A look of utter heartbreak washes over his face as he's reminded of the events that took place just twenty four hours ago.

"Chad, this isn't right. I love Sonny, and even if you don't want to admit it right now, so do you."

"I feel-" He begins, sitting up, his voice cracking, searching for the right word. "-lost, Tawni. I don't know what to do without her."

His sad eyes look up into mine, wanting an answer.

"Look, this is what you're going to do: you're going to go become the best person and the best actor you can be, and then you approach Sonny. And if she comes back to you, it's meant to be. Okay?" I say softly.

He nods a little, but he still looks hopelessly forlorn.

"I'm gonna go," I tell him, taking the ring of my finger and placing it in his palm. "Bye, Chad."

And with that, I walk out the door.

I told her everything, even the kiss. I felt like she deserved to know.

"Sonny, he has always loved you," I tell her. "You just really hurt him that night. That night changed him. He went back to that version of himself that doesn't let people in, and then he finally let Olivia in, though I don't think all the way, and she loved him. Sonny, he's scared. I think he's scared of how in love with you he is. If he gives his heart to you again, you have total control of it. I think he's scared that you're going to break it again."

She lets everything I told her sink. "Wow," she says. "He kissed another girl right after I rejected his proposal. Yeah, he's so in love with me."

And with that, she walks back off to her room.

I know this chapter is a break from all the drama, but I just wanted to give a little more insight into Chad after Sonny rejected him. Also, I've been dying to explore the Tawni/Chad friendship as well as try Tawni's POV. Let me know what you all think! And I promise, the next chapter will continue with all the fallout from the wedding!