Convincing her (Jen and Lucas)

The two of them talked about their future plans as they waited for their breakfast. Fortunately, they did not have to wait for long and breakfast arrived soon. They sat at the dining table and happily talked as they ate their breakfast.

"Let's go to my restaurant this afternoon," Jen suggested as she bit into her toast. 

"Let's do that," Lucas agreed. As long as he was spending time with his girlfriend, he was okay with doing whatever. 

"Since we are going to be collaborating in the future anyway," Jen said with a smile that left him in a trance.

"Mmmh," Lucas agreed as he went back to his meal.

"Can I ask you something?" Jen said after a long moment of silence.

"Anything," Lucas said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"So has Nathan ever been in any serious relationships?" Jen asked him, and a faint smile appeared on Lucas's lips. He could guess why the topic came up suddenly. He had seen how guarded Michael had been against Nathan and how Alex seemed to be attracted to him.

"He has," Lucas answered honestly.

"Really? Did anything happen?" Jen mumbled to herself and the smile on Lucas's lips got even wider.

"Why? Are you interested in him?" Lucas teased and watched in amusement as her eyes widened in surprise after hearing his question.

"NO! That's not it, it's just…" Jen was unsure of how to continue.

"Is Alex interested in him?" Lucas asked her straightforwardly, and Jen pursed her lips together.

"He was in a relationship before, but because of his profession and how good of a doctor he was, his girlfriend started feeling lonely and dissatisfied whenever their dates were cut short because of an emergency at the hospital," Lucas generously explained.

"At some point, she ended up seeking out someone else to fill in for him. When he learned he was being two-timed, he promptly broke up with her even though he had been head over heels in love with her. But he also became very jaded after that event.

"If Ethan had not been working in the same hospital god knows where he would have been," Lucas explained as he remembered how Nathan used to overwork himself to forget about the pain in his heart.

Jen was expecting so many scenarios, but not this one. If he felt like he was not ready for a relationship, then it would be better not to push for one until he felt like he was in the position to be in one. At the end of the day, the last thing she wanted was for Alex to get hurt.

"Why? Does Alex like him" Lucas asked her point-blank and she stared at him wide-eyed.

"How did you know?" Jen asked him as she forgot about her breakfast.

"It was a hunch, since the wedding," Lucas said with a smile as he looked at her. Jen looked at him sceptically. How was her boyfriend more sensitive to other people's emotions than she was? But granted, if he was not, they would not be so close, right?

"If she thinks she can wait for him, then she can, but who knows when Nathan will come back to his senses. After such a betrayal, he has trust issues. As my future sister-in-law, even though Nathan is my friend, I would not encourage that relationship. It would be better if he found someone that we didn't know on his own terms. I also don't want her to get hurt and make things awkward for everyone," Lucas thought out loud and Jen thought he was right.

She had already told Alex not to go after a person who is not interested in a relationship anyway. Having a one-sided relationship was hell.

The two finished their breakfast as they chatted and after putting out the dishes, the two of them relaxed in the living room. Half of Jen's body was draped over Lucas's while his hand carelessly stroked her outer thigh. 

"When do you think you can come again?" Lucas asked Jen who was lazily laying on top of him.

"I could even come next weekend," Jen said as she turned her head to look up at him.

"Really?" Lucas asked with a smile, and Jen nodded.

"Yeah, but I have to prepare for my finals. I know I won't be studying if I come over," Jen said with a small laugh as her fingers brushed over his pecks and Lucas also laughed helplessly.

"Maybe in another two, maybe three weeks?" Jen said as she thought about how she was going to compensate for the three days she was not going to be studying. Unlike this time, the next time she went over, she would not arrive late into the night since she would not need to pack anything.

"I'll also need to make time to come over," Lucas said as he kissed her forehead. Jen felt comforted by what he said, but she would rather he didn't.

Unlike her, who only had to focus on her university, Lucas was running a company while studying. If he had to make time, he would either have to do overtime for several days prior and after. He might just collapse from exhaustion because of it.

"Don't force yourself, everyone understands that you are busy. It's okay if it was just two days, but that's the time you would end up spending on the plane without even properly meeting anyone. Just come during your break," Jen said considerately.

Unfortunately, Lucas did not really have a break from the university since he was squeezing two years' worth of knowledge into one year. The classes might get a bit more lax during school breaks, but that was it. He could not expect more.

"Okay, I won't," Lucas agreed. He did not want to say anything about his reality, as that would just cause her to worry about him even more.

"Do you want to do anything?" he asked her, and Jen shook her head to say no.

"I just want to spend the afternoon with you," she wanted to treasure this time as much as possible before she had to leave later on.