Convincing her (Jen and Lucas)

Lucas glanced at Jen as he drove to his parents' house. They were meant to go with Diane and Jen's other siblings, but Hellen was not ready by the time they were done. They only left because Jake promised to bring them there. So, Lucas handed him the keys to one of his cars before they left by themselves.

"What did you mean when you said you would have married me after another two years?" Lucas asked, addressing her words from earlier.

"It's because I feel that it is better if I finish with university so that I can fully focus on my marriage," Jen said as it finally dawned on her.

"Did I make you upset when I said that?" Jen asked him. His mood had become strange after she said that earlier, now she has finally figured out why he behaved the way he did.

"That time has only reduced to one year?" Lucas asked, not willing to change the subject.

"Lucas, I love you. I would marry you today if I could, but you are leaving tomorrow. On our first year of marriage, I would rather we did not spend it apart," Jen said as she held his free hand. Lucas was finally able to calm himself down.

"You could move your credits there if you insist on having face-to-face lectures," Lucas suggested and Jen pursed her lips. She had checked before, the university was very exclusive, only ridiculously smart people studied there, otherwise, you should at least have enough influence to be admitted. 

She definitely was not struggling in school. She was always in the top three in her class, with Michael firmly in the first place by a few points. But she was not too confident in herself. It was also difficult to be admitted there midway.

"I don't know about that…" Jen said and trailed off.

"If we get married, that will solve any issues with your admission," Lucas said as he fiddled with her fingers. Jen looked at him doubtfully and felt like he was trying to coerce her into marrying him.

"You aren't just saying that so we would get married sooner, right?" Jen asked him and Lucas chuckled. He did not press the issue because he could see that Jen did not look interested in transferring over.

The two of them soon arrived at the large mansion and, as expected, they were both warmly welcomed by Hellen. She led the couple to the garden where James was talking to his father. The entrance of the three people shifted their focus to them.

"The kids are here," Hellen said happily, and all but skipped to Noah's side. Noah showed a rare smile as his wife snuggled next to him. 

"Afternoon dad," Lucas said with a happy smile.

"Good afternoon… dad," Jen said with some hesitation. It was a bit easier to call Hellen mother than calling Noah, dad. The man was a bit too imposing, his charisma had reached new heights.

"Good afternoon, Jen," Noah said and chuckled in amusement when he saw her turn a bit red. Would it have been like this if they had had a daughter? Would she have easily gotten shy like this? He thought to himself and whispered something to Hellen, who in turn smacked his arm twice and glared at him.

Jen who thought they were talking about her held Lucas's hand tighter, but Lucas was unbothered by his parents' interaction. He had already gotten used to it.

In reality, Noah was actually being mischievous.

"If I knew daughters were so cute, we would have tried for another child," Noah whispered to Hellen, who was surprised by his words.

"Why don't we try for one tonight?" he asked her and was smacked and glared at as a result. 

"I'm serious," he said, and Hellen bit her bottom lip.

"You want a daughter that is going to be around the same age as your grandchildren? Do you want me and my daughter-in-law to be pregnant at the same time?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

Hellen had a very hard time when she was delivering Lucas. The doctor had even advised her not to get pregnant for a while. Noah had completely dismissed the idea of her getting pregnant completely. So she had her eggs stored at a facility and Noah did the same and would have gotten a vasectomy afterwards if she had not stopped him. 

He said he did not want to risk it, but Hellen would have felt guilty if he had gone through with it so, until menopause, she used birth control. And now the two of them were just going wild.

Now he was talking about a daughter, Hellen wouldn't mind having another child, but Noah was a bit too protective to risk it.

"We'll talk about this later," she said. She figured that her husband has had a bit too much to drink and has started acting funny.

On the other hand, James was being grilled by his younger brother- and sister-in-law on the whereabouts of Laura.

She had a photoshoot that afternoon, so she was not able to come. But in reality, James has never taken her to visit his parents, not because she was busy, he was her manager, he could have worked something out from her end. He just wanted to wait until he knew that she was the one before bringing her back.

It was a weird thought, especially with the amount of chemistry the two have. But with his experience, he knew that chemistry doesn't amount to much in the long run unless you are having a purely physical relationship.

"When do you think you'll bring her home?" Lucas asked while looking at his older brother. 

"When we're engaged," James said after some thought. If Laura's personality was like Jen's then he would have had a different answer. But she was very straightforward… a bit impulsive, but straightforward in general. If he ever proposed, he knew he wouldn't be told to wait but would either get a yes or a no.