Convincing her

Jen was glad that she was not as flustered as she expected. She had thought that seeing Tyler would throw her back into memory lane but contrary to her expectations, she did not feel anything at all.

She did not even hate him and in fact, she thought that she could be very cordial with him and have a proper conversation with him now unlike how she was just a few months back.

She had not noticed it but being with Lucas had really healed her a realisation that made her gaze turn brighter when she looked at Lucas.

Lucas had thought that Jen might want to take another break after seeing Tyler but looking at how brightly she was smiling at him he dismissed that thought.

Tyler, on the other hand, had been awestruck when he saw Jen, especially when he had just entered the hall. She stood a head higher than everyone else so she was very hard to miss.

The dress she was wearing made her look refined and sophisticated and when their eyes met his brain had completely blanked out.

He was unsure of how he should react whether to smile in her direction, to nod or wave. Unfortunately, Jen did not give him the chance to ponder on his choices before she turned her gaze away effectively dismissing him.

He saw she turned to Lucas and said something with a smile before she gave a small pout that made Lucas chuckle as if he was helpless against her before he offered her a piece of cake. The more Tyler looked at the two of them, the more his inadequacies were magnified.

He realised that it was not just a matter of public displays of affection anymore as their interaction was very natural. This just meant that Lucas unhesitantly indulged Jen for her to be so comfortable to voice out what she wants, even if it was small things.

In contrast, Jen had never asked him for his help when they were in a relationship. Even when she was having a hard time she hardly ever asked for his help and would only occasionally discuss her situation with him.

He only knew of the stalker she had because he had seen him around her a few times and had him investigated. He did not tell her anything about him before because it would just add on to the burden she already had.

The more Tyler looked at the two the more conflicted he felt. Logic kept telling him to just forget about her and that she was obviously happier being with Lucas but at the same time, he could not help but feel that the current situation was quite difficult to accept.

He felt that he should have experienced the same quality of relationship she had with Lucas so that he would be able to let her go more freely. 

Tyler finally decided to ignore the couple and do what he was really meant to do. He picked up a glass of wine and smoothly downed all of the contents in the glass before he replaced his glass.

Before he could put it to his lips two men stopped in front of him and engaged him in conversation that forced him to put his stress to the side.

"Nothing too dramatic is going to happen right?" Nancy asked David who was being a spectator just as she was.

"I definitely hope not. It would be bad if something happened here" David replied as he sipped on a glass of water.

"Mmh, they would take it outside right?" Nancy asked once more. David looked at her as if he was asking her how was he supposed to know how they would handle their situation. When Nancy saw his expression she gave up on asking him any more questions. 

It did not take long until Jen was absorbed with Lucas once more and at some point, she had even forgotten that Tyler had come to the same party that she was in.