Convincing her

Diane sat at the head of the table with Jen sitting on her right and Alex on her left. Lucas sat next to Jen and Jake next to Alex. Lucas observed Jen's mother who was busy filling up Jen's plate and ignoring everyone else. 

She had tied her blonde hair up in an updo and had it decorated with diamond-studded hairpins and studded earrings. She had light makeup on and was wearing a long-sleeved cream-coloured dress. She looked like a fairy, a tall fairy. He then looked at Jen who looked nothing like her and couldn't help but smile.

Jen looked at her now full plate and then looked up at her mom who was finally putting some food on her own plate before looking back down on her plate. Lucas nudged her at her side when he saw that she had zoned out. As much as he wanted to talk more to his future mother-in-law he felt that it was a bit inappropriate to do so, especially today since he came to support her.

The table was silent with only the sounds of the cutlery making impact with the plates until the silence frustrated Jake into saying something.

"Brother-in-law, do you have plans tomorrow? Can we hang out together?" Jake asked drawing everyone's gazes to Lucas except for Jen who stared at Jake as if asking him why he was calling Lucas brother-in-law. Lucas did not mind it, in fact, he found Jake more pleasing to the eye because he kept referring to him as his brother-in-law.

"We've made plans for the next couple of days before we leave for City X once again," Lucas replied with a smile. As Diane continued to look at Lucas, she kept on nodding her head as if she was pleased with what she saw.

"Really? I should have asked for yesterday then," Jake said, his voice filled with disappointment. Before he could say anything else, he felt a sharp pain on his shin and couldn't help but take in a sharp breath before furiously rubbing at his leg. His eyes met Alex's and a cold shiver ran down his spine. Why was she glaring at him like he killed her dog?

"I'll take you out to play when I'm in town again," Lucas promised with an amused smile. The scene before him was strangely familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint where he had seen it. Just like that, the atmosphere had lightened up significantly.

"Is the meal alright?" Diane asked no one in particular but was curiously looking at Lucas.

"The food tastes amazing, I now know where Jen got her skills from," Lucas answered politely. At his response, Diane looked at Jen, who had turned to look at Lucas. Jen felt like she was being overpraised. 

Her mother was the type of person who would endlessly pursue her interests. She had wanted to learn how to cook, so she did. She wanted to learn how to paint so she did, she even made an effort to learn flower arrangements, event planning and pottery. She was unnecessarily good at so many things.

When Jen wanted to start her restaurants, she had advised her a lot when she was developing recipes, but she had never gotten interested in making money. Because all her brothers had been interested in it, and she married a man who had promised that she wouldn't have to worry about money even though she had to cut ties with her family to marry him, and for the majority of their lives she really did not have to worry and just when they had become desperate enough for her to start thinking about what to do, her daughter immediately took over. It was her fault for not showing her how much she appreciated her efforts.

Jen thought that her appetite would be affected by what has been happening, but contrary to her expectations, she ended up eating everything on her plate. Even what her mother added on to it.

"Thanks for the meal," Jen said as she set down her cutlery.

"Are you full? Do you want to add anything else?" Diane asked and looked at everyone.

"No, I'm fine," Jen said and similar responses arose from the table.

"Good, I hope you all have room for dessert," Diane said and got up from the table. Jen's eyes widened before she looked at the little bulge that had grown from eating so much food.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked once Diane had disappeared into the kitchen. 

"I'm fine, really" Jen answered and squeezed Lucas' hand in reassurance.

"I made lemon cake," Diane said brightly as she reentered the dining room and set it on the centre of the table.

"Help yourselves," Diane said once she sat down.

They all had some cake, although Diane was the one who was the most excited about it, and in another thirty minutes, they all left the dining area and went to the living room. As they all sat down and made small talk. Lucas found himself being the centre of attention.

Diane asked him all sorts of questions, from his family to his education to his job and his future plans. Lucas found himself talking much more than he had intended to and Jen was silently drinking her tea while looking at her mom who would occasionally ask Lucas something. It all strangely felt like they were interviewing their in-law.

"Mom, can we talk?" Jen asked as she put down her cup and looked at Diane. Everyone became quiet once she had opened her mouth because she hadn't said much since she arrived. Diane nodded before standing up from her seat, and Jen followed suit as she too stood up.

The sounds of their heels echoed in the house as the two went up the stairs and into Diane's bedroom. The tension in the air finally eased after they heard the door close.

"They are going to be fine, right?" Jake asked Alex who was sitting next to him.

"I guess?" Alex answered, making Lucas feel perplexed.

"They both have such strong characters, I'm curious about what is going on, but I also don't want to know," Jake said as he leaned back on the couch and eyed Lucas curiously.

"Say, brother-in-law, how were you able to tame my sister?" Jake asked before he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, only to be met with Alex's glare.

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