Convincing her

"It was by accident, I just wanted to record the proposal, it's your fault I forgot that I had been recording," Jen mumbled and Lucas's deep chuckle was heard from the other side.

"Don't delete it, I want to see it," Lucas said, relaxing against his office chair. He was not expecting such a surprise so early in the morning, but it really put him in a good mood.

"Okay, I'll keep it. How are we going to tell everyone that we're engaged?" Jen asked as she played with the flashy ring on her finger. It was not like she wanted to hide it, but she was also unsure of how she was going to deliver the news to their friends. She also hadn't seen Alex since she had returned.

"Send me the video you took. I'll arrange it," Lucas said with a smile. It's not like he had to be formal with friends and family. He could just let them know casually. If it was something that they had to tell the world, the headquarters would handle it.

"Will it be okay?" Jen asked nervously.

"I can just send a text if you are nervous about me announcing it this way," Lucas said. He just had to let the people close to him know. It was not that big of a deal.

"I'll send you the video," Jen said as she bit her lip. She could only act boldly that night because of the alcohol she had drunk. She was not confident about everything else afterwards. So, since Lucas is taking the initiative, she was determined to cooperate with him.

"Mmmh, you should rest before you attend classes later. It was a long flight back," Lucas said, and after talking a bit more, he cut the call.

As he was handling the documents, he received the video he asked for from Jen. She just sent a cropped version as it was of a smaller size and he could remember the emotions he felt when she had proposed to him. Fortunately, they both still had their robes on, and except for him pulling her on his lap, and kissing a few times, it was not too outrageous.

He did not dally too much and created a chat group between his friends and sent the video. He then proceeded to send the proposal video to his parents separately. Jen, who had taken a nap as Lucas had ordered her, was dumbfounded once she was awake.

She had not thought that he would be so quick to announce it. She just found that she was added to a chat group before congratulatory messages flooded her inbox. She found missed calls from Hellen and Alex and became flustered. In her panic, she turned off her phone and chose to deal with it later.

She freshened up and got dressed before going to university. She had answered no one's texts as she was shy and nervous about the whole situation. She even avoided meeting Nancy on campus and just went straight home after her classes.

She took a shower once she got home and picked up her phone, which had been off all day to complain to Lucas. How could he just do that so suddenly without telling her? Once her phone was on, it even lagged from the number of messages she received. 

She bypassed everyone's texts while apologizing in her heart before calling Lucas.

"Hello?" Lucas said as soon as he answered his phone.

"How could you send it without letting me know beforehand?" Jen asked him and received a laugh in response. 

"It's not funny," Jen said with a pout.

"I got scolded by my mother that I waited so long until my girlfriend had to take charge and propose to me," Lucas with a smile and Jen's face turned red from embarrassment. She was the one who had refused him multiple times, but he was still being blamed.

"It's good that we were still dressed, otherwise I would have just had to send a message that we're engaged," Lucas said with a smile on his face. Martin, who had been receiving instructions from Lucas before the call, was dumbfounded. What the hell was his boss talking about?

"Don't joke around like that," Jen said, and her cheeks became even redder.

"I won't tease you anymore, are you still on campus?" Lucas asked as he wrote down his instructions on paper.

"No, I ran away," Jen said, and a laugh came through the other side.

"Why? Are you embarrassed?" Lucas asked and handed the paper he was writing in to Martin.

"A bit," Jen said with a small voice that made Lucas smile like he was indulging her. Martin turned around and left. He, as a single man, was unwilling to listen in on a conversation between couples.

"It's a happy event. We'll throw an engagement party soon," Lucas said, and Jen paused.

"We will?" Jen asked, feeling a bit dumbfounded.

"Yes," Lucas answered with a sigh.

"I thought we would do everything once you return," Jen said in confusion.

"Mother is not patient enough to wait. She wanted us to get married yesterday," Lucas said, and felt his head hurt after he was lectured for having no sense in relationships. He wanted to defend himself but then he couldn't just blame Jen so he was silent.

"Right," Jen said, and suddenly remembered how Hellen kept saying that Ethan was smart enough to marry his girlfriend after a few months of dating while her son did not have sense.

"She didn't call you?" Lucas asked, as he expected that Hellen would have definitely given Jen a call.

"She did, but I panicked and turned off my phone," Jen said, and a laugh was heard from the other side.

"She will definitely call you. Just let me know about your decision," Lucas said. He wouldn't oppose whatever decision she made, since it had been so hard to get to this point in the first place. 

"Alright," Jen said, and knew that it was going to get real soon. Because it won't just be Hellen that is excited. She had her own mother, too.

"I won't keep you for long, you know you can't avoid everyone forever, right?" Lucas said with a chuckle. He was feeling amused by her running away and hiding strategy.

"I'll get back to them," Jen said as she too laughed. She realised that her panicking was completely unnecessary.

"Okay, I'll talk to you tonight," Lucas said, a faint smile still hanging on his face.

"Mmmh, I love you," Jen said, her voice getting smaller. She wanted to say it, but she still felt that it was embarrassing.

"Haha, I love you too, Jen," Lucas answered, and the call ended.

She felt calmer after talking to Lucas, and after taking a deep breath; she started reading and replying to the congratulatory messages she had received. When she saw all the missed calls from her friends, she sighed at the thought of having to call everyone back. She laughed at herself as she regretted turning off her phone.