Convincing her

The following day, Alex and Jake both woke up earlier than usual. Alex had to give instructions to her assistant as she was not going to work that day and she also wanted to look good when she went to see her grandparents for the first time.

Jake went downstairs first and found his mother already seated in the dining hall. As usual, Diane was meticulously dressed but she was especially good looking today.

"Good morning mom, you look stunning," Jake said as he went to kiss her cheek before sitting down next to her.

"Thank you," Diane said with a smile as she poured Jake a glass of milk. The two silently had their breakfast and as they were half way through it, Alex finally joined them. Alex had taken the time to meticulously put on her make-up and was wearing a pale pink dress. Jake paused his eating to look at his sister and for the first time in forever, he felt like maybe his sister was a bit pretty?

"Morning mom," Alex said as she sat opposite Diane and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Good morning. You look different today," Diane commented as she looked at her daughter. Despite how careless Alex looks on a typical day at home, whenever she leaves the house she always looks chic and aloof. Today she looked much softer with her light coloured makeup and curled hair made her look like a well behaved young lady.

"Thank you," Alex said with a smile that snapped Jake back into his senses. He looked at Alex trying to figure out what was different with his sister. 

"You look prettier than usual," Jake added after seeing a softer image of his sister. Now if only she acted like she appears, he thought to himself as he continued to eat his breakfast.

"Do they know that we're going over?" Alex asked her mother and Diane's eating movements suddenly paused as she processed what Alex had said but did not really answer her question. She was actually very nervous about going back home.

It has been more than twenty-five years and although she would occasionally ask a private investigator to check on her parents' well being but that has been the furthest she has gone. If she was being honest, she was kind of hoping that they wouldn't be home and she could just leave a message.

"They don't," Diane answered and after a pause and continued to eat her breakfast. Alex looked at her mother for a moment before she smiled. She never realised that Jen had similarities with their mother but now, she found her sister's stubbornness understandable.

*

Meanwhile, Hellen had dragged Noah to go out and meet their parents. Noah was an only child while Hellen had quite a number of siblings and cousins. Hence why she was more sociable than her counterpart. Noah's parents always felt relaxed when they were around their daughter-in-law. It didn't have to be mentioned that both of their parents felt a bit uncomfortable when left alone with Noah.

They met with their parents for lunch and Hellen was still talking to them about their long vacations while Noah silently sat on the side and listened. His parents were so relaxed that even his old man was showing a rare smile as he looked at Hellen.

"I hope you are not working too hard. You shouldn't forget to spend time with your family," Richard said to Noah who was looking at everyone expressionlessly.

"You shouldn't worry. I plan on following your example," Noah said seriously as two pairs of grey eyes met. Richard felt choked from his son's response and didn't pursue the matter any longer.

Unlike his sons who were given a chance to work at a branch office to get acclimated with running the company, Noah had been thrown into the fray the moment he was out of university.

The only time he finally got some reprieve was when he went to do his masters in country M, where he met Hellen and married her almost immediately.

At the end of the day, Richard left the company to Noah when he was still young and it looked like Lucas was going to suffer the same fate his father did. 

"You shouldn't antagonise the boy," Noah's mother said as she scowled at her husband. Richard cleared his throat and didn't bother his son anymore. 

"Speaking of this, our youngest is getting married soon," Hellen said making everyone on the table freeze in surprise. For the first time since arriving, Noah had a smile on his face from the shocked expressions on the two couples' faces.

"How did this happen? I mean, when did this happen?" Hellen's mother asked and Hellen's smile grew wide.

"When you were all out having fun, my son found a girlfriend. I had contacted you to come home to see her but you were all very busy so you missed the engagement party. I hope you won't be too busy to attend the wedding. You are his grandparents after all," Hellen said while maintaining the smile on her face. She left everyone feeling speechless and the only thing audible was Noah's low chuckle.

Of course they would go. They didn't need to be chided by their daughter (in-law) they will definitely be there. After they all recovered from the surprise, the two older women started chatting with Hellen about the arrangements and the plans for wedding.

Noah's mother silently listened as Hellen's mother kept asking her daughter numerous questions. As a result, the men were pushed to the background.

Fortunately, the food soon arrived and they became occupied. Noah would considerately put food in Hellen's plate and urge her to eat whenever she got carried away in her excitement.

This went on for the rest of their lunch, and even when they were having their hot beverages. It was already evening when they finally dispersed. Noah led his wife to their car and got in after her. The driver drove off to their home once he received instructions from Noah and wisely pressed the button to raise the partition.

"Did you have your fill? You were so excited you forgot to eat," Noah said as he looked at Hellen who was trying to make herself comfortable.

"Do you still want to have a daughter?" Hellen asked Noah and he shut his mouth immediately. 

"I've been thinking about it. Let's get a surrogate and do it," Hellen said with a smile as she looked at the complicated expression on his face.

"What if it's another boy?" Noah asked and it became Hellen's turn to deflate.

"Let's just wait for our grandkids. I don't want to raise kids at this age anyway," Noah said as he boldly pulled her onto his lap.

"You are talking like you weren't the one who proposed this in the first place," Hellen said with a pout as she undid the top buttons of his dark blue shirt.

"Mmmh, I was obviously not thinking straight," Noah said softly and kissed her cheek.

"But if you insist, let's do it," Noah said and Hellen glared at him. What was he playing at? Does he want a child or not?!