Lucy had never felt more uncomfortable in her life than she did when she walked into the reserved part of the restaurant where they had made the dinner reservation for the evening.
In the middle of the room, there was a round table with eight chairs around it, and Tom was already seated with his grandfather chatting and sipping from a glass of wine by the time the rest of them joined them.
Lucy tried not to let her face give away her emotion when she met Tom's gaze. Tom was slightly taken aback when she smiled at him.
"Tom, you are here already? Why didn't you come home?" Evelyn asked as they joined them.
"I got here less than ten minutes ago. I figured it would be easier and quickest to come here directly rather than get home before coming here," Tom explained with a dismissive shrug.
"My lovely Evelyn," Lawrence Hank said with a wide smile as he rose to embrace Evelyn.
"You don't have to rise on my account, Lawrence. It's always a pleasure to see you," Evelyn said with a bright smile as she kissed both sides of his cheeks.
"How have you been?" Evelyn asked when she pulled away and took the seat next to him by his right since Tom was seated on his left.
"Excellent," Lawrence said as his gaze moved to Desmond, who had taken his seat, "Is he still foul-tempered?" Lawrence asked Evelyn, and she grinned.
"He is not foul-tempered. And if he seems that way towards you, it's probably because you deserve it," Evelyn said as she took the seat between her husband and Lawrence.
"I see you're still defending him as usual," Lawrence said dryly, but Desmond said nothing to his father as he watched Bryan and Jade, who was waiting to say hello to him.
"My pride," Lawrence greeted fondly, and Jade flushed with pleasure as she leaned forward and embraced her grandfather.
"I've missed you so much," Jade said, and the old man smiled as he patted her face fondly.
"As I have missed you. I'm glad you're joining I-Global," Lawrence said, and Jade smiled brightly.
"What did you get me?" Jade asked expectantly and Evelyn looked at her with disapproval.
"Aren't you too old to be expecting gifts from your grandfather...."
"What do you mean too old? No matter how old she is, she remains my granddaughter. Your package is in the car, my dear. You will get it after dinner," Lawrence assured her.
"I knew you would never come without a gift for me," Jade said with a happy smile as she kissed his cheeks.
"Where is the rascal of the family?" Lawrence asked as he looked behind Jade for Bryan, who was grinning.
"You can't keep calling me that," Bryan protested.
"I can, and I will. You haven't introduced your lady to me," Lawrence reminded Bryan as his gaze moved to Sonia, who was standing beside Bryan with Lucy, and Bryan reached for Sonia's hand.
"Meet Sonia Smith, my girlfriend. Babe, meet my grandfather," Bryan said easily, and the old man smiled at Sonia, who easily returned his smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Sonia said politely, and Lawrence gave her a nod.
"The pleasure is all mine," he said, and Bryan held out a seat for Sonia as he sat between her and Jade, leaving the remaining empty seat for Lucy since that was next to Tom.
"I'm sorry about my conduct at the company earlier. I was sort of flustered. Thanks for inviting me to dinner," Lucy said politely, and Lawrence smiled at her.
"It's alright. Please sit down," Lawrence said, and as Lucy went around the table to take the seat beside Tom, he rose and pulled out the seat for her.
"Thanks," Lucy murmured as she sat down.
Lawrence's gaze shifted to Jade, who was seated next to her father, "Your brothers are here with their partners. When am I going to meet yours?" Lawrence asked Jade, and she flashed him a wide smile.
"Some day soon, hopefully," Jade said as the waiters came in to serve them.
Perhaps it was because Sonia had a lot going on in her mind, she was more composed and organized than usual as she sat down and merely watched the interaction with a polite smile.
She had been unable to have another conversation with Lucy after Bryan interrupted them earlier, thus when their eyes met now, Lucy's gaze was questioning as she discretely jerked her head in Bryan's direction, wanting to know if Sonia had told Bryan about the pregnancy, but Sonia shook her head making Lucy sigh.
Hearing Lucy sigh, Tom turned to look at her, "Are you alright?" Tom asked, making a deliberate effort to push their misunderstanding aside and act appropriately in the presence of his family.
"Yeah. Thanks," Lucy said with a soft smile.
"How did your meeting go?" Lucy asked curiously.
"It went smoothly," Tom said and glanced down in surprise when Lucy placed a hand over his wondering what she was up to.
"I'm sorry about that today. I missed you," Lucy whispered, and Tom met her gaze.
"I missed you too," he admitted, and Lucy smiled as she focused her attention on the meal which had been served and ate silently.
She moved her attention to Lawrence when he mentioned her name, "...I loved your presentation during the meeting today. I can see why you are a director," Lawrence told Lucy, and she smiled.
"Thank you, sir," she answered politely.
"Please call me Lawrence. So what is it like being the head of the fashion…."
"Lawrence, this is a family gathering. Can you not talk about work while we are eating?" Evelyn cut in politely.
"I'm only trying to know my grandson's lady better, not talking about work," Lawrence assured her before returning his attention to Lucy once again.
"I gathered that you are living with Thomas, am I right?" Lawrence asked, and Lucy looked lost for a moment, not knowing the best way to answer the question.
"She is not. She has her own apartment but visits me often," Tom said casually as he continued to eat.
"Ah! I see," Lawrence said with a nod as he shifted his gaze to Sonia.
"I've read through a couple of your bestselling novels. You are a talented writer," Lawrence said, and Sonia smiled at the compliment.
"Thank you, sir. I've also read some of your books," she said, and he smiled at her, pleased to know she had made an effort to read his books.
"Before or after realizing I am Bryan's grandfather?" Lawrence asked, and Bryan answered before Sonia could.
"She only got to know about you less than forty-eight hours ago," Bryan assured him.
"Really? So what made you read my books?" Lawrence asked curiously and Sonia shrugged.
"The same reason everyone else buys them I suppose? You are a great storyteller and we get to travel to places we might never visit in reality through your books. The places you write about aren't locations anyone would want to go spend a vacation. We learn about other cultures and lifestyles through you," Sonia explained, and Lawrence smiled, pleased with her response.
"Perhaps I would gift you a signed copy of my latest book, and you can give me an autograph," Lawrence suggested, and Sonia beamed a smile at him.
"That would be a pleasure. Thanks."
"The first time I read Sonia's novel, I couldn't sleep a wink until I finished the story. My baby is that good," Bryan announced proudly.
"Really? Which novel was that?" Jade asked curiously, and even Sonia looked at Bryan with interest, wanting to know which story it was that had captured his interest.
"Hm, I can't recall the name, but it's something about a Witch and a hunter, I think," Bryan said thoughtfully, and Sonia smiled.
"The witch and her hunter?" Sonia asked, and Bryan gave her a nod.
"That was the first novel I read as well," Lawrence said, and Bryan grinned.
"I really enjoyed that story. You all should read it. Believe me when I say my baby is really good," Bryan said as he took Sonia's hand and kissed her palm.
"Are you trying to show off because grandfather is here?" Jade asked with a scowl, and Bryan chuckled.
"You should have just invited Harry to dinner if…." Bryan shut his mouth when Jade stepped on his foot.
"Harry Jonas? Are you going out with Harry?" Lawrence asked with interest.
"You loudmouth!" Jade muttered under her breath and hissed at Bryan before flashing her grandfather a smile.
"We are just good friends for the time being. We hope to see where that leads," Jade said, and Lawrence gave her a smile of approval.
"I hope that works out. Harry is a very reliable lad," Lawrence said as he shifted his attention to his grandsons once again.
"So, how are things going on with you both? I'm wondering whose wedding I'm going to attend first," Lawrence said as he looked from Tom to Bryan and back again.
Desmond, who had remained silent the whole time, cleared his throat, "What brought you to Ludus?" Desmond asked, wanting to change the subject when he noticed Lucy's sudden discomfort.
"I came to see how Tom is running the company, and I wanted to see my grandkids," Lawrence said easily.
"I see. So what country did you fly in from this time?" Desmond asked, and Lawrence smiled when he heard the subtle annoyance in Desmond's tone.
"One of those countries that needed my voice as usual," Lawrence said, and knowing that if she didn't step in, both men were going to start arguing soon, Evelyn decided to cut in.
"Are you ever going to get tired of moving around?" Evelyn asked in a casual tone.
"I don't think so. I will keep serving humanity until I cease to exist. I know your husband is not pleased with that, but that is the path I have chosen, and it can't be helped. I'm, however, glad that my grandkids are family-oriented like their father," Lawrence said with a proud smile.
"And if they were not? If I decided to follow your footsteps to serve humanity and not raise a family, would you have a family gathering like this where you can just show up out of the blue and walk in and out of our lives as you please?" Desmond asked irritably, and both Evelyn and Jade touched him.
"Dad," Tom called quietly, but Lawrence stopped Tom before he could say anything else.
"Probably not. But this is your path. And since you chose to raise a family, it is my responsibility to meet with the family when I can and see how everyone is doing," Lawrence answered easily and then focused on Tom and Bryan once again.
"So, which of you is getting married first? Is it going to be you, Tom? Or Bryan?" He asked once again.
"I don't know about Bryan, but it's not in my plan," Tom said when he noticed how Lucy was wringing her hands on her thigh.
"What do you mean it's not in your plan?" Evelyn asked with a frown.
"Isn't it too early in their relationship to be asking them such questions?" Desmond asked, and Bryan nodded.
"I agree with dad. It's still too early for any of us to be talking about marriage. Sonia and I are not ready for any of that yet," Bryan started with a shrug, and Lucy sighed inwardly as she glanced at Sonia who was wearing a forced smile.
"I'm not sure that is what your brother meant," Evelyn said as she turned to Tom.
"Does that mean you don't want to get married? You both don't want to get married?" Evelyn asked as she looked from Tom to Lucy, and Desmond looked at her.
"You heard him. He said it's not in his plan. He has a right to choose his path," Desmond said, and Evelyn frowned.
"Tom said it's not in his plans. It's not the same as being too early, is it? Shouldn't that bother you?" Evelyn asked her husband, but before anyone else could speak, Tom spoke again.
"Can we talk about something else? I'm sure there are so many other topics that we can talk about as a family that doesn't have to revolve around my personal life," Tom said irritably, sounding harsher than he had meant to.
The room was silent for a moment as Sonia and Lucy watched the scene before them awkwardly.
"We haven't seen you for a long time. Why not tell us about the places you have visited? I'm curious to hear all about that and know what you have been up to," Jade suggested with a bright smile as she broke the silence, and Lucy almost let out a breath of relief when Lawrence began to talk about his trip.
Lucy sighed inwardly when she glanced at Tom and noticed that his face was carefully blank as he picked up his wineglass and took a long sip. She couldn't wait for the evening to be over.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢