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Chapter 327 Tension (2)

　　Jade didn't need to be a relationship expert to know that everything wasn't okay between the two people she had chosen to share a ride with. 

　　Since she had spent time with Bryan and Sonia earlier in the day and had gotten a glimpse of the nature of their relationship and how crazy they were about each other, she had wanted to do the same with Tom and Lucy, but the atmosphere in the car was taut. 

　　She couldn't help wondering what could have transpired between them to put Tom in the foul mood she had noticed he was trying so hard to hide from Lucy. Merely by observing them, she could tell that the dynamics of their relationship seemed utterly different from Bryan's and Sonia's, who seemed like the type to fight and then have a hot makeup sex. On the contrary, these two looked like they were scared to fight with each other. Like they were tiptoeing around the other's feelings. 

　　If she had noticed this earlier, she would have gone along with Bryan and Sonia and given these two privacy to trash out their issue, whatever it was. Or maybe it wasn't too late to leave them, she thought as she looked ahead to see if Bryan had sped off or if he was still driving slowly ahead of them. 

　　"Oh, shit!" Jade swore dramatically, and Tom glanced at her through the rearview mirror while Lucy turned to look at her.

　　"What is wrong?" Tom asked with concern.

　　"My phone. I gave it to Sonia, and I forgot to take it back. I need to make an urgent phone call. Can you signal Bryan to stop and maybe pull over?" She asked, and Tom shrugged as he honked three times and pulled over.

　　Hearing the signal from Tom, Bryan glanced at his rearview mirror, "Why are they stopping?" Bryan asked as he also pulled over.

　　"Thanks, Tommy. Never mind me, I will just go with them. Sorry for the trouble," Jade said with a bright smile while Tom watched her as though he could see through her as she got out of the car and hurried down to join Bryan.

　　"Is something wrong? Did you have a fight with your favorite brother and get thrown out?" Bryan asked as Jade opened the passenger door and got into the car. 

　　"You wish. Something is up between those two. I figured they need space," Jade said with concern, and Sonia's brows pulled together.

　　"Why do you say so?" Sonia asked, worried.

　　"It's just a feeling. I could be wrong. I just don't think they're fine," Jade said, and Bryan nodded as he started driving again while Sonia prayed that Jade was wrong and everything was fine between them.

　　Inside Tom's car, Lucy kept twisting and untwisting her hands on her lap. She couldn't help feeling very nervous now that they were alone once again. Her heart kept contracting, and her stomach continued to churn.

　　She wanted them to talk things through, but this wasn't the time or the place for them to have that discussion. She couldn't let herself be impulsive and raise the subject again as she had done earlier since that was what had put them in this mood. What could she do or say to lighten the mood? She wondered as she stole a glance at him.

　　At that exact moment, Tom turned to spare her a glance, and their eyes met. Lucy quickly looked away, and Tom returned his gaze to the road. After a brief moment, he reached out and placed a hand over her hands and patted it to calm her, and Lucy looked into his face.

　　"Have you called to reject their offer yet? I mean the foundation," Tom asked, and Lucy shook her head.

　　"Not yet. I will do that tomorrow. I didn't want them to think I turned down their offer too quickly without thinking about it. If I take some time, they will respect my decision more," Lucy said, and Tom's lips twitched. 

　　"I see. I was thinking about it. Maybe you should accept their offer," Tom said, and Lucy stiffened.

　　"Why? I thought we already agreed that I wouldn't take it? Didn't you say that you didn't want me to do it, so why are you changing your mind?" Lucy asked, trying to block the thoughts that were running through her mind. 

　　She did not want to think about it and start making assumptions. She wanted to hear from him and understand what he was saying.

　　"It has nothing to do with our other conversation," Tom was quick to assure her as he lifted his hands from her suddenly still hands. He sensed that her thoughts were likely going wild already.

　　"Okay. So what is it about?" She asked, looking at him expectantly, glad that they were having a conversation.

　　"I spoke with Harry about it after you left," Tom explained. 

　　"After I left where?"

　　"After lunch," Tom explained and went on to tell her Harry's suggestion, "I think it's a good idea, and you should accept the offer while I do my best to deal with them," Tom said, and Lucy pursed her lips. 

　　"Was that the reason you asked if I had made up my mind on it earlier? Why didn't you just say so?" Lucy asked, and Tom shrugged. 

　　"I didn't know how you were going to take it. And I needed to give it some more thought. I think it's safer for you to take it," Tom explained, and Lucy's brows creased as she gave it some thought.

　　"Will I have to resign from the job after you have handled Anita and her family?" Lucy asked, thinking about a scenario where she would enjoy the job too much and not want to quit.

　　"It's your choice. You are free to do whatever you want to," Tom said, and his heart twisted painfully at the thought. As painful as it was to utter those words, that was the truth. It was her life, and he couldn't tell her how to live it or what to do. If he could, then he probably would have asked her to change her thoughts about marriage and marry him when she was mentally ready, but that wasn't within his power. 

　　Lucy looked at him. Although they were talking about a different subject, she felt that his statement had an underlying meaning. 

　　Did he mean that she was free not to get married? Of course, she knew that she was free to do that, the same way she knew that he was free to get married as he wanted, even if with someone else. But that wasn't what they both wanted, was it? 

　　"So I should call to let them know I'm accepting their offer?" Lucy asked after some time, and Tom nodded.

　　"Yeah. You can do that. I will meet with them tomorrow."

　　"Alright. I will do that tomorrow then. Thank you," Lucy said politely, and Tom sighed inwardly. 

　　"This is awkward," he muttered under his breath, not liking the sudden scarcity of topics to discuss.

　　"What? Did you say something?" Lucy asked curiously.

　　Tom spared her a glance and then pulled over to the side of the road and turned to face her, "What are we doing, Lu? I don't like this. I don't like the way I'm feeling right now. I don't want to feel this way!" Tom said, feeling very frustrated.

　　Lucy looked at him with apologetic eyes, glad that he was no longer hiding his feelings from her like he had been doing, "I'm sorry. I know it's my fault that you feel this way. I should have known better than to bring it up when I did and..."

　　"Don't apologize. Whether you brought it up when you did, or years from now, I would still feel this way. I know I'm not handling this as you probably expect me to. I know I should handle it differently and reassure you and not feel this way..."

　　"Tom, no one said you are supposed to handle this in any particular way. You have every right to feel the way you do," Lucy said softly as she reached out to touch his hand. 

　　"I know. And I also know I said we should talk about this later when we are both relaxed, but I don't think I can wait until then. My heart feels tight. I feel like a heavyweight is sitting on my chest, and I need to get it off, or else my mood is going to ruin dad's party for everyone, and I really don't want that," Tom confessed, and Lucy leaned over to embrace him.

　　"I'm sorry, Tom. I know I caused this, and my heart feels heavy too. I love you so much, Tom, and I never meant to hurt you or myself. What can I do to make you feel better? To make us feel better?" Lucy asked, and Tom pulled away to look into her face.

　　"Do you really want me to tell you what you can do to make me feel better? Or are you just asking?" He asked with a playful glint in his eyes, making Lucy's lips twitch in amusement.

　　"This is serious, Tom. Stop joking around," Lucy chided since she could guess what he wanted to say. 

　　"Yeah. You're right," Tom said with a sigh. 

　　"I want to know, Lu. Please tell me what you want. What do you want from me? From this relationship?" Tom asked, the playfulness out of his eyes now.