Jasmine took a while before she responded to that.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am as much as I can be."
"But Roy, I am not sure. I know we are in a relationship, but you are my best friend also. I know you for all my life, I know you are not quiet there yet. You don't have to force yourself, let it happen when it happens, okay?
Don't beat yourself up about it."
"Hmm, I know." Roy said unsure what else to say.
"Is it about Tomas?"
Roy took a deep breath before he answered.
"I don't know. When I came back, I was sure that Tomas was a thing in the past. Yesterday, I saw him typing a message and it freaked me a little. I don't think there is anything else.", he said honestly.
Jasmine sighed a little; "It's okay Roy, you will be over it quickly, don't worry."
With that both of them said their good nights and Jasmine resumed back to the design she was doing and Roy collapsed to his bed trying to clear his head and bring good thoughts.
***
It was another day at the family lunch for Tomas. This one was a small one, only his grand dad, uncle and his family, and his mother were there. He didn't know why was this lunch arranged and he could figure it had something to do with Luna as he saw her sitting quietly in one of the chairs.
He was trying to avoid everyone's questions as much as possible by trying to concentrate on his plate.
"Luna, how did the lunch go?"
His grand dad's question woke him up from his thoughts and he looked up at Luna.
Luna looked slightly uncomfortable.
She put the fork and knife on both sides of the plate before answering.
"It was good, papi!"
"So, are you going to meet him again?"
"Yes, I think I will." Luna replied taking back her fork and starting to eat.
Tomas knew it was going to be his turn of answering the questions and he adjusted himself in the chair as he knew it would be a similar question for him as well.
"So, are you seeing that girl Angel? I saw in the newspaper".
"No, papi. She is just a friend, I am currently not seeing anybody".
"I know you are busy with doing movies and all that. But you should try to slowly start learning business".
"I will try, Papi".
There was a small pause and he looked towards his mother's side pleading her to rescue from more questions. She looked slightly out of focus and Tomas couldn't figure why.
It was his uncle who spoke the next sentence and Tomas could figure out the reason behind his mom's reaction.
"Anyway since you are in the industry, your grand dad and I am planning to invest a little there as well. You can take charge of it after we set it up. It's still in the initial stage".
Tomas was short of words for a few seconds. He didn't know what to say. One of the reasons why he wanted to do movies was he wanted to stay away from the family business. But now it's following him to that also and there is not many things he could do to avoid it.
He didn't say anything and he just kept staring at the food. He only looked up when he felt a small nudge at his leg, coming from Luna.
"Okay, uncle. I will think about it", is all he could say.
"You remember our manager Reny, right? He will be the one who is leading this project. You had been close to him when you were a kid. He will meet with you to discuss when you are available".
He just uttered another hmm still trying to comprehend what's happening.
His grand dad cleared his throat again before speaking to Luna.
"You do not have to feel we are doing this only for Tom. We will do plenty for you and your husband when you are getting married. You can start a business after you are married with him. His father and I are talking about a few options already."
That's when Tomas realised Luna is even more fucked up than he is. He looked up at her and surprisingly she looked very calm and just nodded to what his grand father was saying.
Rest of the lunch was uneventful for both of them as the family discussed more and more business matters. When they cleared the table, Tomas eyed Luna to meet him at the garden.
Before he could start walking, his mother caught up with him;
"Baby, are you sad?"
He knew his mother was genuinely worried and she knew he chose movies because he wanted to stay away from the family business.
"I am okay, mom. May he it's a good thing. I would have started something of my own sometime later."
He said trying to reassure himself and his mother.
"Mom, I will come back. Luna is waiting for me", he just released himself from his mother's embrace and started walking towards the garden.
"Luna, are you okay?"
That's the only thing he could ask seeing her. She was on the verge of tears and he didn't understand how did she manage to hold it in during the lunch.
"I am not okay. I don't even know what I am feeling anymore. I haven't talked to Max in two weeks and it is killing me. All I want to do is meet him even if it's just for a few minutes. But then, I feel I am being cruel to him and I am just using him for my own benefit."
She started blabbering slowly lying on Tomas's shoulders. He gently patted her shoulders letting her get it all out. He didn't have to say anything and he didn't want to.
"This new guy who met me, he is a nice guy. But I feel guilty every time I try to talk to him."
She paused,
"Tomas, would it be okay if I eloped with Max to somewhere else? We can start over?", she looked up at him from his shoulders hopefully.
Tomas let out a deep sigh.
"You can do that, sure. Would you be okay with doing that though? I know uncle and grandpa are too strict, but I don't think you would be able to hurt them or leave them just like that."
Luna also sighed and started thinking again.
"That's the issue. I cannot just leave all the comfort I am used to here either. May be Max and I will be able to manage ourselves, but we will never be this comfortable and I don't know if I can live without those."
Tomas held Luna closer and gently rubbed her arms without speaking anything. She also looked lost in thoughts trying to calculate everything in her head.
***
He didn't feel like directly going back home after the lunch. He needed to relax and meet some people before he could go home. He decided to drop by his friend's cafe and took a seat at his usual place.
"Hey! Your friend from the sometime back came by just a few days back". The waitress exclaimed, bringing in his usual.
So he is around, he is just not meeting me. Tomas thought to himself replying the waitress with a small smile.
"He left his glasses here. We didn't have his contact. Can you take it to him if you guys are meeting?"
Tomas didn't even think for a minute before grabbing his keys and Roy's glasses along. He started the car without even knowing Roy's address. In the car, he pressed his contact with Roy's name on and three rings, he heard a hello at the other end.
"Where are you?"
He heard a confused "I am home" from the other end.
"Where is that?"
"What?" Roy asked, still confused.
"Tell me your address, dumbass"!
"Argh..hmm.. It's argh, I will send you the GPS."
"Okay, see you!"
Seeing the message pop up on his phone, he pressed start and begun driving.
"You are 3 minutes away from your destination."
That's only when Tomas realised what he was doing and he started panicking slightly. He didn't know whether to continue driving or go back.
He continued driving, trying to calm himself down.