Chapter 402: It Burns Too Much.


    Lucas had gone straight to the rooftop, not really expecting to find anyone there. He was nning on how he was going to fix himself a drink and wait for Jen toe up so she could apany him. However, when he got upstairs, there was already someone there.


    Brian heard movement behind him and turned around to see who it was. He thought he was the only one who had been kicked out of his own bedroom, but now he didn''t feel so bad anymore.


    "Why are you here alone?" Lucas asked him as he went behind the bar to look for something to drink.


    "She asked me to wait here," Brian said, and a low chuckle was heard from Lucas.


    "It''s not funny," Brian said as he took a sip of his whiskey, but his lips were slightly upturned. He found his situation a bit funny too.


    "What about you?" Brian asked as he put down his ss.


    "She''s changing forter. She looked cold earlier, but she might also want to use the pool," Lucas rambled as he decided that he was going to have the whiskey with Brian. He took his own ss and filled it with ice and went to sit next to him.


    "How is work?" Lucas asked Brian, and his expression immediately changed. Lucas only noticed his expression after he finished pouring himself his drink.


    "Which work?" Brian asked Lucas as he took a long drink from his ss. When Lucas saw this, he couldn''t help butugh at him.


    "Which one is worse?" Lucas asked and smiled when Brian turned to re at him.


    "I should have been born in your family, at least you can fully pursue what you love," Brianmented after a pause.


    "Heh," Lucas answered ambiguously. If Lucas had the same mind as his brothers, maybe their grandchildren would have had to inherit the family business? His father was still very strong, he would be good to work for another 25 years or so. But he wasn''t particrly interested in anything, so he might as well take over.


    He understood Brian''s predicament. He grew up in a military-style family and had joined a military high school. He had gone to the army immediately after that, and even though it had been of his own volition, he got sick of it after three years.


    It had been novel in the beginning but as time wore on, living a life on the brink of death was exhausting and he soon got bored with it. So when he returned, he wanted to do something else.


    He had met different people among the soldiers, and one of them was a hacker. He had taught him a few things, so when he returned, he told his father that he wanted to be transferred to intelligence.


    After a little over a year of both learning, practising and creating new skills, he grew bored with that too, so he disappeared for two years. His father''s hair had started turning white because of how stressed he had been looking for his son.


    During that time, he would asionally send emails or even letters to his friends and family that couldn''t be traced back because of his newfound abilities. His father held a lot of regret during this time, as he knew he could only do this because he had allowed it.


    Brian had managed to hide his rebellious tendencies quite well up until that point. Once he returned, their family could finally breathe a sigh of relief. His father was both angry and relieved, but seeing his new-look had tipped the scales towards anger. So, although he was happy that his son was back, he almost beat Brian into the hospital.


    He hade back with his tattoos and even a couple of piercings then. It was quite novel for the guys once they saw him again, but they didn''t care much for his new-look. When telling them what he did in the two years he was missing, the most excited one was Jason.


    He had tried all he could during that time; he did some work for some powerful gangs, unknowingly helped with an arms deal, learned to tattoo, got a girlfriend, did some extreme sports, became a mercenary for a couple of months, and so many other things it was ridiculous.


    After experiencing all kinds of things and meeting all types of people, he may just be the most connected person in their group of friends. After returning, he wasn''t free for long. After all, his father stuffed him back in the army because he felt like his son had lost the discipline of a soldier.


    But as a general, he kept receiving reports of Brian slipping away, security breaches, and all sorts of issues that gave him headaches. If he was not there to protect him, he would have been dead already just for the sheer amount of times he ''deserted''.


    Eventually, they reached a consensus, where Brian would do a major job of his choice for the military every three months. It was just that after he had started dating, he would sometimes disappear for a few days and that is what has been causing his father headaches recently.


    That was why he wanted to avoid him at the wedding. Because it would have gotten ugly if he knew it was all for Rachel.


    His father had feelings of both pride and disappointment whenever he looked at Brian. He was an excellent soldier. He has finished missions that were deemed impossible.


    He had even held hopes that he would be promoted to lieutenant general by the time he was thirty. But hisplete disinterest is what disappointed him. He might only reach major general by then, and that was only if he stopped slipping away from work.


    So no, his work wasn''t good, because he was receiving pressure from his superiors who were being pressured by his father.


    "I want to quit, I really do," he said to Lucas as he rubbed his face and Lucasughed at him.


    "My father would never let me, for as long as he is alive. I feel like he wouldn''t even if he wasn''t. He would probably stipte something to trap me there in his will," Brian said and finished the whiskey in his ss and even chewed on the ice cubes to vent his frustration.


    Lucas knew little about his job, but he knew he was damn good at it. He has appeared several times on military magazines from how fast he rose through the ranks and gathered merit. If only people knew how much stress he caused his father in the process, the young soldiers probably wouldn''t look up to him too much.


    "This time I got promoted to Brigadier General," Brian said with a sigh. It just meant that he was getting more entangled than he wanted to.


    "That''s great news," Lucas said in surprise.


    "Mmmh," he said with a faint smile. That was why they wereteing to the party. It was because he was ''celebrating'' with his girlfriend earlier.


    "You are also being promoted to President right?" Brian said with a smile as he swirled his drink in his ss.


    "Yeah, I''m a bit apprehensive over my new responsibilities," Lucas said as he cleared half of his drink in one mouthful.


    "Don''t think about it too much, just do what you can. Decide for the good of thepany. If you make mistakes on the way, you''ll learn," Brian said and shrugged his shoulders.


    "And don''t worry, if another stalkeres up, I''ll help you deal with it," Brian said with a chuckle, referring to what happened to Jen in the past.


    "Thanks," Lucas said as heughed along.


    "No need to thank me, we''re family, right?" Brian said as he filled both of their sses. Lucas nodded at this statement. They were all like siblings here.


    Halfway through their drinks, Lucas felt someone poke his back before smelling a familiar scent.


    "You are back," Lucas said as he grabbed Jen''s hand from behind and brought her next to him.


    "Yeah, and I brought everyone else with me," Jen said before peeking at Brian.


    "Hi Brian," she greeted him with a wide smile and he lifted his ss in greeting before looking at the ''everyone else'' she was talking about. His eyes immediately caught sight of a certain blonde who was wearing his shirt and a pair of shorts.


    "I''ll leave you two," Brian said as he refilled his ss while standing up at the same time. Jen watched him with an amused smile until he went to squeeze himself next to Rachel.


    "He looks very different from the way he behaves," Jenmented as she reced him on the barstool.


    "You have no idea," Lucas said, with augh as he remembered how rebellious his friend was. Jason had not even managed to scratch the surface of what Brian has aplished, and he was known as the rebellious one in the family.


    "Really?" Jen asked as she stole Lucas'' ss from his hands and drank from it before her expression turned sour.


    "Mmmh," Lucas responded with an amused smile at her reaction.


    "It burns too much," Jen said as she stuck her tongue out but continued to drink. Lucasughed at the masochistic behaviour she was disying in front of him.


    "It burns, but you enjoy it?" he asked and smiled suggestively. She almost choked on the drink when she heard this. She ended up ring at him while he dragged her barstool closer to his.


    [.]