One More Chance
Chapter 101: Do you still have feelings for him?

~~~After you go, I can catch up on my reading. After you go, I'll have more time for sleeping. And when you're gone, looks like things are gonna be a lot easier. Life will be a breeze you know. I really should be glad, but I'm bluer than blue, sadder than sad. You're the only light this empty room has ever had. And life without you is gonna be bluer than blue~~~

-Michael Johnson-

"Yes, my princess. Do you want us to stop at a McDonald's or you only want pizza?" He asked, lifting his daughter in his arms.

"Hmm... cam we stop and buy both?"

"Of course! What my princess wants, my princess gets."

"Yehey!"

I sighed, shaking my head at the two.

"Let's go, mommy."

I just nodded to Cali and smiled when Luke turned to me smiling.

"What? You went with him to your old house?" Jack screamed in shock the moment I told her where I went this morning. "Oh, jeez, Sam!"

"Hey, Cali was with me!" I chuckled, but I immediately avoided her gaze.

We're now in the back office of the coffee shop. Luke was just the one who brought Cali home as I went straight to the shop after visiting the house and showing the property to the buyer which happened to be Luke's cousin. "And I had to come with him to sign the documents too," I said walking over to the mini pantry to get something to drink.

"Okay." I know she followed me because I heard her voice close behind me. "What's the reason again why he had to sell the house--- I mean, why you had to sell the house?"

"We will donate the money to the foundation."

"And you believed him that he would really sell that property?"

"Yes, because I was there. I signed the documents with him, right?" I walked past her and went back to my desk with a glass of juice in my hand.

"Hmm... alright." She shrugged. And when I thought she would stop there already, well, I was wrong. "So, did the memories come back?"

My head snapped at her.

"What do you mean if the memories come back?"

She smirked and walked slowly towards my desk.

"If the memories came back." She shrugged. "If the happy, sad and painful memories came back when you went there with him? Those times when you cried hysterically over him in your room, screaming out the pain---" "Jack!"

"What? I'm just asking, Sam." She chuckled but it was sarcastically. "Hmm... do you still remember the restaurant scene?"

I frowned. Does she really have to mention it, I mean, does she have to remind me that scene again?

"You know when you saw him kiss his mistress on the lips and said I love you to each other---"

"Jackeline!"

"And then you ran outside crying your heart out?"

I gulped. I still remember that.

"And oh, yeah... how many times have you told him I love you again in the past? Three? Four? Five? Six? Argh! I lost count! Did he even say I love you too, I care about you, I miss you?" "Jackeline, what the hell!"

"Oops! Chill a bit, girl! I just want to remind you of your Samantha version 2.0."

I held my breath for a few seconds and then slowly released it to calm my insides.

"Anyway, does David know about it?"

I stared at her before shaking my head. I didn't expect that question.

"No, I didn't tell him."

"Why not?" She raised an eyebrow.

"And why do I still need to tell him?"

"Because firstly, he's your boyfriend and he has the right to know about it, secondly, the person you are with this morning wasn't just someone else but your 'ex-husband', remember? David is your boyfriend and Luke is now just your ex-husband."

"Luke isn't just my ex-husband, Jack, he's my daughter's father and I don't want David to think something else about it, so I chose not to tell him, besides, I can't see anything wrong with what I did. I just went with him not for any personal matters, but for the property that

the children of the foundation will benefit from."

It took her a few seconds before she decided to open her mouth.

"Okayyy..."

She said with a long sigh that if I hadn't known her for a long time, I would just have thought she really agreed with my point and what I explained, but no, I know she doesn't. She just shrugged and forced herself to say the word 'okay' with a smile.

I know her too well.

We both turned into silence, but then she was just the one who broke it.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I think I know what your was ex-husband doing... why he's doing all these things."

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"He's clearly making his way to you, Sam, and I think you're helping him clear that way towards you."

"Jackeline!"

"No, this time I don't believe it was just your daughter the reason why you're letting him close you almost every day. You have a boyfriend, for heaven sake."

"How many times do I have to explain these things when you know I can't force him to stay away---"

"You can't force him to stay away because?"

"B-Because he's my daughter's father---"

"Oh, I've already heard that reason! Or maybe the truth is that you still have feelings for him."

"No!"

"Really? Do you think I haven't noticed your reaction every time he's there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I avoided her gaze.

"Jeez! Is it true? Am I right you still have feelings for him? I thought you said you already moved on?"

"I am! I've already moved on, Jack and I told you the only thing that connects us is our daughter and there are no feelings involved!"

"That's not what your eyes said! I

just want to know the truth, Sam. I'm

your best friend, I love you and I don't want you to suffer another pain from the same man. You've already come this far, so far from the former Sam that I know, who knows nothing else to do butcry for her husband who didn't even consider her as his wife. If you accept him again after all that has happened, all your hard work and sacrifices to get what you have at this moment will be wasted. You'll only go back to zero"

"That's not gonna happen!" I couldn't help raising my voice. It wasn't because I'm mad at her, but because

I felt scared that what she was

saying might come true, especially now that I have doubts and

confusions about what I really feel.

"Then tell me what happened this morning why you suddenly came startled and seemed not knowing what to do. What happened before and after you signed the documents?"

I stared at her for I don't know how long before letting the deep sigh escape my lips.

"Jack---" I was about to open up to her when I got interrupted with one of the shop's employees.

"Sam...?"

"Yes, Janice?"

"Mr Luke Williams is outside and he said he wants to talk to you."

My heart instantly pounds faster inside my ribcage just from hearing his name. I turned to Jack only to find her studying my reaction.

"Hmm... is that urgent?" Jack asked her.

"I'm not sure, but judging the expression on his face, I guess it is," Janice replied, not looking at Jack but me.

Deep inside, I don't want to talk to him or see him at the moment, but the problem is that how would I explain it to Jack?

"Go ahead. I know for myself that I can wait for your story, I just don't know if the person outside who happened to be your daughter's father can also wait."

And since I don't want us to go back with the same, old conversation that we just had before Janice came, I decided to ignore her and smiled at Janice.

"Okay, tell him to wait outside, thanks, Janice."

She nodded and returned the smile I gave before walking back to the counter.

I drink the orange juice right away despite Jack's awkward stares before heading my way towards the counter.

There were only a few customers at the coffee shop, so I quickly found him in the same spot where we used to talk a week ago.

I took a deep breath and uttered a silent prayer that he wouldn't repeat what he said and what he had done earlier in our old house.

As I walked over to his table, I kept my poker expression to show him everything is over and of course, to my best friend who I know followed me when I exited the office. "Sam..." He was about to stand up but I stopped him.

"You don't have to stand up as I won't sit either." I started with the seriousness laced in my voice. "What do you want this time?" I couldn't even mention his name nor his last name. "Sam, about what happened earlier, I'm sorry---"

"Yeah, you should be! For everything you've done, you fucking should be!"

"Sam---"

But at this moment, it was he who was interrupted by the familiar voice behind me.

"Oh, well... well... well! Look who I found talking on the corner of this cheap coffee shop!"