One More Chance
Chapter 147: He's worth a second chance

~~~I've never been so sure about anything before but, this loving feeling gonna be a feeling forevermore. Looking in your eyes tomorrow's all I see, as long as there's forever, baby, I will always be saving forever for you. You're the only one I'll ever give forever to. Love for

a lifetime won't do, so I'm saving forever for you~~~

-Nina Girado-

"Oh... my... goodness! Look who's smiling pretty and widely in the corner?"

I turned to see Dana's grinning face and I automatically shifted into a poker face.

"Of course, not! Smiling--- what are you talking about?"

She then chuckled at me.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. The denial queen, oh, come on, girl, I know based on the smile I saw earlier on your face, I know how happy you feel right now, am I right?"

I stared at her for a few seconds and rolled my eyes, smiling.

"I can see his efforts, huh? I mean, efforts to be a great father and NOT to impress you--- don't think too much." She winked at me, emphasizing the word 'not' and I hissed.

"What the hell---I wasn't thinking anything like that!" I playfully narrowed my eyes on her.

"Alright," she shrugged. "Anyway, the bitch was really enjoying her luck so far as she scurried out before I could even pull a strand of her hair, hmp!" She said crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against her seat. "Why, are you really going to drive her away?"

"Of course, because she's not invited to our wedding, besides, I asked my husband if he invited her and he said no so, I don't care if it will seem rude or something but, I think, I have the right to welcome the guests who are invited and not!" "Okay, fine," I let out a sigh.

"Anyways, you matter to me more than what others would say because you are my friend."

"Ahh... I'm kinda touched," I teased her but she just rolled her eyes.

And we both turned into silence as we watched Cali and Luke dancing gracefully in the middle.

"What a great family you have, Sam,"

I heard Dana mutter with a sigh, but I didn't look at her. I just kept watching my daughter and my ex-husband.

"Do you think, you still have a chance?"

That's the time I looked at her with a silent question swirling in my eyes.

"I mean, the two of you, do you think, you still have a chance to get back together?"

I bit my lower lip and just stared at her because that should have been my question to Martin earlier and who would have thought that Dana will answer that question without her even knowing.

"Or does he still have a chance in your heart?"

The question that really confused me.

"Do you still see him as the father of your 'children'?" She emphasized the last word. "Do you still see him as your 'husband to be' in the future?"

"Dana..." I suddenly lost for words.

"What?"

I bit my lip. "As a father... well, honestly, even though our married life has turned into this, I can say that he was never an irresponsible father to Cali."

"So, only to you, he became irresponsible... tsk. tsk. tsk." She said shaking her head. "Do you still have feelings for him?"

Her question suddenly left me open-mouthed.

"Uhm..."

"If you think--- you feel you still have feelings for him, then what's holding you back?"

"Dana..." I sighed. "Honestly, I don't know how to answer your question."

"Why? Why do you find it hard to answer that question when the first one could be answered with a yes or a no? I'll ask you again, do you still have feelings for him--- oh, wait, let me rephrase the question, are you still in love with your ex-husband?" I closed my eyes tightly before nodding.

"Then, what's holding you back? You said you've already moved on."

"Yes," I sighed again. "I don't know, I mean, yes, I still have feelings for him that I realized I have never really lost that feeling, I still love him the way I loved him before but..."

"But?"

"I don't know if I can handle these feelings, you know, I'm kinda scared that if I give in to this love I have for him, I will get hurt again. I'm scared that I might feel the same pain I felt before. You know, in that so much pain I've had, I can barely move, I didn't know what to do or how to start my life again"

"Ohh... Sam..." She said taking my hand. "Why do you always depend on the past? Why do you always look back on the pain you felt before? It all happened 'before', meaning, it's all in the past. You can't completely forget that 'pain' if you always return to that moment when you were lost. You will always be scared to try something new in your life."

"Then, what should I do?" I asked, pouting at her.

"To heal a wound you must stop scratching it."

I sighed but didn't say anything. I glanced back at the two who were still dancing, particularly to the man who has occupied my heart for a long time... from then until now.

"You just have to open your heart for him again. If you did it then, you can still do it now. Don't be afraid to get hurt again because that's just a part of your journey... journey to your happiness. If you can't do it now, take it slowly, take it easy. He was the one who shattered your heart, then he will be the one to heal it too. You just have to be easy on yourself and go along with the things that make you happy."

I turned to her and she smiled.

"I know he loves you and I also know that you're just pretending to be blind to see his efforts." "P-Pretending?" I suddenly straightened my seat.

"Well, it's up to you if you're going to ignore him and his feelings forever, after all, he's handsome so, don't blame him if someone else might steal him, because mind you, he's not just a plain handsome but a jaw-dropping kind of handsome... hunky handsome... deliciously handsome---" "Tss!" I cringed. "Gosh, you're already married! Why do you have to look at another man's body?" I asked, playfully glaring at her.

"Hey, I'm just kidding! I'm just doing it to knock some sense on your head as it seemed like sleeping for ages, jeez!"

I just rolled my eyes.

"But seriously, I want you to be happy, Sam, I want you to be with someone who I know will take care of you and I know... that someone is him." She patted me on the shoulder. "Yes, he had done something wrong to you in the past, but as we say, past is past, and now he's doing everything for you and your family. I believe he is a good man and now worth a second chance.

And if you're going to ask me if you should give him that chance again? You should and the two of you should start again from where you should have started from the very beginning. From courtship to getting to know each other to date, and so on. It doesn't matter if you'll take it slow, what matters is that you'll learn in the process, after all, you've been married a few years back. And even though it was just a forced marriage, at least you already know where to start."

And after that long advice I received from her, she already excused herself as she already missed her husband. I chuckled at her and teased her at the same time, but she just ignored me.

Then I looked again at the two who seemed to be dancing tirelessly. And as I watched Luke moving, Dana's words came back to my mind and I realized that... yes, he's worth a second chance.