One More Chance
Chapter 150: The New Revelation

~~~ I believe in happy endings though I've only known a few. For as rare as they are

like a bright falling star, I found one in you. Sometimes, all the world can seem so friendless and the road ahead so

endless and the dream so far away. Sometimes, when I'm almost to surrender then I stop and I remember I have you to save my day~~~

-I Have You (Carpenters)-

-'Forgodsake! How did he become so handsome and more attractive even after these years?'- I asked myself as I stared at him.

He stared back with confusion visible in both his eyes.

"Really? Let me help you set the table then." I stood up, trying to calm my insides and hold back myself at the same time.

"Nope, I got this," he shook his head. "You just have to take a seat and wait for me to set up the table, okay?" He urged me to sit down again before going back to the counter.

So that's what I did. I waited for him to put on the table what he had prepared for our dinner with a silent prayer I kept repeating in my head to stay calm until the dinner is over. "Here they are!"

"Wow!" My eyes went wide as well as my mouth when he put all the dishes in front of me... Chicken garlic pasta, Caesar salad, and what made me smile more was the flavorful, crunchy fried chicken wings. But he mistook my smile for something else.

"I'm sorry, I'm not a professional cook, and I---"

"Hey, why are you apologizing?" I interrupted him as I saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Because I don't know how to cook a formal dinner." He sighed. "I should have taken you to a fancy restaurant---"

"Luke!" I immediately took his hand as I urged him to look at me. "I appreciate all of this and your efforts and honestly, I like it here more than eating in a fancy restaurant out there." "But that's all I had prepared,"

"So what? It's okay, it's just the two of us, besides, didn't you know that these are my favorites--- the crispy chicken wings together with pasta?" I grinned.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Really?"

"Uhuh! So you don't have to apologize and please... can we start eating now? My tongue could no longer wait to taste those wings!" I excitedly pointed to the plate of crunchy wings.

That made him laugh and kissed me on the forehead and even though it surprised me, I still managed to hide the excitement inside.

A few minutes later...

"Hmm... I can't believe you're apologizing for all of this!" I chuckled referring to the food in front of us as I brought the wineglass to my mouth.

"Actually, I asked Dana and Jack to help me with what to cook for dinner but none of them helped me!" he then scrunched his face.

"Oh, my gosh! What did they say?" I bit my lip to suppress my laughter.

"They just told me the same thing that I should be asking you because you're the one who's going to eat with me. Tss! I don't know what happened to those women as they suddenly turned their backs on me!" He said frowning but it made me laugh even more. "So where did you get these recipes?"

"Well, I asked the men... your brother, Patrick, and Caleb. Dale told me to cook pasta, Patrick suggested the salad, and Caleb the chicken wings. So yeah, it ended in just a simple dinner." He shrugged.

I really wanted to say that it doesn't matter whatever he cooked tonight because what really made me excited was the idea of having dinner with him but I changed the words I used to appreciate his works.

"At least you made a lot of effort and I appreciate it and thank you for the best homemade fried chicken I've ever tasted," Instead I told him.

He sighed.

"I should be the one showing appreciation for having dinner with me. I've been wanting this to happen many times over the past couple of years, but I didn't have the courage to ask you, besides, you hate me so much then." "Hmm... kinda," I shrugged, smiling. "But at least you tried to approach me,"

Silence stretched between us for a few minutes before both of us decided to speak.

"Anyway---" we stopped in surprise as we spoke in unison.

"Ohh... I'm sorry---" we stared at each other as we did it again.

"You can go first---" but then we stopped for the third time.

And as we stared at each other, our laughter blended in mid-air at the same time.

"Come on, you can speak first," he said his grin still on his face.

"Nope, you can go ahead first," I shook my head.

"No, it's okay, you can go ahead first,"

"Haist... come on, Luke, I would like to hear what you're going to say first."

"Okay," he shrugged, smiling which made me hold my breath for a few seconds.

-'Oh, my God! What is going on with me?'- I wondered as I slowly released my breath.

"Actually, I was just going to ask what made you decide to stay here in the Philippines for the past two years?"

A smile formed on my lips and I brought the wine glass to my mouth before answering his question.

"Uhm... it's because I felt at home

here than in those countries I've been to for the past two years." I smiled, staring at him. "In other words, I found peace here. I met Dana, her whole family, and of course, Caleb. I even witnessed how their love grew and how they ended up standing in front of the altar. They all helped me find myself again. They treated me like a

member of their family and because of that I never felt alone again. And I stayed here not because they made me happy but because I found a home and a family." I ended my speech with a shrug.

"I'm glad to hear that,"

We shared a smile and raised our glasses.

"What about you, what made you stay in the Philippines? I know you have already expanded, but the company in Los Angeles is much bigger than the branch you have here, besides, you have a lot of people to manage your business here in the Philippines." He stared at me for I don't know why before giving me a shrug.

"I don't know,"

"What? What do you mean you don't know?" I frowned.

"Well, I actually don't know why I decided to stay in the Philippines, but after knowing that you're here, I think I now know the reason. Maybe because fate really wanted us to meet here."

I gulped.

I don't know but I felt my stomach churn and my toes curled under the table.

"Do you plan to stay here for good?" He asked, causing me to look at him. "Maybe," I shrugged.

"What do you mean? You're not sure yet?"

"Yeah, you can say that, besides, I still want to talk to Cali. If ever, I want to know her side about it. You know, in years she's already a teenager and I want to be on

side when she reaches that age. don't want to happen to her what happened to me back then."

"Hey," He reached my hand across the table.

I don't want her to experience the same thing---"

"Sam, I'm sorry if you're having that feeling right now. I'm sorry because I've been a huge part of what you experienced before."

"Haist! You're right, it's all your fault as you didn't like me before!" I said in a form of a joke but I didn't expect he would take it seriously.

"I do. I did. I liked you even before,"

I gulped as my heart started to pound faster inside my chest.

"I actually have loved you even when you were fourteen---"

"Fourteen?" My eyes went wide. "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, it's true, since you were fourteen. When I first saw you at my birthday party. You were holding your brother's hand and you smiled at me.

"But..."

My mind drifted a few years back

but I still couldn't remember the

I

birthday party he was saying.

Because all I remember was when was 16 and trailing him behind. At that time, I thought I was the only one who had feelings for him that I loved him first, but what I didn't know is that he loved me first even when my world was still surrounded by dolls and toys.

"But why didn't you tell me?"