SECOND CHANCE MY LOVE

Chapter 1

AMELIA.

"Amy!"

Amelia flicked her eyes and rubbed her almost wet face as she heard her name. She suddenly became aware of the presence of the only person in the world she wants to see at the moment, her best friend, Ginny. With hot tears, slowly streaming down her pale white cheeks, Amelia stared into Ginny's concerned eyes and slowly whispered,

"He is getting married to someone else."

"What is this about? Who is getting married to whom"? ...oh No! Ginny exclaimed, she was shocked and became really angry, the concern, she had in her eyes a while ago was quickly replaced with hot blazing rage.

"That son of a bitch..." she cursed out under her breath and with a clenched tooth. Whenever Ginny is this angry, it is a clear indication that the worst has happened and, in this case, her best friend is involved, she is definitely mad!

************

Amelia woke up to an unexpected message from her college lover who has not been in touch with her since they left college, she called Ginny immediately and told her about the message she got from him.

"Ginnyyyy" Amy almost screeched

"What?" Ginny yelled back

"Nick messaged meee! " Amelia announced with so much excitement.

"Oh, Nick! He is still alive after all, I thought he was dead because he hasn't been acting like he is still alive, how will he not be in contact with his girlfriend for close to over a year now and suddenly messaged you out of the blues?". Ginny obviously hated how Nick's long-due message excited her childhood friend.

Amelia continued bubbling with excitement, not minding the cold response she got from her friend, "Nick said we should meet up today, what do you think I should wear? He likes when I wear the wine flowery dress, he got for me on our 3rd year anniversary or should I wear the yellow mini dress you got me as a birthday present?"

"You dare not!" Ginny yelled. Amelia laughed because she already predicted that her best friend would definitely bite her head off if she wore that dress to see Nick.

" Bye babe, I need to go and look good for my Nick, he will be here anytime soon, we will talk later."

"Whatever Amy, go and look good for your Nick, Ginny replied in a sarcastic tone and with a smirk on her face, tell him that he should not bother to keep you to himself because Imma storm into your house and tell him that you now have a new man, and that new man is me!" Ginny chuckled; she was excited for her friend but decided not to show it.

'' Oops! Sweetheart, I'm taken, go and find your lonely self a man", Amelia laughed really hard and hung up.

************

Nicholas, popularly known as Nick has been Amelia's boyfriend since their college days, Amelia's relationship with Nick began during their first year in college, it was a public relationship because they were both popular. Nicholas was a five-star hockey player on the school team, he was that guy every girl in college wanted to date, His attractive face and sizzling hot abs didn't help matters as he would always flaunt them at any given point most especially after a long sweaty hockey training.

Amelia had always been in the spotlight even before she started dating Nicholas. Amelia was always nominated as the most beautiful girl in her set-in college, she was that trophy girl every guy and even ladies had an eye for. she usually dressed in ways that accentuated her long, smooth and attractive legs, she wore a pair of glasses that made her look really sexy and hot instead of looking like a nerd, and her long dark blonde hair was always packed in a high bun, which always complimented her Oval-shaped face and small plumped lips, whenever she removed her glasses, her beautiful gold fleek hazel eyes become really visible. She was that one student that had it all in her college days; a fleet of guys that showered her with attention and gifts, popularity, good grades, active membership in numerous school clubs and a best friend who always had her back, Ginny.

So, when she agreed to be in a love relationship with Nicholas, it was a dream come true for Nicholas, it was as if the whole stars had aligned to favor Nicholas. Nicholas had asked her out after a Romeo and Juliet play performed by the college drama club, Amelia played the role of Juliet while Nicholas had the role of Romeo. After Nicholas confessed his feelings and professed his undying love to her, Amelia only smiled and walked away, she didn't give a solid response to his proposal until the day, the whole class went on a class picnic in one of the beautiful places in Monterey.

Her response to Nicholas was unexpected - it was after they had arrived at the San Carlos beach in Monterey, Amelia publicly kissed Nicholas and winked at him. Amelia's cute and romantic response to Nick marked the very beginning of their relationship. Nicholas felt super elated because he knew how much of a big deal it was to date the College's most sought-after girl, Amelia Stenberg.

***********

Nick arrived at Amy's place that evening. She was dressed beautifully and was happy to see him. But this time Nick looked different, he could barely look at her in the face, he was so worried. She sat close to Him and held his hand; she knew something has changed. about him,

"What is the problem Nick," she asked, her heart knew deep down that something is disturbing him, but what could it be?

He struggled so hard to speak, but he could not find the right words, his heart beat faster and his face was tensed. He finally gathered the courage to speak and words gave way,

"I'm getting married to a lady I met in the city in two weeks' time"

Amelia's bright face became pale and dull all of a sudden , all the excitement and color she had in her eyes all disappeared within the blink of an eye , she stared blankly at her long gone boyfriend without batting an eye and for what seemed like a second she looked into the face of her college lover , who now looks like a stranger, she quickly remembered how she fought so hard to restrain herself from touching his face when she first saw this tall hot figure stepped into her room after a year of waiting, it was not until his visit she realized that she had craved his presence badly , she had longed for his smell, his touch, his wet kisses , his smile and his face - the face of the Man, she had always dreamt of spending the rest of her life with , the face of this painfully hot Man , that she had spent all her time waiting and hoping he would come back home some day and fulfill his promise of getting married to her in one of the most serene and beautiful oceanic scenery right here in Monterey .

The plan they had before Nicholas left for the city was to invite only close family and friends, to witness their blissful union and then invite the whole of Monterey California to the christening of their first child, which they had already planned to name after Amelia as "Amy junior" because they believed she would be a pretty sight to behold just like her mother.

Amelia snapped back into reality and silently watched the coldness in Nick's stance...

"You are getting married?" Amelia managed to whisper back an answer. "Why did you have to come all the way to tell me that?... After waiting a whole year for you! ... Did you even bother to reach out to me all through that period, you were away? Amelia fought back the tears that were welling up in her eyes, she obviously didn't see this coming, even if she had seen it coming, She'd never imagined it in this manner.

She remembered how excited she was, after seeing Nick's text. She went all out just to make sure she looked 'breathtaking', only for this twat to boldly tell her he was getting married to someone else.

"I'm sorry this is not sitting well with you but I thought it would be better to inform you about this news in person than informing you over a text."

"I'm really sorry. . Amy, I'm so sorry it took me so long..... " He trails off.

Nick couldn't stand seeing how hurt Amelia is. He was certain that Amelia would forever detest him but that won't stop him from proceeding with his marriage to his soon-to-be bride and mother of his unborn child.

********

Amelia watched Nick's exit from her house, her room, and her life. She watched as her whole life plans crumbled right before her, she closes her eyes tightly to assure herself that it was a nightmare she would soon wake up from, she bit the lower part of her bottom lip until she tasted blood, then she realized that it wasn't a dream.

"This is real! "She whispered to herself, her legs became weak and she dropped to her knee, she felt like the pink walls of her room were becoming really dark all of a sudden, she managed to crawl to her bed that was a few steps away from where she got the most shocking news of her life. She picked up her phone and shakily dialed Ginny's number.

"Pick up Ginny" Amelia cried, still in shock from Nick's visit. She tried calling Ginny the second time and realized that Ginny was probably at her workplace, she immediately sent a text. "I "I Need to See You!"

Chapter 2

"Amy" Ginny called her friend again, placing a hand on her shoulder "Get yourself together"

Turning her face to Ginny, she broke into tears. "what am I going to do?" She cried making no attempt to wipe her tears. Ginny pulled her into a hug patting her back softly

"That jerk doesn't deserve you! He's nothing but a cheat" she said, she had nothing better to say to console her friend, it felt like her words did nothing but only make things worse.

"He should be glad I didn't get to see him, I would have at least broken his nose and ruined his ugly face!" She continued gritting her teeth imagining her tearing him apart.

"I waited........" Her voice was barely audible, drowned in the sound of her tears "..... how could he leave me like that..." She wept harder

"I love him......... Ginny, I love him.....I waited for him...why?...."

"I've always suspected he has nothing good up his sleeves, what kind of man never calls his lady for months" her heart ached for her friend, she wished she could do something to make everything better; walk up to Nick and tell him how stupid and cruel he is for cheating on Amelia, give him a slap on his face and then end the conversation with a knee to his groin

"Bastard!" She cursed under her breath as Amelia clutched her hand to a fist around her friend's cloth crying profusely, she loved him, pictured the future with him, imagined them having kids, a big family but everything went down the drain. It made her cry harder feeling helpless, she could not control the tears. Her heart was heavy....no! It was broken into a million pieces. What would she do? Life without Nick would be worse than death, the only guy she ever thought of spending her entire life with. Did he even think of how she would feel? Can she ever recover from this? She loved him with her whole heart, with all her soul, with everything she had.

"Amy..... it's okay" Ginny squeezed her hands affectionately. She grabbed Amelia's phone and deleted his contact angrily, she felt like squeezing him to a pulp for hurting her friend.

She had to spend the night at Amy's place fearing that she would hurt herself. She cried till she finally dozed off after midnight. Ginny fixed her breakfast the next morning before leaving for work only to return by noon to see that Amelia didn't leave the spot she had left her. Her food was untouched. She was staring into space like she was in a world of her own, looking lost and deserted. The usual vibrancies and joy on her face were replaced by a pale and blank expression. Ginny sat by her side cupping her face in her hands

"Amy..... please don't do this to yourself, he's out there probably having fun with the witch he chose over you. It's his loss!" Amelia gave no reply, no words could explain her pain. They had come a long way. She recalled how she had fallen in love with him, the multiple dates they had every week, the promise he made to always be with her, days when they shared a kiss on the school tower looking over the campus, and times when they danced together, everything is now over! Tears rolled down her cheeks, silent gasps escaping her lips. She shut her lids tightly and dropped her head to Ginny's neck as more tears came running out.

Ginny had gotten enough of her tears "Amelia!" She jerked "you are smart, strong, beautiful, and too good for this guy. You survived before you even met him. You were the talk of the whole school, you have always been a straight As a student, and you are good in everything you do. You can not allow some crazy ignorant selfish annoying stupid idiot cheat guy to take all that from you!"

"He dumped you? You dump him too!! Stop feeling bad and rise to your feet again!!"

" How can I, Ginny?........." She sniffed "...I can not stop thinking about him, he is everything I ever want in a man"

" Well....there are better men out there, okay! One who would know your worth. Now, wipe your tears!" She instructed. Seeing Amelia made no effort to obey her, she wiped her friend's tears herself pulling her up from the floor.

"First, you're going to eat right now, and then we'll talk about getting you a good job, not a part-time job this time"

" No" Amelia resisted " I'm not hungry" It was followed by Ginny's scream of her name. She forced her friend to eat by shoving spoonfuls of food into her mouth, although she chewed very slowly Ginny made sure she ate it all. She was not going to sit back and watch her best friend hurt herself over a guy that does not deserve her. They had been friends since childhood, so she knew everything about Nick and Amelia's love story. She had never been very supportive of the relationship but she wanted anything that would make her friend happy. She had always believed Nicholas does not deserve Amelia, not that she caught him cheating but she has never really liked him and when he left without checking on Amy she concluded he is a son of a bitch

Amelia did not buy the idea of getting a good job even though she has all the qualifications, she and Nick had planned that she would take a little job while Nick made the main income for the family. But that was in the past...

"There can never be an us, not anymore..." She sighed, now drying her tears herself

Ginny visited her every day, encouraging her and pleading that she does something useful with her life. A week passed but she still thought of Nick, there was no way she would not. The paths they have trodden together remind her of him, couples taking a walk together makes her heart long for him, love songs played on the street make her heartache, she remembers him when she gazes at the stars, his smiling face pops up in her memory whenever she cooks, everything around her makes her remember. She knew she would not survive if she witnessed the wedding, she can't take it, she might rip the bride's gown before she knows it. She has to leave, forget him, start a new life, and move forward

"Ginny is right," she thought. She decided to take Ginny's advice, she will leave Monterey to seek a job opportunity. She was determined now, more than ever, and she made her intentions known to her friend that evening. Ginny was glad she was back on her feet. It would help her forget the painful memory....

"And also help her meet other men who are not idiot cheats like Nick..." Ginny thought grinning with all ecstasy

"That's it" Amelia thought "bye, Nicholas, I'm finally letting go. May our paths never cross ever again!" .

CHAPTER 5

She wasn't nervous at first. She hummed a favorite song as she was in her bathroom feeling quite excited about the interview. She would have arrived earlier if not for the traffic jam she got caught up in. Fortunately, she still made it early.

"Benefit of getting up early" she smiled as she stepped into the gargantuan building.

"Quite impressive" she mumbled glancing at the various workers walking around going about their business. She spoke with the receptionist who led her to Celine's office.

Celine had a radiant smile on, it reminded her of Beatrice.

"You're welcome, Amelia" she grinned "Beatrice already told me everything"

"Thank you so much" she appreciated truly grateful for their help. Celine nodded a reply and glanced through some files on her table. Looking up briefly at her, she flashed her smile again

"You have nothing to worry about, I'm certain it's going to go well" it was then the reason why she was here and that the interview might go badly really dawned on Amelia. She felt a chill go down her spine as she became nervous.

"I'm already anticipating working with a damsel like you, you look good" Celine added making Amelia giggle softly before mouthing her a 'thank you.

Celine immediately led her to the waiting hall for the interview. As they stepped inside, Amelia gulped. A lot of people were seated waiting to be called in, all being interviewed for just one position. How would she be better than all these people? She did not have any job experience except for the part-time jobs she had once taken. The air conditioner didn't help matters, she wished she had worn a jacket or a blazer over her corporate gown. She could not give up now, she was here already. She inhaled deeply taking a seat amongst others. The more she waited for her turn the more she grew nervous. She felt a knot in her stomach. The call of her name disrupted her thoughts. She stood up slowly and stepped into the room following the normal rules she knows should be followed during interviews and mustering up courage to prevent the uninviting looks on the interviewers' faces to affect her. She was done before she knew it.

"Was not as bad as I thought" she released the breath she had been holding.

She went to Celine to tell her how it went and to bid her goodbye. Hopefully, they would reach her soon as she got the job.

She tried dialing Beatrice's number as she was leaving to tell her about the interview. Just as she was about to hit the call button someone bumped into her. The smell of coffee filled her nostrils just as she discovered her dress was ruined by it. Looking down at the coffee dripping from her gown she gritted her teeth and raised her head at the clumsy fool who had two eyes but was blind. It was a man in a suit looking transfixed like he saw a ghost. He was a little taller than her, with blue eyes, a handsome face, dimples with pink lips, all of which Amelia disregarded

"What is wrong with you?" She screamed, she grew angrier when he didn't say a word but kept staring at her with shock written all over his face

"Watch where you're going, will you?" Seeing he was not ready to say a word she decided to leave like that. Walking past him in annoyance she suddenly felt his hand on her arm making her stop to glance at him

"I'm sorry" he apologized as a smile formed on his lips. Is that mockery? Smiling? Who apologizes with a smile? She scoffed pulling her arm away from him

"I'm really sorry, I was lost in thoughts" he apologized again obviously suppressing his smile this time. "Is there something I can do to....."

"Just forget it" she cut him off

"So.....uhm...... I'm Mason" he extended his hand which Amelia wasn't ready to shake but what harm will it do? She shook his hand

"Amelia Sternberg" she returned, his smile grew wider

"Amelia Sternberg" he repeated coming off his lips more like a whisper.

"Do you work here or something?"

"I came for the interview" she replied grumpily wishing to leave as fast as she can. He probably noticed because he bid her goodbye immediately.

"Such an annoying someone!" Amelia mumbled to herself as she left the building. She proceeded to call Beatrice.

•

"Amelia Sternberg" he whispered her name again grinning widely "Amelia Sternberg"

Never in his imagination had he expected to meet his college crush coming to his company for an interview. It had always looked like no chance was provided for him to grow close to her so he was not surprised that she didn't recognize him. She never knew him, he was the one monitoring every one of her moves. He would have at least said 'hi' to her but there was another guy always hovering around her. Oh! He would never forget Nick, that bastard that never made him have the girl he wants. But then again, it wasn't entirely Nick's fault, Nick had beat him to the punch because he had been scared and was waiting for the right time. He had hoped and hoped they would break up before they graduated but they hadn't, he had had to attend their senior year dinner with someone he didn't want to remember. He wondered where he was now, still with Amelia? That would be bad news. He waved at a few of his employees who greeted him with a bow as they passed. And she came to his company for the interview?? He couldn't suppress the grin and excitement. He has another chance now and surely will make the best out of it. He walked straight to the interview room and was about to enter when he stopped. He had thought of canceling the interview to make sure Amelia is the one who is hired. Mason looked around at the room full of applicants and decided it would be unfair to them. If Amelia was the Amelia he remembered, she would probably make it in on her own. Mason chided himself, "As a CEO, what I should avoid most is making sentimental decisions. What's best for the company comes first and if Amelia is qualified and makes it in, then isn't it confirmed that we're supposed to be together in life, cos fate brought her here" Mason smiled in excitement at the thought and turned towards his office quickly with the grin pasted on his face.

•

"Let's just see how it goes, Ginny" she sighed over the phone. She debated on telling Ginny about the weird guy who bumped into her but she decided against it when she recalled that Ginny would definitely tease her about it. She had given Beatrice a report of the interview already. She was lying on her bed now speaking with Ginny. A notification sound rang out on her phone and the status bar dropped down, she got a message. She placed the call on hold to read the content, her heart pounded as she waited for the message to open, could it be?

"Ginny," She said trying to suppress her happiness as she sat up from her bed

"Yeah?" Ginny asked feeling anxious for her friend

It was Celine. She had just sent her a message, she wasn't expecting a report in the next few weeks but the night of the interview? She started to realize that Celine had ears and eyes everywhere in the office because she wasn't sure she should even know what Celine just told her. Apparently, Celine had seen the top ten list and had also overheard the interview discussion, and had heard her name come up repeatedly. Her name was amongst the ten and all that was left now was elimination. Wow! What wonderful news she got. Ginny cheered for her laughing.

"But wait oh, as good as this news is, let's not jinx the final outcome yh?"Ginny said. Ginny has always been the most cautious.

"Yes, yes, but this is the first good news I've had in a while, I'm so happy, Ginnnnyy, make sure you pray for the outcome " Amelia lay back and put her legs up on the wall. Ginny laughed "Of course"

Amelia slept that night with so much brightness in her eyes, her thoughts flashed back to the man that bumped into her, maybe they will be friends after all, but only time can tell if she ever love a creature called the man again.

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