It wasn't until evening that Jules and Harmony returned from their fun day out. Jules, in such high spirits, decided to thank Sara for meeting the handsome billionaire again, or more importantly for requesting to see her son again. Who knew if they would have stumbled upon this fortune if she didn't have his son?

Three knocks later and Sara pulled open the door to find her neighbor already stepping into her apartment. Jules was all tales about the day they had, with tote bags that held the various things they had bought. Jules gave Harmony the tote bag they had bought for Sara to go drop on the dining table.

"Lucas is hot and generous! Really, he showed up at the cinema to take Freddie home and then the children cried about being hungry and we went food shopping. Then he asked me to buy a few stuffs I might need. And I thought, why don't I buy for you too since he's being nice to me because you're my friend?" Jules explained, digging into the burger she held.

She took a large bite to stare at Sara's swollen eyes before commenting. "Tell me you're not crying because he left you out of the cinema date? That would be hilarious."

Sara shook her head, reaching for the bag of chips Harmony held out to her. "No, but unfortunately our date at my apartment didn't go so well. It was horrible."

Jules cooed at her. "Cry baby. Tell me what happened."

Then she told Harmony to increase the volume of the cartoon so the adults could gist. The little girl happily obliged.

"What happened? I need explicit details," she prompted.

Sara scrunched up her nose. "We have a child here."

Jules eyed her daughter dismissively and sighed heavily. "Fine, but I need a recap of the juicy details right now. Start."

So Sara told her everything, from that morning to after he left. Jules was on the floor laughing her ass off when she was done. At least one person was having fun at her expense, Sara thought ironically watching her neighbor try to control her breath.

"You guys are funny. You fought over a piece of meat? How childish is he?" Jules asked in between laughs.

Sara smiled at the memory. "Well, he only acts like a spoilt child around me because according to him, I'm his complete opposite."

"Now it's obvious he likes you. And a lot. I can infer you like him a lot too. So, what's the problem here? Why are you so hesitant?"

Then Sara found herself telling Jules about her married life, about her doubts and fears as the older woman listened attentively. There was never a need to tell her before because they never talked about her pasts. Juliet had assumed Sara also had an abusive marriage that had sent her running like she did and had been skeptical about Lucas at first. To hear a cheating scandal had driven them apart explained the situation better to her and had her worries increasing.

"Will you give him another chance?" Jules asked after she was done talking. Jules was skeptical though. Cheating was a bad vice, no matter how you viewed it. The feeling of worthlessness it leaves on the victim never truly fades away. She was all for falling in love again, for Sara's sake, but not exactly with the very person that betrayed that love.

Sara sighed, stuffing chicken nuggets into her mouth. "I want to try again. I'm not sure I've healed already to even consider having another relationship but I can't continue being in pain. It's five years already. If he's going again, I should too, right?" She asked hopefully.

Jules nodded warily, reaching for a chicken nugget. Sara hit her hand, pushing the box away from her reach. "You said you bought this for me," she said by way of explanation.

Jules grinned at her behavior. "No wonder he likes you. You're childish too."

The two friends burst out laughing at that. Harmony who was startled out of her concentration on the cartoon looked at the two adults, grinned at them and turned back to the television. That inspired another set of laughter. At the end, It was a lovely day after all.

++++++++++++++

Lucas got a call from Sara three days later. He was pleasantly surprised to see her name pop up on the phone screen, so he stood up from his swivel chair and moved towards the huge glass wall over looking the national theatre. He exhaled a deep breath before answering.

"Hello, Sara."

She shuffled around a bit by the sound of it before replying. "Hi, Lucas. Sorry, is this a bad time? I can call back later."

He shook his head vaguely. "No. If it was, I would have told you so. It's nice to get a distraction from work sometimes."

"Boring stuff?"

"Very boring."

She giggled, remembering times like this in the past whenever he called her during work hours to complain about work. "You'll live. You always do."

He smiled and nodded while expelling a tired breath. "I get the feeling you called for something else."

"Yes, I did." was the sombre tone. "I'm not very certain about discussing this over the phone. I thought we could talk about what happened in my house on Saturday."

He nodded, frowning at the memory. "I shouldn't have come onto you so strongly. It's my fault and I'm sorry. I took advantage of the attraction between us."

"No, it's not entirely your fault, Lucas." She was quick to point out. "I'm also to blame. I led you on too, giving you the impression that I was ready, even if I wasn't."

Lucas barely refrained from groaning at the obvious statement. Of course she wasn't ready. "Might I ask what is it you want then?" His brain could detect the underlying message in her voice however.

"Perhaps a date would be in order. We met again because of our son, and then branched off to our own planet without drawing ground rules. I know what you want and I want that too," she replied, pausing to recollect her words. "I want this, Lucas. I want us to happen. I want to fall in love with you again. Isn't that what you asked from me?"

It took a moment for her words to sink in. And then he found himself frowning when it did. "You're not ready. Let's not rush this." He could still remember the exact moment she froze when he reached for her panties. That memory would haunt him for some time, he realized.

"I know. Last Saturday took me by surprise, that's all. I've not been intimate with anyone in a long time. My body remembered being with you and it shocked me tremendously."

He was still doubtful, because he felt it was his fault she blocked intimacy with anyone else. His betrayal must have had such a major impact on her, and it shocked him resoundingly to only realize it now. He swore to do everything in his means to uphold her trust this time around.

Still in thought, he subconsciously made his way back to his chair to sit, shuffling through the mountain load of paperwork on his desk. This was going to be a very busy week.

"Hello, are you still there?" Sara asked, breaking into his thoughts.

He cleared his throat. "I'm still here. I'm just thinking about what you said, sweetheart."

"Oh, I see," she mumbled.

If he could see her now, he knew she would be avoiding her gaze as the blush of embarrassment slowly filled her cheeks. Having to admit that meant she was willing to let go of the hurt, which was a major leap and he promised himself right there and then that he would never make her doubt him again.

"I'm very honoured that you're trying again with me. And we'll take it easy, you and me. At your own pace. Whatever you want to do. Let's have that date you suggested," he said, smiling as an idea popped into his head.

"I don't want to impose on your schedule. Let's meet whenever you have time."

"You won't be imposing. Just make the appointment and I'll be there. I'm the CEO remember." Then he looked at the memo in front of him and sighed. This was not how he planned his week to go at all but he supposed he could use it to his advantage.

"You know what," he began uncertain. "Instead of a date, let's have a romantic getaway for the weekend. I'm traveling to Calabar this weekend for a conference and I'd rather not spend it alone."

A pause went on for about a minute before she spoke up. "You're going to Calabar? The Calabar that has Obudu mountain resort?!" She asked, excitement dripping from her voice.

Not exactly, he thought. He pursed his lips as he considered the memo again. "Yes, I am. I'll have the travel arrangements sent to you through your email. We will leave on Thursday afternoon as the conference is starting on Friday. Is that okay by you?"

"Yes, it is. I'll just take an excuse. I'm sure my boss won't mind," she gushed out, the happiness in her tone evident. "I'll see you on Thursday, then." She added after a while.

He nodded, humming into the phone. Although he didn't plan for this weekend to go like this, he was grateful this opportunity came out. He would maximize it, using it as the foothold to make her fall in love with him again. God knew he needed that to happen faster than normal.

++++++++++++++

Why are you going out with him?

This particular question has been circling the air for half an hour and was likely to remain so, unanswered. Sara pulled down her floral print skirt from the hanger and folded it slowly, as the two females in her bedroom watched her like a hawk watching a prey. Her suitcase which was half full with her personal belongings lay open on the bed in between them, and which more clothes were being added by the minute.

"I can't believe that his 'forgive me' idea was a romantic weekend. Girl, you're so lucky!" Tonya squealed, clutching Sara's fluffy pillow to her chest, while a goofy smile adorned her face.

Sara nodded with a smile of her own as she placed the skirt inside the suitcase and turned towards her wardrobe. "I guess I am, though I'm not surprised. He's always been like this. Impulsive and romantic," she replied, reaching to tug out her shorts. Her research about the ranch revealed a climbing height.

"Which leads me back to my question, Sara. Why are you going out with him? You know the kind of person he is, you know his intentions towards you and undeniably the end result. So tell me, why you agreed to this?" Jules asked, her brows furrowed. She didn't understand Sara's reasons, but she had listened to her talk about her divorce, the pain she went through and knew the pain you feel when the one that was supposed to love and protect you fails to do so.

Tonya scoffed, obviously irritated by the question. "Will you stop with all these questions, Jules? She's going to have fun, not fall in love with him so there's no need for the worry."

Did it matter why she was going out with him? Tonya wondered, staring at her elder sister. She was going to have fun, spend his money, enjoy herself. That was all that mattered really. Sara was not a fool to allow him take her heart for that rollercoaster ride again.

Sara sighed at her sister and neighbor's bickering. Tonya, who has never set foot in her apartment, had fought with their mother over her lifestyle choices and hence moved in temporarily with Sara until their mother calmed down. Jules, on the other hand, was around when she called Lucas on Tuesday to tell him she was ready for a second chance. Jules wasn't a fan of her decision, in fact she viewed this as foolishness on her part and couldn't seem to understand why Sara was setting herself up for heartbreak again. In her exact words: once a cheater, always a cheater.

Sara added her boots and her heeled sandals into her box, then closed the box and set it beside her bed. She sat on her bed before saying,

"I know what I'm doing, Jules. Did you think I'll be stupid enough to let him play with my heart again?" The question was rhetoric so Jules kept mute. She continued however, "I'm not 21 anymore, so I'll definitely look before I leap. Trust me, I learnt my lesson the hard way." She finished, flashing the two women a convincing smile.

Jules shrugged, letting out a resigned sigh. She didn't believe her words but she'd not drag the issue. It was neither her heart, nor her second chance. If Sara said she knew what she was doing, she would trust her.

"Alright, I'll trust you because you requested I do but I'll say I still have my misgivings."

Tonya snorted, eyeing her angrily. "You girl, free her jare!" She cried, throwing a pillow at Jules for acting like a mother hen.

Jules retaliated by throwing a pillow too, then the two women started a pillow fight that Sara was forced to intervene, screaming about 'expensive pillows'.

That night after sending Jules back to her apartment and Tonya had reluctantly gone home to face their mother's wrath, Sara thought about Jules' question. Truthfully, she didn't know why she agreed to this except the ecstasy of falling in love after so long was thrilling to her dead heart. But the heart knew only about falling in love, not about the pain of heartbreak, her subconscious argued. How would she cope if Lucas broke her heart again? How would she survive if he betrayed her love again? Tears trickled down her cheeks rapidly when she realized she had no answer.

The first time around, her family though oblivious to her pain, had tried to cheer her up in any way they could. If the first time was called ignorance, what was she to be labelled as if she experienced the same again? Why, for landsakes, was she giving him the key to her heart knowing he could hurt her without blinking?

Just before she finally slept, she had soaked her pillows with enough tears to fill a mug to the brim.

~~~~~~~~~~~

First and foremost, we are going to Calabar! 💃💃. At least, they are. You and I will be here reading about their adventures. Yup, sounds about right 😆😏

Two chapters up this week, yay! 💃

Fact: You guys know how I said in my bio that mystery/thriller ain't for me 'cause I cannot come and be guessing whodunit. But curiosity killed the cat when I read the ones written by these lovely authors: toyosibby, Princely_A_Seun, _dawrites. They made me have a change of heart, and I'm positive they'll make you love them too. Go, check out their books and see what I mean 😚😎.

Remember also, that our pact of voting and commenting is still ongoing. Click on that little star 🌟 by the left. It does not bite. I promise.

Thank you😍😘