SECOND CHANCE AT FOREVER

Chapter 3

To Lily, the days after Nathan's accusations seemed to merge into each other in an everlasting cycle of pain and confusion. Each time the sun arose, it was to find a darkness within as she anticipated that another brick of her life, which she had built around Nathan, was going to crumble just a bit more. The office had turned from being friendly to hostile, from whispers to judging glares.

Alive, Nathan's decision to part from her seemed to be the final call. In the cold reality, Lily was left wrestling with the truth that the man she was in love with and had had plans for the future with turned his back on her. Everywhere in that house brought memories of him, the place they had dreamt of their future, now echoing with happiness of the past.

Sophia, Nathan's new assistant, was everywhere Lily had once been. The office, which she had once considered a second home, was now becoming a scene of a crime to her. She avoided the break room where she would find Sophia with Nathan, chatting and laughing as though nothing had come to pass.

Even though she was hurt, Lily had to keep her cool. She still had responsibilities to undertake, and work had to be managed. The only difference was that her productivity had now reached its lowest ebb. Her concentration was fracted, and her enthusiasm to shower on the job was gone.

One afternoon, Lily had sat alone in a quiet café, nursing her coffee and staring out of the window. All of life outside was moving like nothing was wrong. She looked down at her hands; the ring on her finger seemed to frown—a cruel reminder of what she had lost.

The phone buzzed with a message as she was lost in thought. It was an old friend, Emma, who had heard about the scandal and wanted to know she was okay. Emma's message was definitely a comfort, telling her that she was not totally alone on this. They decided to meet up for a chat, and Lily welcomed the thought of being distracted with any sort of thing.

Over lunch, Emma sat quietly and listened while Lily poured out all her pent-up frustrations. "I just never thought Nathan would have let someone come between us like this," she said, her voice trembling. "Sophia's manipulated him completely. I just don't know what to do anymore.

Emma reached across the table, squeezing Lily's hand. "You need to take care of yourself, Lily. It's not your fault that this happened. Sometimes people show their true colors in the worst ways."

The comfort from her friend was for naught. Lily knew she had to find some way of repairing and moving on, but the pain of betrayal made anything after Nathan an impossibility, at least in her thoughts.

Weeks passed, and the reality of Nathan and Sophia officially being a couple became too obvious. She tried to put much effort into her work and keep her life as normal as possible. It was a fight every day. She started to distance from the office, to take regrouping time off and to think about where she was going to move on to.

Nathan and Sophia's relationship went public, lily's name was never missed out in the gossip columns. Her personal name being thrown into the media focus did hurt her, but she just let the intrusion slide.

She set herself out on the little ways to reconstruct her life. She enrolled in a painting class, something she had wanted to do all her life but never had time to. The creative outlet it offered was a distraction and a way for her to express herself, which she couldn't do in words.

It was one evening that Lily was painting away in her apartment without a care in the world, lost in the comforting rhythm of brushstrokes, evidently when a knock jolted her out of her reverie. She opened it to find her landlord, Mr. Thompson, who had a small package.

"Delivery for you, Lily," he said, handing it over. "Looks like it's something from the office."

Anxiously curious, Lily opened the package to reveal the letter by Nathan. It was an apology—desperate in its sincerity. The letter even contained an admission of regret for making a fool out of her; of how he got lost in Sophia. He wrote of the realization of his mistakes and how he wanted things right again.

The letter had mixed emotions in Lily's heart; while a part of her wanted to believe things would be fine with Nathan, the other side of her was boiling with anger and hurt. She tried to make sense of her feelings in hours of contemplation over the letter.

Just as he did this, another message appeared, and it was from Nathan. He wished to meet and talk about everything. He assured that he had evidence to prove the deceitfulness of Sophia and that he had to explain everything in detail personally.

Lily was torn inside. While she really yearned for closure and at the same time wanted to hear whatever Nathan had to say, a part of her was scared of jumping the gun for it and reopening a can of old worms. She had pondered over it and finally decided to meet him.

It was decided to take the meeting in an empty park. Lily always arrived at the park before the scheduled time in order to wait for him. Nervous, the face of Nathan arrived full of anxiety and hope.

"Lily, I'm grateful you agreed to see me," Nathan began, his voice quivering. "I have some evidence pointing to how Sophia manipulated and deceived me. I was wrong, but I want to right things."

He passed on a folder of papers to her, which showed how Sophia had falsified the evidence against Lily. As Lily went through the papers, she could see the extent to which Sophia had schemed. Nathan added, "I'm sorry for believing her over you. I should have trusted you in the first place."

Lily looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes. "Nathan, it's not only the lies. It's what you've done to us. I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again."

Nathan gazed back with earnest eyes. "I understand. And I'll do—well, I'll do anything to get that back. Just give me the chance.

The pain was reflected in Nathan's eyes, yet Lily remained filled with doubt. "I need some time to think about everything. I am not sure if I can go back."

Nathan agreed with a nod of understanding, space he gave. "I'll wait as long as it takes. I love you, Lily, and I'll fight to make things right.

Just as Lily was leaving the park, she felt both relieved and unsure. Nathan's apology and the evidence soothed her a little, but the way forward was still quite long. She knew trust would take time to gain back, and at this point in time, she just wasn't ready to decide.