Another Chance For Love

Chapter 2

"So, Brenda, honey, what is it that you said you do for work?" Gerald's mother asked, her eyes staring languidly at Brenda, the force of her smile making her wrinkles pronounced, the bangles on her wrist screeching and distracting Brenda from the awful dinner as her eyes kept going back and forth from it.

"Oh. I assist a marketing company in tailoring materials, mother," Brenda answered as gently as she could. It didn't matter that she had told her this several times. Each time she asked, Brenda had no other choice but to answer.

Her face folded in distaste; it was clear that she was not satisfied with Brenda's answer. She couldn't even hide it for the sake of her son sitting like a statue beside Brenda.

“Is that all they could offer these days? What is it that you read in school, dear?" The "dear" was raised slightly; you could tell she was just adding those sweet words to ameliorate the dicing of her words.

"I, uh... I studied marketing," Brenda answered skeptically. It was obvious that she was getting uncomfortable with her constant scrutiny. It was the same every dinner. No matter how much she pleaded with Gerald to cancel these weekly dinners with his parents, he wouldn't. He always said he couldn't say no to them, like he wasn't a 31-year-old doctor that was making his own money.

"Marketing?" Gerald's mother repeated. "Is that even a course?"

"Mom," Gerald hissed. That will most likely be the only time he might scold her.

“What? I'm only trying to know her better," her mother defended, a scowl on the wrinkled woman's face.

"You ask these questions all the time, you b***h," Brenda wanted to cuss, but she would never, not when she was trying to get into the old witch's good books.

"It is actually one of the lucrative art courses, mother. I actually enjoy it," Brenda said, a faux smile on her face. She exchanged eye contact with Gerald, who looked helpless as always, too weak to go against his mother.

"Well, what you enjoy is not always what will bring food to the table," his mother said under her breath. Brenda pretended not to hear her and continued picking at her food. She had lost her appetite the minute she walked into the mansion. She didn't want to eat too much because that would also raise questions from her fiancé's mother.

Brenda's mind hadn't even been with them. She had been thinking of what Lois said at work earlier today. She had wanted to bring it up to Gerald, but he didn't even let her say anything before he was demanding she get dressed and meet him downstairs for them to go to the dinner. Throughout the car ride, it was Gerald telling her the things she shouldn't say to provoke his mother, like she even needed to try.

Dinner was over after minutes had passed, and Brenda couldn't have been happier. She couldn't wait to go to her house and lay on her bed. She hadn't even had time to process what would happen if Lois failed to keep her promise and if she, by chance, lost her job.

Gerald's father arrived a few minutes later, and Brenda thought she would fall and die. The father hardly ever spoke to her when she was around, always asking questions to their son and smiling ever so proudly that he took in his footsteps.

Brenda had always felt inferior in their presence, but today was worse. She just wanted to disappear. Just as usual, Gerald's father didn't even throw a glance in her direction. After he took his food, he came down to meet them in the sitting room, and whatever conversation he and Gerald must have been having, they continued it in the sitting room, his mother chipping in every once in a while.

Brenda's eyes were on her phone, not that there was anything interesting, but she just couldn't avoid feeling like she was intruding on family time. She had also pleaded with Gerald not to take her to these things, but he never listened. He kept saying his parents would be happy to see her, the irony.

Brenda found herself on her i********: feed, casually scrolling through her page until a message popped up. Her eyes widened slightly, not to raise any alarm from her family in-laws, but she was surprised. No one ever sent her a message on i********: except Lois, and Lois wasn't even active at the moment.

Bored out of her mind and slightly curious, she tapped the message to find out it was from a private account with no familiar name that could give her any hint.

The sender sent a simple "hey," to which Brenda stared at for a couple of minutes before replying.

"Hey yourself."

After she sent it, she felt foolish for doing so, wanting to delete it before whoever saw it, but it was too late. Three dots appeared, showing that the stranger had seen it and wanted to reply.

"Didn't think you would reply," the sender said.

"Should I not?" Brenda replied, tilting her head in confusion.

"Not if you know who this is," the sender replied almost immediately.

Brenda stared at the message for the first few minutes before typing. "And who is this?"

"You know me. Quite well, in fact."

"You have your account on private. I don't know you."

"Yes, you do, B."

Who the hell was—

Oh my f**k!

It can't be!

"No one calls me that anymore," Brenda typed as fast as her fingers could go, her feet bouncing inadvertently. She hated being in the dark, and this stranger was doing just that, keeping her in the dark.

She had never been invested in anything on social media until now. She even forgot for a second that she was with her boyfriend's family that didn't like her.

"Well, now I'm calling you that," the person replied. Now Brenda was having conflict. She wanted to believe she knew who this was, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

What were the odds?

Why would he be sending her messages? Where did he even get the time to do that?

Brenda's head was firing up as she stared at the last message.

About to reply, Gerald touched her arm, and she jerked up, so much that she even scared him. "Hey. Are you okay?" Gerald asked her, his eyes narrowing in concern and displeasure.

She stared at him in slight confusion, her mind having a tough time coming back to reality. She felt the eyes of her in-laws on her, and she stared at both of them. They were indeed looking at her, both of their faces etched with a tight frown.

“I- I am fine, I just got a message from work is all," she lied, but she couldn't be caught dead telling her fiancé that she might have been chatting with her very hot and very wealthy ex-boyfriend, whom she constantly saw in her dreams lately. That would give his mother a stroke, and maybe Gerald might faint. Gerald knew nothing of her past or the kind of men she had been involved with. That Brenda was dead and buried. Hopefully.

Gerald searched her eyes for any lies, but Brenda had mastered the act of hiding her emotions ever since she met Gerald. He didn't care to read her anyway, not like someone she knew— not like he cared.

Gerald nodded, and soon the conversation he was having with his parents continued.

Brenda decided to look interested in the gibberish they were saying, but she couldn't ignore the nagging feeling she had to check those messages. She was too curious, and she couldn't deny that the idea of him texting her excited her. Besides, she couldn't even say anything to what her fiancé's family were saying; they were talking about rich people's stuff.

When Brenda checked and saw that the coast was clear, she picked up her phone again and opened her i********: app.

"What makes you think it's acceptable for you to call me that?" she responded.

His reply didn't come immediately, and Brenda thought she was going to lose it. When she was frustrated and wanted to give up, the three dots appeared again. Her stomach flipped.

“I didn't think I needed your permission, seeing as it is I who gave you the name."

There! That was the confirmation that Brenda needed to know that it was HIM.

"Is this who I think it is?" Brenda asked again.

"Who do you think this is?"

"You know who I am talking about," Brenda hissed, getting tired of the back and forth.

"Saying the name won't reduce your teeth, B."

She almost laughed out loud but quickly remembered where she was. Instead, she bit her lower lip to contain her laughter.

"It just might. I didn't think I'd hear from you again," she joked too.

Her mood suddenly felt lighter.

"If you wanted to see me, all you had to do was ask," he replied.

"And what would have happened," Brenda flirted back.

"I would come running, B. You know how it is."

You know how it is.

Brenda knew exactly how it was. She knew he would do anything for her, she knew he would give her anything except what she wanted the most.

Brenda moved to reply, but a call interrupted. It was Lois.

She looked confused at why Lois would be calling her so late, but most importantly, when she knew she was with Gerald's parents right now.

However, she knew Lois well enough to know she wouldn't do this if it wasn't important.

Brenda silenced the call and glanced around her in-laws. They looked too deep in their conversations and wouldn't even know when she slipped out, so she did.

She shut the door of the guest bathroom to her fiancé's parents and picked up the call.

"Brenda?"

"Yes, Lois. Is anything the matter?"

"Yes, Brenda. Jude just sold the company."

"What?"

"Yes, but that is not even why I called," Lois replied.

"What is going on, Lou?"

“It's the company he sold it to," Lois said.

"What company? What are you going on about?" Brenda asked, beginning to panic.

Lois was silent on the other line, increasing Brenda's blood pressure.

"Lois?"

"It's Herod's company, Bren. We are going to be working for Herod."

"You've got to be shitting me."