Second Chance

Let's Talk About Love

Luke sat next to the bar, drinking a neat scotch. He has never been a heavy drinker. Just a little while social gathering has always been his style. But he couldn't help himself today.

He loved Mercy. And the second he understood it, the second he accepted it, the little feeling that was hidden somewhere in the corner of his heart erupted like a volcano that was suppressed for too long and was finally able to brake free and show the world it's terrifying heat, a heat that was capable of both forming and destroying everything.

This feeling.... It was so intense that it scared him. Lucas was in no way a clean virgin. Though not a playboy, he had been in a relationship since he was thirteen and hadn't been a virgin since he was sixteen. The most he had felt for any girl was Chastity. But even then, his feelings were not this intense.

When Chastity left, he was hurt. But if Mercy....

He snorted to himself. They were not even in a proper relationship. Yet the thought of separating from her was unthinkable.

"What's up with you now?" Mercy said.

By the time they returned from the ancestral house, it was already night and the kids were already asleep in the car. She had tucked them into the bed. Luke didn't help her out like he usually does.

Must be tired. She thought. Otherwise Luke never misses a chance to help out with the kids. Mercy freshened up and changed. After doing her night routine, she went down to take a bottle of water. That was when she saw Lucas, still in the clothes he had been wearing before, drinking casually like a drunkard.

Lucas turned back but regretted doing so the next second. Mercy hated blow drying her hair, so it was towel dried with a few droplets still hanging at the end of the locks. She just did her night clean up and her face, devoid of any make up looked tender and smooth, almost like butter. Right now she was wearing a short sleep night dress that reached her mid thigh and the neck portion was V-neck  and slips. Though it wasn't particularly sexy, it wasn't modest in anyway.

Right now, Mercy looked like an angel that had descended on earth to tempt mankind with her innocence.

Such a sight had always made Lucas feel stuffy, like someone was twisting his heart relentlessly. Earlier he thought it was lust. But now he knew it was obsession. An obsession so deep that it has already mixed in his bones. He has already fallen too deep and there was no way to climb out of this pit anymore.

Then let's just fall deeper. He thought. And let's pull her along. Let us accompany each other in the abyss of love.

"What are you thinking so seriously?" Mercy asked. This man is acting very strangely as of late. Was something wrong with work that gave him too much pressure? Or was someone messing with him?

"Nothing and everything." Lucas said. He wasn't someone who hesitated to get what he wanted. The only problem was that what he wanted now wasn't a thing but a person. He was a man. And a man should not just be decisive, he should also be responsible. If he went ahead and wooed her, he should be confident that he could keep her happy. Not just materialistically but also emotionally.

But somehow, he wasn't that confident now. He felt somewhere like he wasn't ready yet. And this indecisiveness was driving him insane.

"You know, if you speak more clearly, maybe I'll be able to help. Sometimes a second opinion helps." Mercy said. She really couldn't tolerate Lucas looking so out of it. She wanted to help out in anyway she could.

"What is love?" Lucas suddenly asked. He wanted to know her definition of love. If nothing else, he could try to become the kind of man she liked.

Mercy was momentarily stunned. She couldn't understand why he was asking such a question. But his mood was down because of this very question and she wanted to help him out.

"Love...." Mercy looked at the man in front of her. The only man she has ever truly loved in both her lifetimes. Even if she tried fighting her feelings for him, there still was no other man that she genuinely liked again. She couldn't say that he was the only man she gave her body to, but he definitely was the only man she could give her heart to. No other man could come anywhere close to the position he had in her heart.

But it wasn't because of his handsome face, well it wasn't just because of his handsome face. Beauty can cause momentary infatuation or even list. But it can't cause true love, love deep enough to last for two lifetimes. She could never say it to him before in her past life. She was too closed off, too insecure to bare her heart to others. But this time she could make up for that regret of her's.

Though indirectly, she wished to tell him how much he meant for her.