Lisa & Rokko - Missed Chances (english version)

Chapter 11

She still had no clear idea of what had actually happened at the party, or what embarrassing things she had probably blurted out in her drunken state. She vaguely remembered that she had desperately wanted to have a clarifying conversation with Rokko, or had at least firmly planned to. And she remembered that he had ended up taking her back to Göberitz because she could barely walk straight anymore. But the only image that remained in her mind was their silent S-Bahn ride together.
Lisa had only just arrived at Kerima when she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her: "Lisa."
Surprised, she turned around and saw her father-in-law, Friedrich, greeting her with a broad smile. His good mood was unmistakable, but before Lisa could say anything, he had already started talking again.
"You could have told us that David is back. Laura and I would have postponed our trip to welcome him!"
Lisa opened her mouth to respond, but at that very moment David appeared next to her. He slipped an arm around her shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world and said with a charming smile, "It was meant to be a surprise."
Before Lisa could react, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. She froze, her eyes wide with shock.
Friedrich smirked, pleased. "I'll leave you two alone. You haven't seen each other in a long time." With that, he disappeared into his office, which had formerly been David's.
Lisa remained speechless, noticing that several employees had stopped working and were curiously watching them. Her face burned with embarrassment. Without another word, she grabbed David by the arm and dragged him into her office.
The moment she shut the door behind them, she burst out, "David, what was that? I broke up with you, remember?"
David looked at her, confused. "I thought that was a joke."
Lisa glared at him, her voice trembling with indignation. "No. It was not a joke!"

She had truly tried to overlook David's mistakes. She had always believed that you do not just throw away a marriage. She had always imagined marriage as a lifelong bond and she had refused to admit that she had made the wrong choice. What connected her and David was truly something very special, after all, they had achieved and experienced a lot together.
But when Rokko entered her life, he had brought out sides of her that she hadn't even known herself before.

She had clung to her dream of a life by David's side for a long time, but the more she tried, the more she realized that her love for him, despite all the idealized notions and memories, simply wasn't as strong as her love for Rokko. She had refused to see it for a long time, but the moment she caught David cheating again, she understood that she was fighting for their marriage alone. After everything she had sacrificed for him, she realized how much deeper and more intense her feelings for Rokko were. It was a kind of love she had never found with David, no matter what she had hoped for.

Lisa took a deep breath to steady her anger before continuing. "I left over a year ago, David. Without you. I had my reasons, and you did not understand them then either. You never really listened." Her voice was firm and steady, though the disappointment was unmistakable.

David stared at her, visibly confused. "I thought after our fight back then, you just wanted to be alone," he explained, as if the truth had only now dawned on him. "You wanted space to think. I figured you just needed time."

''It's not just about the argument back then. It is about what happened before. About what you did to me. Your repeated cheating. You destroyed our marriage, David. And I can't just forget that."
"I meant everything I said back then, and I mean it now," Lisa said, her eyes locked on his. "I have done enough thinking. And since you are already here, it's finally time for us to talk about the divorce."
Her voice sounded clear and resolute as she freed herself from the weight of their shared past.

David looked at her as if he did not quite grasp her words, but Lisa could see the guilt in his eyes. She had tormented herself long enough, but now she was strong enough to face the truth. When he tried to speak, she lifted her hand to stop him.
"There is nothing left to say, David. The decision is final. We both need to move on."

With a calm, decisive motion, she pulled her wedding ring from her finger, lifted David's hand, and placed the ring in his palm. The golden band gleamed coldly against his skin, and for a moment she felt transported back in time. She remembered the day, more than eight years ago, when she had done the same with Rokko by returning his grandmother's engagement ring in exactly the same way.

But with Rokko, it had been different. Leaving him had shattered her heart and the tears were flowing relentlessly. With David, it was nothing like that. She felt no tears, no pain. This time, the gesture simply felt liberating.
She knew there was no going back.
She turned and walked away, leaving David alone in her office.
He closed his hand around the ring as if he could somehow hold onto their past. He was not ready to give up on her and their marriage that easily.

Rokko had seen David kiss Lisa and although he thought he was long over her, the sight hit him deeper than he expected. Just as Lisa pulled David with her toward the office area, his cell phone rang.

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Lisa stepped back out into the open office area and immediately saw Rokko stepping into the elevator with determined strides. She did not quite know what she was thinking, but she decided to follow him.

Lisa had been following Rokko for quite a while, even though she knew it was wrong to follow him secretly. He had first picked up the boy she had recently seen him with from kindergarten, and then they had gone to a nearby playground.
Now she stood at a safe distance from the playground and watched him. Rokko was sitting on a bench while the boy happily played in the sandbox. Lisa could not help but wonder if the boy really was Rokko's son. The resemblance was stunning, and the way Rokko looked at him and interacted with him spoke volumes.

"What am I even doing here?" she muttered to herself. She was about to turn and leave when a woman entered her field of vision. She was slender, with shoulder-length dark hair, and walked purposefully toward Rokko. Something about her seemed familiar, although Lisa could not immediately place it.

Lisa froze as the woman reached Rokko and hugged him. She could not hear what the woman was saying, but Rokko seemed happy. And then it dawned on Lisa it was the same woman she had seen with Rokko back then. On the day the board meeting took place.
Suddenly the boy called out, "Mommy!" and ran toward the woman with bright eyes. Lisa felt the blood rush in her ears. Her stomach clenched at the thought that this woman might be Rokko's partner and the mother of his child.

"I should not be here," Lisa thought and took an unsteady step backward. But she overlooked branch on the ground and stumbled. She lost her balance and fell, letting out a loud "Damn it!" as she hit the ground.
At the same moment, almost synchronously, the gazes of the three turned in her direction.
"He must think I have completely lost my mind," she thought.
She wished she could be invisible. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, and her cheeks were burning with embarrassment. She jumped up quickly, turned around, and ran without looking back. The boy watched her in confusion and tugged on Rokko's jacket sleeve.
"Uncle Rokko, who was that?"
Rokko, who had also been watching the fleeing figure, finally turned back to the boy.
"I don't know," he lied and bent down to the child. "Come on, let's keep playing."