Simple Happiness

Chapter One

Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking your time to start reading my book. Enjoy it.

Author.

Chapter One

"Let's break-up."

Liz was shocked. It was sudden. Her mind went blank for a moment. She didn't know what to say.

"Hello, are you still there?" Oscar asked, bringing her back to reality.

"You want to break-up with me?"

"Yeah, let's break-up," he said.

She was hurt, but she was not going to beg for love. If he didn't want her, she also didn't want him.

"Okay, goodbye," she said, then hung up.

She wiped off a tear from her right eye and made up her mind to move on with her life. She believed she had given her best in that relationship and was not going to blame herself for its failure.

And now, this ghost from her past was trying to crawl back into her life. He came directly to her when she was waiting for her graduation photos together with her parents after the photo shoot.

"Hi, Liz," he said with a wide grin. Behind him was his best friend, Davis.

Liz was embarrassed. She had never introduced any male friend to her parents before. "Hello. What are you doing here?" she asked

"I came to congratulate you." He made a step forward and handed her a well-wrapped gift. "Congratulations, Liz."

Liz reluctantly took the gift because everybody's attention was now on them. "Thanks," she said, then introduced them. "Mom, dad, this is Oscar, and that is Davis," she said. "They are my friends." Her parents shook hands with them.

The air was filled with tension after pleasantries. There was an awkward silence. To save the situation, Liz had to say something.

Liz smirked. "Oscar, Davis, Thank you for coming." She wondered why they were not going away. She had to make them leave.

"Oh, it's nothing," Oscar smiled sheepishly.

That stupid smile made her feel like slapping him. He pissed her off. There was nothing about him that made her heart beat fast anymore. It was like her heart had forgotten about him. All she felt was hatred. She hated him for showing up as he did.

"I'll see them off," she told her parents.

"Okay, but don't take long," her father said. Her mother just looked on. Her younger siblings, Aidan and Imani, were taking selfies. They didn't notice the departure of the unwanted guests.

"Bye-bye," Oscar and Davis waved at Liz's parents and followed Liz.

When they were a little far away from her parents, Liz stopped and looked at Oscar with annoyance. "What's your game?" she asked.

"What do you mean? I only came to congratulate you. Is there something wrong with that?" Davis silently moved away to give them time to talk.

"And what right do you have to come to my family and me unannounced?"

"I only wanted to surprise you." He went for her hands, but Liz moved a few steps away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. Oscar withdrew his hands. "I regret breaking up with you. Please forgive me. I need you back in my life. My life is empty without you by my side. Please come back to me."

Liz stared at him and felt good inside. She had been waiting for this day ever since he broke up with her. She knew that one day he would come back begging for her love. It was payback time. She was going to trample on his heart and make it bleed more than hers did when he left with no explanation.

"What makes you think that I would still be in love with you a year after you broke my heart?" Her eyes shone as bright as the sun, something that drove him crazy. However, he could see traces of disgust in them, and that made him sad.

"Love doesn't just go away," he said. "You loved me so much back then. I know that you still love me now."

"Oscar, I won't argue with you on an important day of my life," she said. "I have moved on with my life. Plus, why would I take you back? To give you another chance to hurt me?" With a slight bend in the knee, she tutted and waved her index finger in his face. "Never!" she said and turned away. He caught her hand before she made a step away.

She shot a glare at him over her shoulder. "Let go of me!"

"Liz, please give me another chance," he said. "What do you want me to do for you to forgive me? Liz, I know I wronged you in the past, but please give me a chance to show you that I'm not the jerk I was last year." He pulled her closer and hugged her.

"Hey, people are watching," Liz said. "Let go of me!" She tried to pull away from him but her efforts were futile. He was holding her so tight against his torso.

"I don't care," he said. "I just want you to forgive me."

"Okay, I forgive you."

He let go of her and looked her in the eye. "Are you serious?" he asked.

She pursed her lips and smiled then nodded. "But we can't be together anymore."

"Why?"

"There's somebody else in my heart."

"What?"

"Oscar, I have to go. My family is waiting," she said and left.

"Wait, Liz!"

---

Liz had just sent her family off and was walking to Neema's apartment. She was staying there together with her friend, Tamara during the graduation week. Neema was their junior in the university.

The thought of Oscar angered her to the core of her bones. How stupid could he be? He thought her life was a playground- that he could just come and go as he pleases. He was mistaken. There was one thing she had promised herself ever since she started dating: never to take back a man who treated her like trash.

She didn't put up a fight when he broke up with her. Though she loved him so much, she was not ready to be humiliated in the name of love. She just let him go without even asking why he was breaking up with her. That was her first heartbreak. It was very painful in the first few days but the pain dissipated days later, and she went back to her normal life.

She kept the sweet memories they shared and moved forward. So what if there was no closure for that damn relationship? She could provide the closure it needed herself. And that's exactly what she did. She closed that chapter of her life and wished him all the best in her heart. There was no way she was going to patiently stand under a tree that was not meant for her when there was a whole forest waiting for her out there.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for making it through the first chapter. Please keep reading, comment, criticize and VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!