A Second Chance
Goodgrl
I would like clear one thing out. Mr. Wright takes about two hours to go to check on Serena when she leaves after her speech. Just so there is no confusion for anyone on that.
As you can tell, you won't find me in this room or this house. Until you change your decision, I will refuse to acknowledge you. Andrew will know where I am, so please do hurry with your decision.
Serena
He felt that it was entirely all his fault. He never HAD acknowledged her, but how could he when she looked so much like her mother. He hurt every time when he looked at her and was reminded of the only woman he had ever loved and the only one he will continue to love. He loved Serena more than anything in this world, not only because she looked like her mother or that she was the last memory of his wife, she was so much like him personality-wise than she really knew. But whenever he looked at her, his affections would halt in their paths and he could never openly tell her that he did love her. In his despair he may have been more than a little rude to Serena and now he felt the weight of his past behaviors. He only knew one way to make this up for her and that was to set her up with a secure future. There was only one way to do that.
Mr. Wright left toward his study, which was empty at that point, and sat down to think. After fifteen minutes he called the only man that he considered his best friend. The Kincaids hadn't been his friends for nothing and he was sure that they would find a solution. They discussed the circumstances and came to a conclusion. That was when Mr. Wright called on Andrew and told him to go find Serena, where ever she was. Her father had changed his decision.
Andrew was surprised when his father told him that Serena had ran out of the house and he had no clue as to where she was. He read the letter, more like a note, that Serena had left for their father and instantly knew where she had gone off to. He looked at his watch and sped his pace to his car.
He drove even at a higher speed knowing that sooner or later they would close the gates and he would be left out in the cold. Then he would have to come back in the morning and he did not want to do that. Andrew's car finally came to a screeching halt in front of the private land. He jumped out of his car and ran toward to the part of the land that belonged to his family. And then he saw her, she was huddling around a stone in her black coat.
"So what are you planning on doing? Staying out here in your coat, old clothes, and crying your heart out to mom? Serena, sometimes I have to wonder exactly how old you really are, because you surely don't act your age."
Andrew walked toward Serena just as she started to rise from her position by the tombstone. This was where she always came when ever she had a problem in life. It might seem strange to many people, heck probably to all of them, but Andrew understood her need to be near the mother that she never got to know. It had always amazed Andrew how Serena was drawn to their mother when she had never known her. She had died giving birth to Serena and that probably was one of the reasons why their father was always cold to her. But still Andrew knew that their father loved both of his children, even if he had never acknowledged Serena enough so she would know that he did love her. Even Andrew had noticed that his father had lost some of his warmth when his mother had died. Yet they had continued with their lives as if mother was still alive, never letting anyone feel as if there was something missing. And they all knew that, that was one of their biggest mistakes, never acknowledging that mother was no longer with them.
"I would have stayed here, but I only planned on staying for a few hours. It turned out to be the whole day I guess. Anyways, I hope you're only here because you have to tell me that father changed his mind". Serena had her frown on her face, arms around her chest, and a stiff posture.
"Father did change his mind, but you haven't completely run out of the woods yet Serena. Please just come back home and listen to what he has to say."
And only silence answered back.
SERENA
"I am sorry Serena if I had really made you feel as if I did not care for you. I realize now that it must have been too much for you. A modern independent young lady and I made you feel as if you had no right to your own life. I am sorry. You don't have to marry Darien, but there is a catch darling. You don't have to marry him if he refuses your suit. If he has someone else in his life then you will have the same right." Father explained.
"Uh Serena...uh...I never mind child. I am sorry once again for my behavior." Father added as an after thought.
She was back home and in her father's study. It looked the same. Actually everything was the same, the dark wood cabinets around the far wall and the dark desk in the middle of the room. Her brother had brought her back home and retreated into his own room. Devon, her baby nephew, was sick. So she had to face her father alone. And it only made it worse, because his tone had gone from apologetic to berating her. He was still cold to her.
O.k. so that was easy. Darien would surely say no when he hears this proposal. He has Beryl in his life and he hates me. There is nothing that will keep me away from my freedom. Nothing...
DARIEN
Dad had called me back from my meeting, telling me that he had something very important to tell me. I hope it has nothing to do with the future, because at that point I am tired of thinking about my ill fate. There is just so much a person can take.
"Ah. Come in Darien. Have a seat" my father stated as he stood up from behind his large mahogany desk.
"Thank you father. Exactly what is it that you wanted me to hear so desperately?" I inquired.
"Well, it does concern your future Darien. It's about the marriage proposal. Actually David and I realized that we were being a little rude to you and Serena. So we decided that if you don't want to wed the girl and you have someone else on your mind then by all means we will end this proposal."
"That's great father. You don't even have to ask. Go ahead and tell Uncle Wright that I do not plan on marrying--"
"Wait Darien. You didn't hear the whole thing. I want you to take a while before you make your decision. I realize this matter is very important to your future. A wife should be a person you can depend on and understand. Not only that she would know how to get you in the heat. You need to understand that your wife will be the daughter-in-law of this family, so she won't be exactly marrying you only. It will be the whole family that she will have to deal with. So please take few days to make your decision. I will be waiting for your answer."
"Uhm...Alright. Then I will give you my answer tomorrow during dinner then."
And with that I left the office with my father facing toward the setting sun. I can't wait. And I can't believe this outcome; surely I thought I was going to be stuck with Serena for the rest of my life. Well now to finish off this deal with the whole marriage fiasco. I'll just go to my ladylove and tell her of this new happening. Damn, I should be happy...but somehow I still have this lingering fear that something will go wrong.
Elena Kincaid
I watched as Darien came down the stairs hurrying once more to get to his office before traffic struck.
" Darien, please come home early today. We have decided to invite the Wrights over as well for dinner" I called out as Darien took a toast and waved at me.
Seriously, that boy works too hard and tends to stay depressed. If only...If only Darien had come back from his London home a year ago, I know then that he wouldn't have turned out to be so sour. I love him like my own son, because his mother was my best friend and she was very dear to me. We were very much like sisters, but that unfortunate night. But then I wouldn't have met Damien and would have never gotten the chance to make up to my best friend. This was my repentance, my chance to receive forgiveness from her. My chance to keep her family together and happy. I'm sorry, you probably don't understand everything going on around this story, but I will explain.
We live in the outskirts of New York City. This is where we all grew up and this is where our story had begun. We were three friends. Gia, Ilene, and me. Gia is Darien and Little Michel's birth mother (Gia's youngest son, he's actually four years older than Mina but he is still such an angel that everyone treats him like a baby, especially me). Ilene is Serena's mother. We were like sisters, always there for each other and never letting the other one down. That is until I ran away to California after I graduated. I lost contact with both of them after that, but I didn't see it to even think about them then. I graduated from Stanford, California, with a degree in business and was hired by D. in New York. By then I didn't care that I was going back to New York.
Once I returned, I found out that Gia was sick and dying.
She only had few more months to live on with and she wanted me to be there for her in her last days. How could I have refused? She was my sister and she only had me at that time. Ilene herself was going through problems. She had been going through some pregnancy complications after a miscarriage and needed constant bed rest. She was better off taking care of herself then and no one blamed her for that. I wanted at least one of my sisters to be there with me. I was the foolish one, the stupid and selfish one. Fortunately I had been hired by Damien and he was happy that I could help Gia in some way. I stayed to take care of her day and night. Her death was absolute and we could do nothing but make her last days very happy. And she was. She was so happy that she had tied me to the ground. Yes, I had grown up being a mindless child, because I didn't had to depend on anyone else and no one had to depend on me, beside the girls. She tied me down to the ground for good and at this moment I can only thank her. While taking care of her I had ended up taking care of her children and her husband. Darien was still young then, unable to understand what was going on, and Michel was still a baby. They were the least affected, but Damien was another issue. We both loved her dearly and we were both suffering immensely.
She wanted us to marry, it was her last wish, and we did everything we could think of to thwart her thoughts. Damien and I fought constantly, always bickering and accusing each other. But in the end she won and within days we were married in the name of law, yet in our eyes it was nothing but a marriage of conveniences. In the end I didn't mind. I liked taking care of her children and had started to acknowledge them as my own. But that was it, after her death Darien and Michel were the only ones I had. And we saw less of Damien then Gia would have liked. I had to confront him and he broke down. We became friends and tried our best to keep our little family happy. You know what they say about friendship between a guy and girl. They never stay friends for long and in a year I was pregnant with Mina. As was Ilene, who had recovered, with Serena. We were so excited and happy. But that didn't last long either. Ilene died while giving birth to Serena. I had Mina two months before so I was pretty emotional then.
My sisters.
My best friends. My family, which now included Damien, my caring husband who eventually came to love me, Darien, my eldest son, Michel, middle son, and Mina, the youngest. I also had a friend and brother in David and beautiful niece and nephews in Serena and Andrew. This was my family now and they had given them to me. Gia and Ilene had abandoned me the same way I had abandoned them, but in the end they had left me with something. And I was going to protect that something to the very end. That is why I am hoping that Darien would make the right decision, because Serena would only strengthen the bonds of this family to even a greater extent that I could not reach. She would protect this family as well, because this was something that Gia and Ilene had left to me.
A family, the same reason I had ran away from Gia and Ilene after high school, because I never had a family of my own growing up. They had left me with a beautiful family; the same way I had left them in search for one.
Serena Wright
:Dinner Time at the Kincaid mansion:
We arrived on time and everyone was ready to start eating. I know they were actually waiting for Darien to give his decision. Well, they could try to hurry this dinner all they wanted, but the decision would remain the same. I am so confident that Darien would say no to this marriage that I even made a bet with Mina. We don't know what we would make the other do, but who cares. Mina probably will never win this bet anyways so she really doesn't need to think of a condition. I am SO happy I can burst! I am going to be free after all. After this dinner, I am going to be tension free and Darien free!
Oh...better stop gloating, because here comes Father and Uncle Damien. We're eating in the informal dinning room since it's only us. Father is seated on one side of the family sized table while Uncle Damien is on the other side. Aunty Elena is seated to his left as Mina is seated on the right. I am seated next to Aunty while Darien is sitting right in front of me. Probably because we're the center of attention at the moment. lol. But who cares! Andrew is seated right next to Darien, between my Father and him. Well, hurry up! I guess I am kind of impatient since I want to end this whole discussion already.
" Darien, I hope you know that over the years I have come to expect much from you. And one of those things is a daughter-in-law that would keep our family together and happy. In our minds, Serena is the best candidate since she is part of our family and understands our ways. I hope you won't disappoint us. So Darien, go ahead and tell us what you have decided?" Uncle Damien didn't start the conversation until we started on our desserts.
Well, he didn't need to go through that lecture and try to use that emotional blackmailing. To counter attack Uncle Damien's blackmailing, I used the only charm I knew. Which was my smile. My smile was so bright and intelligent (if it could ever do that) that it could have been saying "Go ahead Darien and pick that woman you love. Make them understand that Beryl is the love of your life and the only woman you could think to spend rest of your life with. I promise I will NEVER be offended!" Hopefully, he got the message, which I think he did and his remote face doesn't really look so good right now. Maybe it's because he is planning on going against his parent's wishes that he seems that way. Damn! It times like these that I wish I could read minds.
"Dad, I understand perfectly why you want Serena to be the daughter-in-law of this family, but I have every right to decide which woman I want to marry."
Man just get it over with! I think I am going to faint if I don't breathe. Just say it already. I think my face is turning blue already.
"The woman I want to marry is..."
And there you have it. A Cliffy. Sorry for not updating in the past few years or so, but you should understand. Having all these high and advance classes doesn't always mean that I will have a life of my own. But looking back, I have some real great new ideas for the future of this story, so I plan on finishing this one first. So keep reviewing and reading. Hope you love it.
Until Next Time!