My Ex- Husband Wants A Second Chance

The following morning, as I was getting a charge out of breakfast with my dad, a knock on the door startled us both.

Dad, who was busy taking a nibble, froze with his fork suspended most of the way to his lips.

“Are you expecting anyone?” I asked, putting down my coffee.

He shook his head, seeming just as perplexed as I felt. “Not really.”

Curiosity won me, so I got up and walked to the door, the soft carpet muffling my footfall.

A strange feeling of pain swept over me as I grabbed for the handle, but I ignored it. It was probably just one of the neighbors.

I opened the door, and there he was.

Liam.

Our eyes met instantly, and I stopped, my breath seizing in my throat.

My heart hammered in my chest, each pulse louder than the previous. The world appeared to shrink down to just the two of us, the rest of the apartment vanishing into the background.

Standing before me was my ex-husband, Liam Gabson.. my first love, the guy who had once meant everything to me.

For a minute, none of us spoke.

He seemed just as astonished as I was, his typically strong visage tinted with something softer, something almost vulnerable.

Finally, he broke the silence. “Soph.”

His voice was the same, deep and silky, exactly as at the Art Exhibition and it sent a chill down my spine.

I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself, but the memories came flooding back.. our wedding day, the laughing, the disputes, the way he had destroyed my heart on our anniversary.

“Liam,” I managed to utter, my voice barely above a whisper.

He shuffled slightly, as if undecided whether to walk inside or remain where he was.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just… checking on Mr. Greenwoods. Wanted to see how he’s settling in.”

It took a while for his comments to take in. Mr. Greenwoods. My dad. Of course, he was here for him.

I tried to arrange my thought, but my head felt as if it was slow motion.

"He's doing great," I replied at last, my voice sounding far even to my own ears.

As my dad stood up, I heard his chair scrape across the floor behind me.

“Is that Liam?” he yelled out, his tone warm and friendly.

I stood aside, allowing Liam to enter.

My dad emerged at the doorway to the kitchen, a grin lighting across his face as he spotted Liam.

“There you are!” my dad cried, coming up to welcome him. “Good to see you, son. You’ve been such a great assistance since I arrived back to New York.”

Liam returned the grin, but I noted the way his glance flashed toward me before he reacted.

“It’s nothing, Mr. Greenwoods. Just wanted to make sure you were settling in alright.”

I stood there, feeling like an alien in my own father’s house.

“You’ve been taking care of him?” I asked, trying to keep the astonishment out of my voice.

Liam nodded, his look serious now. “I’ve been checking in on him since he moved in last week. I know how much it matters to him to have someone around.”

A tremendous flood of feeling poured through me.. wrath, perplexity, but also something that seemed dangerously near to thankfulness.

Why hadn’t my dad informed me any of this?

“Why didn’t you mention it?” I questioned, looking to my dad.

He shrugged, a bit too nonchalantly. “Didn’t think it was a big deal. Liam’s simply been helping out. And furthermore, I thought you two may.. you know, talk things out.”

My dad wanted us to reconcile, he's always desired that, to somehow find our way back to one other after all that had transpired.

The concept sent a cold shudder down my spine.

I flashed my father a glare that could have melted ice. "Talk things out?" I repeated incredulously. "Is that why you didn't mention Liam would be here?"

Dad shrugged again, but I could see the uneasiness seeping into his countenance. "I just figured, you know, since he's here anyway, he might as well say hi."

I looked back to Liam, my lips twisting into a frown. "Thanks for the visit, Liam, but I believe we've both spoken what we needed to say. Isn't that right?”

Liam cleared his throat, breaking the tension. “I didn’t want to cause any trouble, Sophie. I simply wanted to help.”

I didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to reply to the abrupt emergence of this guy before me. All I knew was that standing there, with my dad’s optimistic eyes on us and Liam’s presence so near, I felt like I was drowning.

“Thank you, Liam,” I eventually murmured, pushing the words out. “For looking after him.”

Liam’s stare softened, and for a short moment, I caught a flicker of the guy I had fallen in love with all those years before.

“It’s the least I could do.”

My dad clasped his hands together, apparently happy with how things were going. “Why don’t you join us for breakfast, Liam? There’s enough to go around.”

Liam halted, staring at me as if asking for permission.

I offered a slight nod, not trusting myself to speak.

He moved deeper inside the flat, and I closed the door behind him, feeling a weird combination of comfort and dread.

like we sat down at the table, I couldn’t help but note how natural Liam looked in my dad’s place, like if he belonged there.

The ease with which they chatted, the way my dad chuckled at something Liam said.. it all seemed too familiar, too natural.

But for me, it was everything but.

Throughout the lunch, I was hyper-aware of Liam’s every move, every look he shot in my way.

My thoughts kept spinning, wondering what his goals were, why he was suddenly so engaged in my dad’s well-being.

Was this merely his method of making apologies, or was there anything more to it?