Jacob couldn't help but burst into laughter. It was true that he was now not as cold as he used to be. At least now he could smile without a care in the world. He had feelings like most people did.
"Honey, I meant what I said today. Don't worry, I'll make sure to take good care of you and father in the future. I know I owe you so much, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to you." His replies had gotten longer over time.
Sara stared into oblivion with her phone in her hand. She couldn't think of a reply for quite some time.
Despite the fact that they got to where they were now, the past still came back to haunt them every now and then. Either way, they knew they were already past it, and they would proudly wear those scars as they went on with their lives. But Sara could feel him trying to heal the scar himself.
She felt it, and she could tell how he was struggling to heal. But she knew that he was genuinely trying. Those who hadn't tried their best didn't deserve to be forgiven.
Therefore, at that very moment, she knew for herself that he deserved to be given another shot. It didn't necessarily mean that as long as he worked hard, she would definitely forgive the person who had wronged her.
But one thing was clear to her: Jacob wasn't only working hard, but he was also constantly trying to fix that broken part of himself.
Jacob waited for a few minutes with his mobile phone in his hand, but there was no sign of reply from her. He thought that she had fallen asleep, so he checked his phone again and again, while cold sweat of anxiety started showing up in his forehead.
"Thank you," Sara replied in a text.
The ding of the phone shook him as he started to drown in his nervousness. Gradually, he felt a sense of relief as he wore a determined look on his face.
"No, I should thank you. I am so grateful that you gave me another shot to make it up to you. But, let's move on from now on, okay? I know time will heal all wounds."
"Okay," she replied again.
He was lost in thought as soon as he read the rather brief message she sent him. They couldn't see each other's expression on the screen, and they had no idea what each other was thinking about.
A reply that only said "Okay" could mean a lot of things. So he couldn't help but be uncertain of what she truly felt.
Meanwhile, Sara put down her phone and prepared to say good night to him. Today was a long day, indeed, but she felt that it was also a new, hopeful beginning.
'We can always start anew every day. I only realized it now, ' she thought.
"Time for bed. Good night! I'll wake you up early tomorrow for breakfast."
He said his farewell, too, before he turned off his phone's screen as he went down to bed.
It wasn't until at this very moment that he began to look around with keen eyes. It was a pink room. The bed sheet, the blanket, and even the walls were all pink. The whole space was pulsating with feminine vibe.
He shrugged his shoulders helplessly, and stood up to scan the room.
It was quite clear that he was feeling a little off as soon as he realized the room's design. He walked over to a small table and he saw that there were a lot of toys on top of it.
Dolls, clay figurines, and action figures—all sorts of toys. He was caught off-guard when he saw a pair of kissing clay figurines. They looked strangely familiar to him. He picked both of them up, and examined each of them further until he finally remembered something.
These were that very same clay figurines that she absolutely adored at first glance during the one and only time that they shopped together as husband and wife. He could still remember how she was obsessed with these clay figurines that she didn't seem to want to leave as she stood in front of them. The thought of him feeling that she was acting too childish was still fresh in his memory.
He never once saw these again since that day. He frowned as he realized that they had been here all this time.
He sighed as he wondered how much happiness she was feeling back when she brought these clay figurines back home. He felt ashamed of how he was too detached back then. He not only misjudged her sincerity, but subsequently intended hurting someone who only wanted to express herself.
He took a good last glance at them, and moved on. 'Didn't I just promise to forget everything about the past?' he thought.
It wasn't that he was intentionally remembering it, but he just couldn't forget such a thing.
He moved on to look at the two photos resting on the same table.
The first one was a photo of Sara's family. It was a fairly old photo, seeing that her parents were still pretty young. Sara, on the other hand, wore an innocent smile of a little girl. They were happily hugging each other in the photo with smiles on the faces.
He stared at it for a good while. He could only imagine how much she must have missed her mother after she left, but he never once saw her express it in front of him. Maybe she decided that some things were better left unsaid.
What he knew right now—that Sara was suffering, and that he knew what she hoped for—should be more than enough. A person would always leave a warm place for himself. And when he encountered difficulties in life, only then would he have a place to settle down and reflect on the situation.
She looked straight at him. All of a sudden, the warm feeling came over her again as she was realizing that she was finally starting to have good, meaningful relationship with him. At the same time, she couldn't help but think that that feeling was always there all along, waiting to be woken up again.
'How I wish time could stop at the moment when we first met, but that doesn't change the fact that I will still love you as we grow old, ' she thought to herself. At that very moment, there was a shimmering glimmer of light in her amber eyes.
"Did father wake up yet?" he asked. He turned around and looked at her as if waiting for her response.
She nodded in agreement, and replied, "Yes, he's up."
He turned back again and continued putting his clothes on. He stretched out his right arm, and gently wrapped it around her neck, subsequently pulling her closer to him again.
"Why are you staring at me, wifey?" His banter made her blush as soon as she heard him.
"What's the matter? Am I not allowed to stare?" she replied as she tried to push him away.
He didn't expect her to respond that way, but he humored her. "You're right, honey. Stare at me all you want. It's my pleasure to be watched by you."
He pushed Sara down on the bed as soon as he finished uttering those words. She was caught off-guard as she lost her balance.
"What are you doing?!" She only managed to say those words before her lips got covered by his.
"Honey, this is what I should also do, right?" His hands started caressing her body under her clothes as he spoke.
She looked at him with an embarrassed expression, and stated, "Not now. We can't let father know about this. I don't have any idea what I'll say to him if he finds out."
He simply smiled, and continued, "Don't worry, he won't interrupt us. It's so early in the morning. No one is out there to disturb us."
He never actually intended to go all the way. He only did it to tease her. Just as he continued to move his fingers across her body, several knocks came on the door.
Carlos stood outside, and asked, "Sara, have you woken Jacob up yet?"
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