Revenge, Rebirth and Second Chances

Meeting him Once Again

Snapping out of her thoughts, Merissa looked up to see Justin taking a seat beside her on one of the bar stools.

"Why the long-face Miss Lopez?"

Justin had seen her face change from relaxed to sad and wondered what she was thinking. Although if he could guess, it definitely would be something he had heard about that asshole of her husband, Aaron Young. Justin didn't know how she could stay for that long with someone like Aaron. He had known her when they were kids, and they used to play together. Her father and his father, although business rivals, had been good friends, and they would often visit their home for a family vacation. They had an obvious understanding that the other would never do business in the places they had first set up. It was only after she had married that asshole of her husband that they started expanding their business where his business had been. It had started slowly with them starting their business in areas where his dad had already set up for a long time and now openly taking his clients away from them. Justin had tried to talk to her, but that bastard of her husband had always stopped him somehow and told him not to. He had tried to hate Merissa, but he couldn't forget the small cute little girl who would follow him around in his parent's house and would try to share her toys with him when he visited theirs. He remembered how she would cry whenever he got hurt and would only stop when he would hold her close to him and tell her that he was fine. He couldn't forget that, and the idea that she was the one doing this to their dad's friendship and their friendship had hurt him badly.

It was only when Jacob Maxwell, their common friend, had pointed out to him how it only started happening when Aaron had married her and that Aaron wouldn't let him meet Merissa, that he felt something was wrong and started investigating it. He couldn't believe how Merissa had been oblivious to what Aaron had been doing to her. He hated Aaron for doing that to her, but there was nothing that he could do. Aaron wouldn't let her out of his sight and he didn't know what Aaron had said to her about him, but she had stopped talking to him and cut her ties with him to the point that she would turn around and pretend not to see him when they met at gala events or by chance at airports or event halls. It had hurt him more, but not as much as thinking that she had deliberately spoiled their friendship. He also knew it was somewhat his fault, as when he hadn't known what Aaron was doing, he had said a few words in anger and done some things that he knew would have hurt her.

It was the first time after a long time that he had seen her in a bar. Since her dad's death, she hadn't visited a bar or any other place other than for business purposes. He knew that through the investigation he had done as well as through their mutual friends. And now that she was there, he wasn't sure what changed her mind, but he was glad to see her. That little girl he had known had changed a lot, he thought, as he checked her out. When he saw her dancing from behind, he hadn't known it was her, but he had felt a stir within him wanting to know her. He had followed her over to the bar to get to know the lady who had caused a stir both in his heart and his d**k. It was only after he had asked her the question about what she was doing here alone that he had taken a look at her face properly to see who it was. He was stunned, but hearing no response from her and ignoring him again hadn't sat well with him this time, and he wanted to know what she was doing there. Leaning closer to her, he asked her again.

"So what are you doing here, mi angel?"

Hearing the name he used to call her when they were little kids, as well as his closeness to her, increased Merissa's heartbeat. It felt to her like it would pop out any second. Swallowing, she replied,

"Enjoying with my friend Mr. Woods, and please keep your distance. I am a married woman."

She had once liked saying that, but now she didn't even want to call herself married. She wanted to erase it from her life, but she also needed space to have her sanity. Being close to Justin affected her ability to think clearly. He did something to her that she wasn't sure she wanted to explore, and it had been the same when they were kids too. He was her first kiss after all, and she had a crush on him when they were little. She had even dreamed of them being married once, but now she didn't even want to think about it. Yet the closer he got to her, the more it made her remember her first kiss.

Flashback 8 years ago

"Go on a coffee date with me?"

Kelvin asked her when she was just 15. Kelvin was a year older than her, but they attended the same school, and he was the sports captain of their school and also the captain of the basketball team. He had caught up with her one day after school and asked her so casually that she wasn't sure he was asking her out. Looking around, she had seen a lot of their classmates stop around waiting to hear her answer. The girls were giving her the stinky eye, obviously jealous that Kelvin had asked her instead of them.

"Come on, say yes."

She could hear someone saying from the crowd but she didn't know who it was. She had accepted it, and after that coffee date, they had started dating. It had only been 5 months when she had found him outside their school gate with his hand around the queen bee of the school, Chloe Thomson, while she was stuck to him like the bee she was, gets stuck to honey. They had their lips interlocked in a deep kiss.

" What the f**k are you guys doing " she had shouted, although it was obvious what they were doing.

Hearing her, Kelvin and Chloe had parted but it was the next words from him that had stuck her badly.

" I am sorry, Merrissa, but I love Chloe. We had been seeing each other for a while. I had wanted to tell you but well you know now." He had just shrugged his shoulders like what she had seen wasn't a big deal.

Not wanting to let them see her tears, she had left them after telling him they were over. But once she had reached home she had cried for a long time and even refused to eat dinner. It was her mom and dad who had decided that they needed a vacation and had taken her to New York the next day. She hadn't been in the mood to enjoy anything, still feeling hurt, but was glad to have some change of environment and not be going to school to see both of them. But what she hadn't expected out of that vacation was Justin kissing her. Whenever they visited New York, they always spent a day with the Woods family. Seeing her sad throughout the day and not enjoying, had made Justin feel bad and he wanted her smile to be back. It was just before dinner when he had a moment alone with her without their parents around them when he asked her what was wrong. Not in the mood to talk, Merissa had simply ignored it and told him to leave it alone. It was after he constantly pestered her that she had told him what had happened, and that was when the kiss had happened unexpectedly.