Read A Second Chance for Free Online

record. It didn’t seem to help when she explained to her parents that Brian had moved on , and they had to accept it. Brian’s parents ’ frantic phone call only added more fuel to the fire, both families shocked and disappointed at the unexpected break - up.
    ‘This girl he ’s seeing, maybe you should talk to her . ’ H er mother wasn’t giving up, her grey eyes resentful as she spoke of the other woman. ‘Is she aware that she ’ s destroying your life, dear? I can’t imagine she would go ahead with it if she knew what it means to you, darling.’
    ‘Somehow I doubt it makes any difference, really.’ Jade had reached the point where her patience barely hung by a thread , and she decided brutal honesty might work better . ‘Brian loves her and is happy with her, not with me. He told me so himself , and there ’ s no point in pretend ing otherwise. We had a wonderful time together , but it ’ s over , and I ’ m moving on as well.’
    T hat sounded confident and final , she thought as she watched her mom carry the two mugs of tea into the living room. The excuse that she had to be somewhere else wouldn’t work ; she followed her mother and sat down with a sigh. Thank God, the weekend was almost over , and soon she would be alone again, the two days of constant reminders of her loss safely behind her.
    ‘I can’t blame him , though . ’ Looking at her daughter, Mrs. Rowley shook her dark head and lifted the cheerfully patterned mug to her lips. She sipped delicately before putting it down . ‘I was hoping that you would finally get over your teenage infatuation and start appreciating what you have, Jade. We were glad when he decided to move, I can tell you that . I thought that you would stop adoring th at boy the way you did when he was around.’
    ‘What boy?’ she asked through stiff lips, knowing the answer even before it came. Blood rushed to her face as she realized that her precious secret wasn’t so secret after all. Her desire to hide her feelings had proved to be wishful thinking.
    ‘You know very well who I mean, Jade.’ Her mother smiled weakly and bit into the biscotti that she had brought from the kitchen. ‘ Th at L atimer boy, who else? You were absolutely in love with him , and it worried me a lot. After all , he didn’t have the best reputation with girls, did he?’
    ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, m o m.’ If her mother hoped for a heart to heart talk, she would be disappointed. Even if she weren’t mortified to find out her love for Liam was so obvious, she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it to anyone , her mom included.
    ‘You were running after him like a puppy, Jade. I ’ m not blind, and I know what I saw. I didn’t say anything because I knew he was way beyond your reach. I mean, he was so much older, there was no way he was going to notice your adoration. Still, as I said, we breathed a sigh of relief when he moved to California , nevertheless .’
    You‘re wrong , she wanted to say , even if only to see her mom’s confidence shaken for once in her life. He knew how I felt because I told him. Naïve and hopeful, I laid out my cards and hoped to win the game. He rejected me and changed the way I felt about men forever. No matter how much I tried to forget him, he’s still here, in my blood and in my mind, like a disease I can never get rid of.
    ‘ Th o se are old days that you’re talking about , ’ Jade said instead, her eyes veiled as she looked at her mom. ‘ It has nothing to do with Brian and our break up. I haven’t seen Liam in years, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Even Laura — she only writes me twice a year , and we ’ re barely in touch.’
    ‘She did call here last week , though . ’ Mrs. Rowley glanced at her daughter, eager to read her expression. ‘ She a sked about you. She left her new number, said the old one wasn’t working anymore , and she wanted to talk to you whenever you’ve got time. I