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A Second Chance
A Second Chance
Author: Love Egbejale

Prologue

Author: Love Egbejale
last update Last Updated: 2022-11-30 03:17:19

"For dust we are, and unto dust, we shall return. May the soul of our dearly departed brother, son, father and friend rest in peace.” The priest’s voice reverberated in the otherwise quiet cemetery. 

Amaliah’s gray eyes were glazed over; raw, dull and full of grief. She was in shock, and she would’ve collapsed on the floor and rolled into the freshly dug grave if it was not for her mother’s firm grip on her arm and her friend's support on her other side.

She reached up and ran her hands through her loose ponytail, raking her fingers over her scalp. She didn't care if she bled, all she wanted was the pain and relief that came with doing that. The scrunchie she had put in place to hold her hair came off, and her lush brown hair cascaded down her shoulders. 

Her limbs were stiff and her legs threatened to give way under her. A dizzying feeling washed over her and bile rose in her throat. The coffin was lowered into the open grave, and Amaliah started to tremble. 

The priest grabbed a handful of dirt from a nearby pile and poured it on the casket, muttering prayers and reciting corresponding bible verses. 

“Ms Rivers, it’s time to say goodbye.” The priest informed her in a gentle yet firm tone. She shrugged off her mother’s grip and moved towards the pile of dirt. 

She shivered as the chilly wind enveloped her, and for a brief moment, she wished she hadn’t been headstrong about putting on a coat. The last thing she needed at the moment was coming down with an illness. 

She had to be strong, now more than ever. The gloomy and oppressive weather matched the solemnity of the service. It seemed as though the universe was in sync with Amaliah’s grief.

Friends and wellwishers of the family watched with morose and sympathetic expressions as she crouched down and let her hand sink into the damp dirt. 

She thought of her husband, who was being buried. This was it. After she paid her last respects, the grave would be covered and the headstone would be lowered. 

He would be gone forever. She would never hear his cheerful chatter when she got home from work, he would never be there to massage her feet, diligently share the cooking and house chores with her, lift her spirits when she was feeling down. 

She almost burst out laughing right there and then. It all seemed like one extravagant prank or dark humor, and she half expected him to jump out from behind the trees and laugh at everyone’s sober faces. 

Rafael could be such a clown sometimes, and he liked to call himself a prank lord. It was something he could easily pull off, even if it took him a month to plan and execute everything.

However, even as those thoughts coursed through her mind, she knew he was gone. There was no turning back time, and she realized that it was truly the living that suffered. 

She curled her hand around the damp dirt and grabbed a handful. She staggered to the front of the open grave and let the dirt drift from her hand onto the coffin where her husband’s body was enclosed. 

The little stones in the dirt struck the coffin, and the sound echoed throughout the cemetery. She knew she would never forget that sound of stone against wood, for as long as she lived. 

Her mother-in-law stepped forward to pay her last respects. She packed a handful of dirt as Amaliah had, and poured it onto the coffin. Her face was grim and unsmiling, but there were no tears on her cheeks. Amaliah guessed she was probably in too much shock to cry, and she didn't blame the woman. She still couldn't believe it herself.

Her parents and all their friends stepped forward to pay their last respects as they dropped flowers or dirt onto the grave, making the sign of the cross or saying a prayer as they did.

She watched, still in shock as the grave was covered up by the gravediggers. The headstone was lowered, and it read:

Here lies Rafael Rivers; beloved brother, son, father and friend. 1989 - 2019.

The clergyman said the final prayers and did the sign of the cross. 

"We pray for the repose of his soul. May the good Lord comfort the beautiful family he left behind."  

It was over, Amaliah realized. Rafael had been buried. It was no prank. Friends and family came up to her to offer their condolences. They mumbled hurried, unintelligible words as they patted her back or gave her a brief hug.

She wanted to tell them that time wasn't going to heal this wound, and that she wasn't sure everything was going to be okay. She had lost her best friend and nothing was okay at the moment. 

But she didn't say anything, and they continued to come up to her and mutter the words they felt would make her feel better, as she struggled to grasp the concept of the fragility of life. One minute someone was here, and the next minute they were gone forever. What a waste it was.

After everyone had dispersed, she sat in front of the headstone and refused to budge despite the pleadings from her parents and friend. She caressed the black marble and closed her eyes. She imagined him running his finger along her skin, with his bare skin pressed against hers in the most intimate way possible.

She didn't budge even when the downpour started, and she lay down beside the marble and talked to him about the most random things. The sleeting, needle-like rain pounded into her skin and seeped into her bones, and there she fell unconscious.

It was time to mourn and then move on because that was what Rafael would’ve wanted. He would’ve wanted her to move on with her life and be as happy as she could be. Or so she thought.  

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Related chapters

  • A Second Chance   Chapter One

    Amaliah's friend, Sheila Brown was perched on the kitchen counter eating from a bag of chips and chatting with Amaliah when the latter's phone rang. “Hello, am I onto Amaliah Rivers?” a gruff voice spoke up on the other end the instant Amaliah picked up the phone. “Yes, this is Amaliah Rivers speaking. Who is asking?” She placed her cellphone between her ear and her shoulder and continued to chop carrots for the salad she was making. “This is Ted Williams. I'll go straight to the point ma'am. I work for a loan shark, and we deal with loans and investments. Your now-deceased husband, Rafael Rivers took up a loan of $350,000 with an interest of $150,000 to be paid back after five months. All attempts to get across to him have been futile, and after making our findings, we heard that he was buried three months ago. Fortunately, I was able to get your contact information from a source. So I'm calling now to know how and when you intend to make the payment." The knife clattered to th

    Last Updated : 2022-11-30
  • A Second Chance   Chapter Two

    Whenever they were asked, Rafael would say it was love at first sight. It was for him, but his wife didn’t quite agree that it was so on her part. For Amaliah, it was an intense attraction at first sight, but it wasn’t love, she was sure about it. They met on a Thursday afternoon at the beginning of the summer, after Amaliah’s shift at the coffee shop downtown. He had first caught sight of her a few days before then, but she had no idea. She had been standing in front of the coffee shop, consoling a lady whose shoulders were heaving with sobs. From their body language, he guessed they were friends, and he watched in admiration as Amaliah finally succeeded in making the crying friend smile and wipe her tears. It was a beautiful view, and he felt good watching them. Not many people could make someone smile after they just cried their eyes out. He came to the coffee shop for a few days after that, watching her until he was able to take note of when she usually got off work. On that Th

    Last Updated : 2022-11-30
  • A Second Chance   Chapter Three

    “Hey girl!” Sheila called as she let herself into the small brownstone. No one had answered the doorbell, so she guessed Amaliah was either cooking or cleaning and didn’t hear it ring. She went through the small hallway and stopped briefly in puzzlement when she noticed that everywhere was dark. The curtains were drawn and a putrid smell hit her nostrils. Clothes, toys and stuff littered every corner, and the kitchen was in worse condition. There were several pots of burnt food on the counter, dirty dishes piled high and all the cabinets were open, with the contents haphazardly fit into them, as if someone had hurriedly shoved them in. Sheila's face registered shock. Amaliah was the neatest and most organized person she had ever had the honor of knowing, so this scene in front of her eyes meant something was terribly wrong. She hurried to Amaliah’s room but didn’t find her there. “Amaliah! Where are you girl!?” Sheila called out, her voice sounding more frantic this time. Had t

    Last Updated : 2022-12-01
  • A Second Chance   Chapter Four

    “I want to marry you, Amaliah, and I will,” Rafael said to her one day. Her shift had just ended, and she was heading for the bus stop. As it had become his tradition for the past week, Rafael was walking her to the bus stop. He sauntered beside her, back walked and even skipped. She laughed at his child-like enthusiasm and realized that it was one of the things that had drawn him to her the very first day they had met. He had a kind of inner joy, one that seemed to be unquenchable and she envied him that joy. She loved people who could be happy, no matter the situation they found themselves in. She was not one of such people; she could not keep her joy when she was hurt, disappointed or in any form of pain. She was an emotional person, and could not mask her emotions no matter how hard she tried. “You just like saying a lot of nonsense, don’t you? ” she glared at him playfully. Even as she did, she knew he was right. She would probably marry him and the realization both scared and

    Last Updated : 2022-12-02
  • A Second Chance   Chapter Five

    “You’re pregnant?” Sheila was stunned. Amaliah was out of the doctor’s office, after being handed the test results. She had read the pregnancy result over and over but it still hadn’t registered on her mind. “It appears so.” Amaliah sat down hard on the chair in the waiting room and the envelope that contained her test results flitted to the floor. Sheila picked it up and opened it. She perused the pregnancy test and her jaw dropped in shock. A new baby? With everything that was going on? Could Amaliah handle a baby with everything that was going on? "But, how? When? I don't understand." Amaliah didn't respond. She knew how, and when, of course. It was on a Friday, two weekends before Rafael died. The twins were spending that weekend with her parents, and Amaliah had been determined to make it as romantic as possible. Rafael and herself had been having little problems, and she hated it when they had problems even though it was inevitable in any marriage. Rafael was out, and on her

    Last Updated : 2022-12-03
  • A Second Chance   Chapter Six

    “I might be getting an abortion.” Amaliah spoke up after twenty minutes of companionable silence. Her face was turned and she was looking out of the window, looking out to things unknown. Sheila was driving them to her own house because she didn’t want Amaliah to be alone in her house, surrounded with memories and scents of Rafael that could trigger her. She maintained a calm demeanor and a bland face, even if her heart was breaking. She had known, since Amaliah found out she was pregnant, that there was an eighty percent chance that Amaliah would opt for an abortion instead of facing the reality of raising a child alone in the absence of her husband and with the looming presence of huge debts. “You might? Have you thought carefully about it?” she asked casually. There was a long moment of silence. Sheila had become used to the sudden bouts of painful silence. She felt sorry and helpless because she couldn’t seem to do anything to alleviate her friend’s suffering. “Well, it’s ine

    Last Updated : 2022-12-04
  • A Second Chance   Chapter Seven

    It was almost two weeks after Amaliah found out she was pregnant. The girls were still with her parents. It had been quiet. Quiet and heartbreaking because Amaliah had been receiving rejection mail after rejection mail. Sheila had tried to encourage her, but it was to no avail. Skyline Corp hadn’t gotten back to them and Sheila was anxious. She hoped that would be the big break they needed. She had gotten a therapist for Amaliah and Amaliah had objected heatedly at first. “I’m not going crazy, neither am I on the edge of going crazy.” she glared at Sheila. “And I certainly do not appreciate the way you try to do things on your own without asking me first. If I didn’t come out for a drink of water yesterday, you would not have told me about the job until you were done applying.” “Like I said yesterday, I’m just trying to help you Amaliah. Please, don’t push me away. This therapy will be good for you. Please.” Amaliah had eventually relented and had been going thrice a week but sa

    Last Updated : 2022-12-05
  • A Second Chance   Chapter Eight

    “Amaliah will be fine. She collapsed due to an incredibly high blood pressure. The baby is fine as well.” the doctor informed Arturo. Arturo nodded. Then his eyes widened. He wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. “Ba…b…baby? Did you say baby?” he stuttered, staring at the doctor with unfocused eyes. A baby?! “Yes, Mrs Rivers is pregnant.” the doctor’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea that you weren’t aware.” “It’s alright. Thanks for your help.” Arturo forced a smile. “Can I take my leave now?” “In a minute sir. I would like to discuss the effects of high blood pressure in pregnancy. Severe and uncontrolled blood pressure can be deadly. It can cause problems for Mrs Rivers and the baby and could even lead to the loss of the baby’s life or a stillbirth." The doctor said. "This is because a high blood pressure may reduce the blood flow to the placenta which may result in the baby not getting enough nutrients and oxygen. High blood pressure, also known as chronic hypertensi

    Last Updated : 2022-12-06

Latest chapter

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty Eight

    Amaliah sat stiffly behind the glass, her fingers curled tightly around the pendant Caesar had given her, clutching it like a talisman. Two weeks had passed since the first trial, and Rafael had been requesting to see her ever since. Both Caesar and Sheila had warned her against it, urging her not to go. But her mother’s voice echoed in her head—“Just see him one last time.”Caesar had postponed an important meeting just to drive her to the correctional facility. He was waiting outside, unwilling to let her face this alone. Knowing he was nearby gave her the strength to remain seated as the door buzzed open and Rafael was led in, handcuffed and flanked by an officer.He sat across from her, the cold metal chair screeching as he pulled it out. For a moment, he simply stared at her before reaching for the phone mounted beside the glass. Amaliah hesitated, then mirrored his action, pressing the receiver to her ear."I'm here. What could you possibly have to say that hasn’t already been

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty Seven

    The first witness, Detective Briggs, was called to the stand.“I was the lead officer on the kidnapping case. We obtained CCTV footage showing one of the defendants—Rafael Rivers—leaving the school premises with the children. The girls were reported missing hours later. The cabin they were kept in was rented under a false name—Anastasia Knight’s cousin.”“Was there any indication the children were harmed?” the prosecutor asked.“They weren’t physically harmed, but they were confused, disoriented, and crying for their mother. Upon their arrest, Mr. Rivers grabbed an officer’s gun and shot Mr. Masterson, who had been comforting the girls at the time.”Amaliah’s breath caught in her throat, and Caesar’s grip on her hand tightened.The next witness, a child psychologist, took the stand, having interviewed the girls.“They were confused and terrified. They were told they were going on a ‘surprise vacation.’ But as days passed without contact with their mother, the older twin began crying e

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty Six

    Amaliah arrived at the hospital with her daughters, who had insisted on accompanying her to see Caesar. Knowing his room number, they took the elevator to the second floor, stepped out when it arrived, and walked down the hallway to his room. His name was displayed on a plaque that was on the wall near the door, but she hesitated, glancing at her outfit—a short-sleeved green floral maternity dress paired with green sandals and her hair pulled into a ponytail. The girls wore matching white and pink polka dot dresses with white shoes."Are you ready, Mama?" Madisyn asked.Amaliah chuckled softly, nodding. "Yeah, I think so."Micaela raised her small hand to knock on the door, but before she could, it slid open. Amaliah froze as Caesar's mother, Charlotte, stood in the doorway. Amaliah quickly pulled the girls to her side as Charlotte stepped out, leaving the door open and brushing past her without a word.The girls went inside first, their excited chatter breaking Amaliah from her thou

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty Five

    The night air was thick with tension as Caesar crouched behind the car parked out front, his gaze fixed on the cabin ahead. The floodlights were off, the only sound was the soft murmurs of the police officers positioned around the perimeter. They had parked a good distance away, choosing to approach on foot to avoid alerting Rafael to their presence.Detective Briggs crouched beside him, his expression tense as his eyes scanned the surroundings. “Surveillance confirms the twins are inside. They’re in the back room. Guarded by one man—Rafael’s cousin. Also... there’s a woman with them.”Caesar’s chest tightened at the mention of a woman. He already had a sinking feeling he knew who it was. “Who is it?” he asked, his voice cold, steady.“Miss Anastasia Knight,” Briggs replied, confirming his worst suspicion.The name struck Caesar like a punch to the gut. He clenched his jaw and fought to suppress the flare of anger. “We go in silent. No mistakes.”Briggs nodded sharply, his eyes steel

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty Four

    Caesar leaned heavily against the mahogany desk in his study, rubbing his temples in frustration. His phone buzzed again. Amaliah. No—still no response. He let it ring out, hoping it would dull the gnawing ache in his chest. It wasn’t her—it was the detective, calling with another update.Still nothing.He’d been working quietly with the police behind Amaliah’s back, desperate to locate the place Rafael was hiding the twins. But every lead had turned cold.He ended the call with a heavy sigh, but before he could sink further into his thoughts, a knock broke the silence.“Come in,” he called, straightening slightly, not looking up.The door creaked open, revealing Anastasia Knight in a sleek black dress that clung to every curve, her lips curled into a sly smile. A smile that screamed trouble.“Long time, Caesar,” she purred, eyes drifting over the study before landing on him.He stiffened. “Anastasia? What the hell are you doing here?” Where were his staff? He'd given one of the house

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty Three

    When Rafael refused to stay away from Amaliah despite her repeated pleas and continued stalking her at both her home and workplace, Caesar urged her to file for a restraining order. A police officer served Rafael the legal documents within the week.Not even seven days later, Amaliah’s new attorney—Denise Jordan, a sharp and seasoned professional recommended by Caesar—served Rafael with divorce papers. Enraged by what he perceived as betrayal and furious that Amaliah would dare end their relationship without giving him another chance, Rafael swore vengeance. Specifically, he vowed to ruin whatever relationship she had with Caesar.A few days later, Amaliah received a chilling call from the twins’ school: Rafael had come to pick up Madisyn and Micaela—and they had gone with him willingly. Her heart pounded as she tried calling his number, but it was switched off. She suspected right away that he had gotten rid of the phone to avoid being tracked.Panic-stricken and barely able to thi

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty Two

    A few days later Word of Rafael’s miraculous “resurrection” spread quickly among Amaliah’s friends and family. The girls were thrilled that their father was back, but Amaliah refused to let them see him, much to Rafael’s annoyance. Still, he soon realized there was little he could do to change her mind.Despite her refusal, Rafael became relentless, calling Amaliah every hour. If she didn’t answer, he’d try her house or even Sheila. When Caesar returned from his trip, he bypassed going home and went straight to Amaliah’s place.Amaliah had been working from home, but she found herself missing the office, especially with Rafael’s constant calls and visits. She ignored every attempt—every call, every knock—but it didn’t stop him. Caesar had just stepped out of the car when he spotted Rafael loitering near the house.Their eyes locked. Rafael’s gaze burned with hatred, and Caesar stood still, waiting for him to approach. It had been over seven years since they'd last crossed paths, and

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty One

    A week later Amaliah had just ended her phone call with Caesar when the doorbell rang. Caesar was away on a business trip in Thailand, and she had been worried sick after seeing reports of the tsunami that had struck part of the country. Relief washed over her when she finally got through to him, and he reassured her that he had left Thailand a day before the disaster occurred.With that peace of mind, she made her way to the door, expecting the delivery guy Caesar had mentioned. But when she opened it, it wasn't the delivery she had anticipated—it was Rafael, standing there with a bouquet of red roses.Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. She had desperately hoped it had all been a dream—that he was gone, that he hadn't returned. But the sharp, undeniable reality settled in as she felt her babies kick inside her. This was no dream."Hello, Amaliah," Rafael greeted, a small, cautious smile playing on his lips.Amaliah gripped the door handle, steadying herself. This

  • A Second Chance   Chapter Sixty

    “Can I come in?” Rafael asked, stepping forward.Amaliah stiffened, her jaw clenching at his audacity, and then she slammed the door in his face, turning the lock as well. On wooden legs, she walked back to the living room and settled down on the sofa, feeling her chest tighten. She rubbed the spot with the heel of her hand as memories flashed through her mind at lightning speed.Memories flooded her mind—the late-night call from the police informing her of her husband's death, the horrifying sight of his charred body after his car exploded with him inside. The funeral, the agonizing weeks that followed, and the dark thoughts of ending her own life. And yet, he was alive? He had faked his death? Amaliah struggled to grasp the reality before her.Her breath hitched. The room tilted. Her vision blurred at the edges. She gasped, willing herself to stay present, but the pressure in her chest only worsened. With trembling fingers, she reached for her phone and dialed the first number in h

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