Chapter 53 - Another Chance

Hilda arrived at the hospital right after she finished working. She asked Paulina if Ace could stay there for awhile and Paulina, being the kind and loving woman that she was, agreed. It was already seven thirty at night when she arrived. She quickly made a pit stop at a Chinese restaurant near the hospital that sells the best wonton soup, Kyle's favourite.

She stopped by and said her greetings to the nurses in the reception before heading to Kyle's room. The door was left slightly ajar and Hilda heard series of laughter from the inside. She took a peek inside and saw that Kyle wasn't alone. Lucas was there again, playing a board game with him. But this time, it wasn't only the two of them. Hilda saw a little girl, probably the same age as Ace, sitting beside her son on the bed. She was excitedly pointing at the board game and both her and Kyle laughed as Lucas groaned in defeat.

"We won again!" Kyle exclaimed as he high-five the little girl.

"I'm hungry, Daddy." The little girl cooed to Lucas, making her puppy-dog face that no one could resist. Hilda's heart stopped beating for awhile as the realization sank in. The little girl beside his son was Lucas' daughter, Kyle's half-sister, Hilda thought.

"How 'bout pizza night? Does that sound like a plan?" Lucas asked the kids. Kyle and Chloe looked at each other, grinned, then gave Lucas two thumbs up. "Okay, I'm gonna make the phone call." He announced as he stood from the chair and went to the far corner of the room to make the call.

Hilda then decided to walk in as Lucas was occupied. "Hi Mom!" Kyle excitedly greeted her. She kissed the top of his head and said her greetings.

That seemed to catch Lucas' attention as he glanced back at them and shot her a smile. "I bought some of your favourite wonton soup." She told Kyle.

"Aw, but I want to eat pizza..." He pouted in dismay.

Lucas put the man he was speaking to on hold and glanced back at Hilda. "I hope you don't mind if I buy him pizza. He's okay to eat it right?" Lucas asked, unsure if his son was even allowed to eat junk food because of his health condition.

Hilda nodded and shot him a reassuring smile. "It's fine, go ahead and order." She told him. She was about placed the soup on the bedside table when a small, tiny hand gripped her own, halting her actions.

Hilda peered at the little girl, holding gently to her hand, and stared at her in wonder. "I want some soup. May I have some?" Her sweet, tiny voice asked in a soft tone.

"Of course." Hilda answered with a warm smile. The little girl beamed widely at her and thanked her. Hilda couldn't help but feel her heart melt by the little girl's smile. She sure knew how to charm people with her captivating smile. Even Hilda couldn't let herself get angry at the innocent little girl for being her ex-husband's child from another woman. "But let's let it cool a bit, okay? It's still very hot." She informed her.

"Okay." The little girl bobbed her pretty, little head up and down in understanding.

"What's your name anyway, sweetie?" Hilda asked her as she sat on the chair Lucas was formerly sitting on.

"My name is Chloe!" She told her. "What's your name?" She tilted her head to the side as she waited for Hilda's reply.

"I'm Hilda."

"Are you Kyle's mommy?"

"Yes, I am."

"Can I also call you mommy?" Chloe asked her with innocent eyes. The smile on Hilda's face faltered as she looked up from the little girl and made eye contact with Lucas who was already staring at her in surprise. He hurriedly told the man their order and hanged up the phone in panic.

Lucas placed his phone in his pocket and rushed to Chloe's side. "Chloe, remember what I told you about your mom?... Besides sweetheart, Hilda here is Kyle's mom, not yours." He started explaining in the best way he could without hurting his daughter's feelings. But he seemed to be failing when the little girl's eyes started swelling in tears.

Hilda couldn't watch the poor little girl in tears so she did what she had to do to prevent her from crying. "It's okay, sweetie." She quickly butted in and held the little girl's hand in hers. "You can call me whatever you want." She assured her with a smile. Chloe's face lit up and jumped into Hilda's arms, catching both her and Lucas off guard. Chloe wrapped her short arms around Hilda's neck and embraced her lovingly.

Lucas eyed her worriedly but Hilda only shook her head and smiled at him in affirmation. Hilda hugged the little girl back, which brought gladness in Lucas' heart. If he was going to return to his family, Chloe was part of the package. The two of them goes together no matter what. And seeing Hilda accept Chloe made Lucas felt at ease.

~ * ~ * ~

After they had pizza night and played another round of board game, the children were exhausted from the long day. Chloe's nanny came in and took her sleeping form to be brought to the car while Lucas said his farewell to Kyle and kissed his temple before leaving.

Hilda decided to usher Lucas to his car in order to thank him for visiting Kyle. "Thank you for visiting Kyle today. Thank you for keeping him company." She gratefully thank him.

"It's the least I can do for my son. I guess I just wanna catch up with the ten years time I've lost with him." He said and hearing it aloud made it sound more horrible than it already was. He felt such a bad father to both Kelsey and Kyle.

Hilda felt guilt clutching her heart. Even if it was entirely Lucas' fault, she couldn't help but feel that it was also partly her fault for not telling him that she was pregnant and that they had a son. "He seems to be in a very good mood lately." She announced to make him feel less burden. "And it's all thanks to you. He found another reason why he should keep fighting."

Lucas smiled, glad that he was at least a source of joy and entertainment to his son in the midst of his suffering. They silently walked side-by-side together in comfort. Until Lucas remembered Chloe's behaviour a while ago. "I'm sorry about Chloe earlier." He sheepishly said as he rubbed the nape of his neck.

Hilda shook her head and shot him a reassuring smile as she remembered how the little girl had insisted of calling her mom. "Don't worry about it. She's only a kid anyway. But if you don't mind me asking, where's her mother? I don't think she would be insisting of calling me mom if her own mother is around." She voiced out her thoughts.

"She passed away a few days after she gave birth to Chloe." He nonchalantly announced as if he was totally unaffected or fazed by the situation.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hilda still sympathetically apologized for his lost. "It must be hard raising Chloe all by yourself."

"It was a challenge, and I guess it still is. All I really wish and dream of is for our kids to be well off in the future and to have a joyful life ahead of them." He honestly told her.

"I'm sure you took real great care of her. She's one beautiful and kind little girl. Very relieving that she took after her mother's looks." She joked and pointed out the obvious. "You know, I'm starting to realize that none of the kids look like you." She laughed and stopped mid-way as she stared at his serious face. "It was a joke." She said, trying to uplift the tension that she unknowingly created.

"Chloe's not my biological daughter." He simply replied. Hilda felt like a douche by commenting such a harsh thing to him. She felt guilty again and all she wanted to do was to repeatedly smack her big mouth.

"I'm really sorry if I offended you in any kind of-"

"It's okay." Lucas quickly reassured her, shaking his head in understanding. "You had no idea anyway. Besides, it's not really important if she's my biological child or not. What matters is that we're a family. She kept me sane during the times when I was at my lowest in life. She kept me at bay and I will forever be thankful that God gave me a guardian angel." He explained and Hilda's heart melted in sweetness as she listened to his words.

"Chloe's mom and I were arranged in a marriage." He started, feeling that Hilda had to hear and know the story. "I resented the idea of marrying another woman, especially when I found out that she was already pregnant to begin with. Apparently her so-called boyfriend ran off after knocking her out. I didn't want to marry her, believe me, but she begged me to. By that time, she found out that she had breast cancer. She didn't want to abort the child. She wanted to give the baby a chance to live, a family who would love and take care of her."

Lucas laughed humourlessly and pushed the door open outside of the hospital, holding it open until Hilda had completely got out. "I know I'm not the best representative since I'm not really a responsible man. But she trusted me with her child." He continued on. "I love Chloe. She gave me a sense of hope. She reminded me what it's like to have a family again. And you know what I promised myself to give her?"

"What?" Hilda asked in curiosity.

"A complete family." He sincerely answered. "And that family is you, Hilda. You and our children." He stated as he held her by her shoulders and stared directly into her eyes in all seriousness. "I came back here for one reason and that is to get my family back. Hilda, please, if you will give me a chance, I want to be with you again. I know I've hurt you, I know what I've done is unforgivable. But please, please, give me another chance. Please give me another chance to be your husband, to be a father to our children. I love you, Hilda." He proclaimed, causing Hilda's breath to hitch in her throat. She felt her stomach doing somersault and tingles all over her toes. She felt like a lovesick teenager all over again, an effect that only Lucas could possess over her body.

"I love you." He repeated and stole a kiss on her lips. More than a decade had passed, but nothing had change with the feelings they felt the moment that they kiss. It was still passionate, full of love and assurance that everything will be alright. "And I never stopped loving you, Hilda. Please, give me another chance. What do you say?" He asked, resting his forehead against her own.

Hilda panted and took her moment to catch her breath as she let his words sink in her mind. Was she really willing to give their relationship another shot? She knew he was her first loved and it was difficult to get over and forget him easily, but having the fact that they have had two children together made everything simple in her head. She wanted to give him a chance. A chance to prove to her and their children that he was a changed man, a man who would fight for their family and would love them unconditionally.

Hilda nodded her head. "Okay." She breathlessly uttered. A grin quickly made its way on Lucas' lips hearing her sweet, sweet answer. He couldn't believe that she was giving him a another shot. "On one condition..." She added, sweeping the smile off of his face.

"What is it?" He leaned back, wanting to look at her properly.

"We have to get the approval of our children before going through this." She answered him. Lucas thought that he wouldn't have any problem with Chloe. Heck, he wouldn't even have any problem with his son. He was just not sure about Ace, Hilda's adopted child, and of course, his daughter, Kelsey. He knew he was going to go through the hole of a needle in order to get accepted by his daughter again. He just wished that she would also give him a chance.

Lucas nodded his head in agreement and smiled. "Absolutely. We'll talk to them as soon as possible." He told her, grasping her hand and placing a sweet kiss on it.

~ * ~ * ~

Margie was about to cook dinner when Kelsey called her and informed her that she wouldn't be eating dinner with her for the night because she was still out with Mason. Margie told her it was fine and that she would be ordering pizza instead. After she made the phone call to order, she quickly changed into her cute strawberry pyjamas. She was about to lay down on the couch to wait for the pizza delivery when there was a knock on the door.

A smile rapidly crawled up her lips at the thought of eating a whole box of Hawaiian pizza all by herself. She hopped towards the door and unlocked it. She flung the door opened in excitement but the smile on her face faltered at the sight before her.

"Pizza delivery." Bryan announced, raising the box with one arm. Margie only stared at him in awe, unmoving and stagnant. "Margie..." Bryan worriedly called out when all she did was gawk at him. Unexpectedly, she jumped in his arms, causing him to slightly stumble but he quickly regained his balanced.

"I miss you." She whispered directly in his ears and hugged him tightly, afraid that he would disappear once she let go.

"I miss you too, baby." He told her and kissed the top of her head. He wrapped his unoccupied arm around her and brought the two of them inside the apartment. He shut the door closed with his foot and strolled towards the couch. He placed the box of pizza on the centre table and plopped himself down on the couch, with Margie still intact.

He released her arms around his neck and held her face by the cheeks. He studied every feature of her face before kissing her passionately. He had missed her so much that it had hurt him whenever he would see something that reminded him of her, which was almost everything he saw. They pulled away from each other, panting for air once they were both breathless.

"You're back. I can't believe you're here." Margie whispered and placed a palm on his cheek.

"Mason called me." He informed her.

"He did?" She asked worriedly. She didn't really know what Mason would've told Bryan. But since he was here, she thought she probably owe Mason a huge thank-you.

"Yeah. He explained to me what really happened. He also told me that he and Kelsey are officially together now. As in, no more faking and pretending."

Margie smiled and thought it was really nice that her best friend had finally found someone who will look after her. Margie knew Kelsey was a very independent woman and she would do everything in her capability to provide for her family, but Margie had always wished that one day, someone will look after her friend as well.

"So you're not mad anymore?..." She warily asked him. Bryan beamed at her and shook his head in response.

"No, the only thing I know is that I'm madly in love with you." He claimed, causing her to chuckle at his lame pun.

"I'm so glad you're back." She stated as she pulled him into another tight embrace.