Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

"It's not like I went there without telling you," Rachael defended herself. "I told you before going because I wanted to avoid any kind misunderstanding."

"Okay so my wife telling me she is going to meet her ex over the phone is supposed to make me feel better and not misunderstand the situation?"

"Why are you being like this?" she frowned.

"You tell me—" Andrew looked at her. "If I told you over the phone that I am going to meet my ex whom I was almost married to, would you be okay with it?"

"Yes—"

Cutting her off, he sneered, "You wanted to know what is wrong, right? This is what is wrong."

"Andrew—"

"I-Is everything okay here?" George approached them. "If you guys have to discuss something, why don't you take it inside? You two are quite loud, mom and dad might hear you."

"No need, we are done." Without looking at her, Andrew removed her hand from his arm, stepped inside the car and drove away.

"Hey, you okay? Come here—" George pulled Rachael into his embrace. "Everything is gonna be okay, don't stress about it."

….

[Next day]

"Go to Paris."

"What?" Rachael frowned.

"Go to Paris," Emma repeated her words. "You go there and kiss all his insecurities away."

"I agree with Emma," Tina added. "Seeing you there is the least expected thing in his mind right now. So you go there and surprise him."

"I don't know—" Rachael pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if it was the right move.

"Don't think so much, just go—" Emma took her phone and started looking for flights. "Let me book the earliest one for you."

"Do you know which hotel he is staying in?" Tina inquired.

She shook her head. "No but I can ask Ben," she said as she picked up her phone.

"That's great but remind him not to tell Andrew."

Rachael nodded and called Ben.

…..

[Paris, France]

[Hotel Plaza]

"Make sure to check that all the documents are arranged in order before tomorrow's meeting and—" Andrew frowned and pinched the space between his brows.

"Boss, should I get some medicine for your headache?" Ben inquired.

"No, it's okay." It had been more than twenty-four hours since they arrived in Paris and Andrew had barely managed to catch any sleep. Not because he didn't have the time, he couldn't sleep no matter how much he tried.

The way he had left Rachael outside her parents place in the middle of an argument was killing him. He hated how he had snapped and the way he had behaved but he couldn't help it. In fact, he was more mad at himself than her.

"You should get some rest, boss," he added. "Don't worry about tomorrow's meeting, I will take care of everything."

"Contact Mr. Rochefort, let's meet him while we are here and—" Andrew stopped when he noticed Ben continuously stealing glances of his phone in the middle of their conversation.

"Are you expecting some urgent phone call?" he inquired.

Ben quickly shook his head. "N-No boss."

Unlocking his room, Andrew instructed, "Freshen up first and come to my room, let's go over everything one last time."

"Okay boss."

…..

[Room no:67]

Taking off his coat, Andrew tossed it aside. He then slumped on the couch and sighed.

Massaging his forehead, he squeezed his eyes shut. After everything that had happened for the past three four days, he felt very mentally exhausted.

Taking his phone out, he contemplated for a while before calling Rachael. He hadn't called or received any message from her after the heated conversation they had.

He frowned when the call did not go through. Waiting for a while, he was about to call her again when someone knocked at the door.

Thinking that it was Ben, he opened the door while calling Rachael and this time the call went through.

"Hi—"

An unexpected face and smile greeted him as soon as he opened the door.

Taking out the vibrating phone from her bag, Rachael waved it at her. "Why are you calling me?"

"What are you doing here?" Andrew asked before hanging up the call.

"What do you mean by that?" She frowned and pouted at the same time. "I am here to see my husband."

When he did not say anything, she said, "Will you not invite me inside?" When Andrew stepped away from the entrance, Rachael quickly stepped inside the room.

Keeping her suitcase in one corner, she remarked, "This hotel is very close to the Eiffel Tower, we should go for a walk later."

When he tried to walk away, she grabbed his hand. "I am already here, you still wanna give me a cold shoulder?"

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she pouted her lips as she looked at him. "Are you still mad?"

"No," he answered. "I am not mad or upset with you anymore."

Pausing for a while, he added, "I am mad at myself."

"Huh?" she frowned, not understanding what he meant.

"Though I always knew we are not in the same place in this relationship, it turns out that I was unconsciously expecting and hoping for us to be in the same place but—" He gently removed her hands from his body. "This is why I got upset when you told me that you are going to meet that guy. Trust me, I didn't wanna be the petty guy who would get mad over something like this but I couldn't help it."

Keeping quiet for a while, he said, "Yesterday when you told me you wouldn't mind if I did the same thing, I realized that I was getting mad over nothing. This misunderstanding happened because we are not on the same page in this relationship, I took a long leap but you haven't."

Running his fingers through her hair, he smiled. "What is the point of being mad at you when we don't even share the same feeling, right? It's my fault for being so irrational and making things tough for you. I am sorry."

...