It's late for repentance

"Excuse me, sir. Are you ordering from the menu?" The waitress said as she looked down at Steven.

Steven took one last look at the menu before he laid it down on the peach table cloth and turned toward the waitress.

"I will have cornbread and tea." He said.

The waitress then turned her head and focused on Chloe, who remained seated opposite Steven.

"How about you, miss? Can I get you anything?" She asked.

Chloe gazed at Steven, who was not paying much attention to her, then looked back at the waitress.

"I will have the same thing he had order." Chloe replied.

After the waitress left to get their order, Steven and Chloe sat in their seats quietly as they waited for the next person to say something. However, neither of them spoke until the waitress came back, served their food, and left them alone.

"You said you had something to say to me, so what is it?" Steven asked.

Chloe's mouth felt sealed. She did not know how to ask the question, seeing that Steven was seated before her. Although she had practiced this question countless times in her mirror, it was different since Steven was present and she felt nervous.

"UMM, how is Jackson's condition?" Chloe mumbled as she stirred her tea.

Steven knew what was going on in Chloe's head. But since she did not ask, he decided to play along with her and answer her indirect question.

"He is stable now. However, it does not mean that he is still not in a critical state. They have him in the intensive care unit, and we are waiting on him getting better." Steven replied, then he took a sip of his tea.

Chloe felt stressed as she stared down at her drink and desperately wished that she could have the courage to be bold and ask about the mystery lady in Steven's car that night.

"It must be hard for you to see him in such a state. I mean, you guys have been there for each other in everything, so it must be tough on you, knowing things had suddenly changed." Chloe said.

She kept her gaze on his green eyes as he drank his tea, and Steven noticed her intense stare. But he did not make a fuss about it. It was clear to him that Chloe still had some sort of feeling for him. But since she did not bring it up, he did not one to be the first one to address the subject.

"Yeah, it is difficult for me since Jackson has played so many important roles in my life. Now all I can do for him is wait and hope that he gets better. He had given me so much of his time, love, and care, and if I could switch places with him, I would." Steven said as he set his teacup on the table.

Chloe felt sad for Steven, yet she smiled as Steven's words brought back old memories about their college days, and she could not believe after so many years had past things could get this bad between them all.

"I am sure he would not want this for you. Haha! Remember, he was the one that brought us together. He had always been a cool and open guy. It's saddening that something so terrible like this had happened to him." Chloe replied.

Steven eyed his ex from across the table, and he knew that even though Chloe made it seem like she was talking about Jackson, she was still bringing up a conversation about their past relationships.

"Yeah, I recall that day. He was like Steven, I made friends with this amazing girl, and I think you both would be a good couple. Once he had approved of you, I could not wait to meet you." Steven said without a smile.

However, Chloe did giggle at his reply. She remembers those good old days and what it was like in their friendship.

"But I can also remember that he was the same person that warned me to break up with you because you were toxic for my happiness." Steven declared before he took a bite of his bread.

Chloe's expression got a bit depressed after Steven's remark. She knew she had a part to play in them falling apart. But everything that happened was not all her fault, and Chloe felt like it was time to be truthful with Steven.

"I did not choose money over you. I love you so much, but I was going through so much back then, and the last thing I wanted to do was to burden you with my problem." Chloe calmly said. Yet she was freaking out inside.

Steven frowned at her. He had waited for years to hear her say something like this from her. But now it did not matter to him since he knew there was no way he and Chloe could get back into a relationship because he was now in love with Julie. However, he still wanted to know why she messed up the love they shared when he and she were together.

"Then please tell me the reason why you constantly ripped my heart apart and stitched it back together the entire time we were in love. Chloe, I would have given you everything that I could possibly offer. Why wasn't that enough? Why did you run to the arms of other men to find all the things I was giving to you?" Steven asked with a bit of anger in his voice.

"At that time, I had no other choice than to go on those dates and have relationships with those guys because that's what my parents wanted from me, and I did those things against my will since I thought that doing them would make me a good daughter. But I never wanted to hurt you in the process." Chloe softly said as tears rushed down her face.

She could not believe after all these years, she could finally gain enough strength to tell Steven the truth. Chloe had tried so hard to play it cool over the years and show him a side of her that was not her sincere personality. But now, she felt tired of hiding herself behind all the walls that she built and wanted him to see her vulnerable side.

"What do you mean by it was what your parents needed from you?" Steven said.

He felt more confused by her words and wanted to get more clarity on the issue since he did not want any doubts in his head when he cut ties with her today.

Chloe took a few seconds to get all her emotions under control before she started narrating the truth.

My father had wealth, which he had earned from his family. His greed for more money made him make terrible choices, and it was not long before he and my mother began to struggle financially. However, things got worse when I was born. Providing for my mother and I became a tough job for my father, and for him to keep his company running, he had to make more awful deals that led him into an enormous debt.

When I got older and was a freshman at the university, my dad made me feel like and think I was responsible to share the burdens of our family difficulties. So I agreed on everything he had asked of me to do, and I did not stop even after I started dating you a few years later.

No matter how many rich guys he made me go on dates with and the vast amount of money they give him, it was not enough to settle the problems he had because he was always creating new ones or wanting more wealth.

I was being honest with you when I said that I was in love with you, but I was with the other guys because of the money. After we started having problems within our relationship, I tried so hard to let my parents know that I was in love with you, and I wanted to quit the life they were making me live, but my dad guilted me into doing his will.

After I visited your house that Thursday afternoon and you asked me if I would choose a ring or half a million from you, I asked for the money because that was something I was told to get for my family to continue to sustain itself. I never knew you were proposing to me. The next day, you transferred half a million into my account, but before I could get a hold of my phone, Fefe had already seen the message, and she did not delay in telling my parents about the money.

I was set on returning the cash back to you, but my family demanded that I withdraw the money and invest it in a project my father was undertaking. I felt ashamed to tell you the truth, so I allow myself to make you see me as a person that values money more than anything else. However, with you, it was not about your good looks or wealth, but I fell in love with the man that you are, and I am still in love with that man.

Steven sat there wondering about the fact that all of this could have gotten avoided years back if she had been straight with him and had not kept on the act of being some gold digger. Yet he knew that the love that they shared years back had faded in his heart, and all he has now for her is sympathy.

"Is there anyway we could make our love work again? I have learned my lesson over these years, and I can promise you that I wouldn't cheat on you or ask you for money. Now all I want from you is for you to love me again like the way you used to do." Chloe boldly stated with a confident expression.

Steven knew it was time to get his feelings straightened out with Chloe, so he wouldn't have to go through any future misunderstanding from her, or cause problems for Julie and his relationship.

"Chloe, I am truly sorry that I was a terrible boyfriend in the past because I could not see past the surface of your cheerful expressions and notice that you were going through so much trouble back then. But presently, I am also sorry that what you are asking of me is not possible because I have..."

Steven's statement got cut off when his phone began to buzz. He quickly reached out for it and answered after noticing that Julie was the want calling.

"Babe, where are you?"

"What happened?" Steven asked when he detected the fear in Julie's voice.

"Jackson is going through another breakdown. The doctors and nurses are trying to stabilize him. You've got to get here now."

"I am on my way!" Steven hastily replied.

The moment he dropped the call, Steven rushed out of his seat and left the café, leaving Chloe with these four words, "I got to go."

"But you did not let me know why you can't love me again. Is it because of the woman I saw you within your car?" Chloe mumbled to herself as she bent over and rested her head on the table, before bitterly weeping.

When Steven arrived at the intensive care lobby, everyone seemed calm. So he rushed over to Julie, who was gazing at Jackson from the window glass.

"Hey, babe. What happen?" Steven said as he placed his hand around Julie's waist and drew her closer to him.

Julie stopped looking through the window and focused on Steven's face. She then gazed deep into his green eyes and decided to ask him the question that had been haunting her mind.

"Where have you been?" Julie inquired with her eyes still focused on his.

"Oh, I went to the café," Steven replied with no hesitation.

Julie frowned at his response, yet she kept her cool, knowing that she still had one last question left for her to find out if her boyfriend would lie to her.

"Were you alone?" Julie asked as she kept her gaze on him.

'Did she see Chloe and me together? What should I do? I don't want us to argue here.' Steven thought as he watched the curiosity in Julie's eyes.

"UMM, yeah, I was alone. Why do you ask?" Steven stated with a straight expression.

Julie felt her heart sink into bitterness as these words came out of his mouth. She withdrew away from his grip and put a few distances between them.

"Babe, what's going on?" Steven asked as his mind ran wild with confusing thoughts.

"I need air." Julie calmly said while holding back her tears.

She left Steven wondering what he did wrong and walked out of the lobby without saying a word to anyone.

Steven was still in shock when Jennie strolled up to him. She saw the confusion in his expression and knew that he had said something stupid.

"What did you say to Julie?" Jennie inquired.

"She asked if I was alone when I left the hospital, and I told her yes. Is there something I need to know?" Steven stated.

The frown on Jennie's face was enough evidence to prove to him that he had messed up.

"We saw you and Chloe outside, hugging each other," Jennie replied.

"What? I got to go!" Steven stated before running after Julie.

When he caught up to her, he could tell that Julie had been crying because of how red her eyes looked.

"Babe, I can explain?" Steven said.

Julie faced him with hurt in her eyes, but her heart was the one feeling all the pain.

"What do you have to say?" She said, trying her best to give him the benefit of the doubt, that he would come clean this time.

"I was with Chloe. Yes, we did hug each other! But it meant nothing to me. I swear I did not betray you. Believe me, Chloe and I only talked when we were at the café." Steven explained in a pleading voice.

"So why did you choose to hide it from me if you guys just talk? And yes, you did betray me because you lied to me. What happened when you told me that you have cut ties with her?" Julie asked with hurt in her tone.

"I am so sorry that I did something to make you doubt the trust you have in me. But I am begging you to believe me when I tell you that we only had a conversation, and I never said anything to betray our love." Steven replied.

He held onto Julie's hands, looked her directly in her eyes, and whispered, "I love you, and I am sorry that I hurt you. But I need you to believe that Chloe and I don't have any intimate relationship. Do you trust me?" Steven said as he pulled her closer to his body.

Julie thought for a while, gently bit her lip, pouted, and answered, "Yes, I trust you."

'Nevertheless, I don't trust your ex, and I don't believe that you and her meeting is such a good idea, but I'm still willing to let this slide for Jackson's sake.' Julie thought as Steven pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

Although Steven and Julie have fixed this issue, he still feared that this was not the end of all of these problems. But having her in his arms made him feel relaxed for a while. Yet he still wishes that he had taken Jackson's advice sooner, and now everything has gotten so tangled, and he doesn't know if he would lose Julie love if he tries to untangle it.