A forgotten memory

Once Laila and Jake had left and made their way towards the kitchen, Maria came out of the dining room and headed towards the couch where they had been sitting. She searched for the phone and after she found it, she plugged in the small hacking device. As she waited for the device to get into Jake's phone, she sat herself down on the couch and began staring off into the distance as she got lost in her own thoughts. She too had heard all that Jake had to say and was feeling a bit conflicted. She had always hated Jake's guts and he could do no right in her eyes. But after hearing him today, she could not deny that it seemed like he truly cared for Laila.

If his feelings for her weren't strong and genuine, he wouldn't have been able to forgive her so soon or so easily for what they had done just a few weeks ago. They had not only exposed him in front of his fiancé, they had embarrassed him in front of an entire crowd. They had made him lose his job and trampled on his entire existence. Yet, not only did he forgive her, instead of trying to hurt her back with the pictures he found, he did what he thought would save her from bigger heartache. She couldn't see it yesterday but hearing Jake offer Laila a place to stay for her and her son, knowing full well that Noah is the father. Offering her the help of his lawyer and even insisting on paying for it, despite having lost his high-paying job. Doing all this while asking for nothing in return. Not even implying it. Showed that he wasn't full of ill intent like they initially thought.

Make no mistake, she still thought he was a horrible partner. He had undoubtedly cheated on her and this in itself is inexcusable and one of the biggest acts of betrayal you can commit in a relationship. But maybe he wasn't all bad. Maybe he wasn't meant for a monogamous relationship or maybe he simply wasn't ready for it yet. Having girls throw themselves at you as a hormone raging teenage boy and having probably been raised with the notion that you could do no wrong, does not make for the best recipe of great decision making. But regardless of that, he had done what he had done and even he could and should have known that cheating is wrong.

It is okay if you want something else out of a relationship, there are plenty of people okay with an uncommitted relationship, or if you want to be with someone else. But break things off with your current partner first and after that you are free to do what you want. Don't go looking for your next partner while still with your current partner. Don't use that person as a safety net in case things don't work out with the other person. Don't force your views of a relationship on your partner. Simply look for someone who has the same views. That will save a lot of people unnecessary heartache.

However, if she disregarded how he had been as a partner, she could see that he might not be a bad human being altogether and after today, Maria felt like she could accept him as a friend in Laila's life.

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As Maria was dealing with her inner conflict of having to start liking someone she had hated for over a decade, Laila was busy in the kitchen making Jake some strawberry tartlets. Fortunately they had ready made tartlets. So, all she needed to do was make the cream that went into the tartlet and cut the strawberries to top the tartlets with. While she was whisking and piping, she and Jake continued talking. Going over some old pains and some memories that she had forgotten all about.

They were talking about her pregnancy and the baby. He asked her what they would be naming the baby and when she told him that they planned on calling him Dominic and Nick for short, he smiled and said approvingly, "I love that name and I just know that you picked it. We always said that if we ever had a son, that we would call him Nick. It was the one thing we both agreed on without any form of discussion. Nick was the name of your favourite character from your favourite play and I had always liked the name as well because it was the boy version of my favourite Greek mythology."

Laila was shocked. She didn't even remember having that conversation with him. Her memories of their time in high school was filled mostly with sad memories. But how could she not have remembered this sweet moment that probably caused him to immediately want to name their son Nick back in their previous life. He had remembered this small detail. This one little promise. And she had been completely oblivious about it.

She was happy she had chosen to talk to Jake like this today. Though she had looked up to it immensely. But it had allowed her to look back on the marriage of her previous life with something more than just regret and sadness. It showed her that there had been a reason for her to marry him in that life. That he wasn't all bad and that he had really cared for her in his own way. Despite how things turned out in the end.