A SECOND CHANCE BY NANA

The music sounds frantic and annoyingly loud in that place. Everyone was drunk and dancing wildly. Most even sway in sensual and erotic movements. Men, women, gays, bisexuals are all of them are gathering here. Immerse themselves in pleasures and sin under the laser lights and colorful disco lamps. The DJ is playing EDM music also hopped and pranced happily to make the atmosphere livelier.

The night is getting late. People were screaming and jumping for joy in euphoria. They are in a high trance. Drunken in the false gratification offered by the effects of drugs and alcoholic drinks. But they just don't care. For these people, they are living for today. There's no past or future. Everything is blended and blurred. Mixed into delusional fantasy here. It is now. Currently. Present time. Let's have fun because you only live once.

So….

Enjoy it….!!!!

Meanwhile, on a bar table, there was a beautiful woman who was raving incoherently.

She's dressed up nicely but her makeup was in a total mess. That night, she had finished several shots of vodka and whiskey with no break. Much far beyond the normal limits and her tolerance for alcoholic drinks. The bartender who observed her condition just sighed with a heavy heart. He had seen this scene too many times every night. People who drink alcohol get rid of the problems that they are facing now. Hoping that while they were drunk, the problem would be sorted out by itself. Alcoholic drinks for them are the answer to all sorrow and misery. An illusion. An exodus. An invisible mirage. It's beautiful in your eyes, but they would disappear when you approached them. Then, once the effect wears off, there's nothing change. The problems. The troubles. They just keep coming back. It's just the same. They would recur. Over and over again.

And, this drunken woman who sat in front of him…

The one who is ranting incoherently is not exceptional….

But at least, she just rested her head on the table without making a fuss. For poor people like this, the bartender usually gives more tolerance. At least, he would be more empathic to their condition.

What was her problem exactly?

Was she offended? Or is it a bad breakup? An unhappy marriage? Did she just get divorced? Or, maybe she had just got layoffs?

A lot of assumptions flashed through the bartender's mind as he cleaned the glass on his hands. Because, there's a nice and good woman like her come up and drunk in a place like this, basically it was caused by those things.

"What time is it?" The woman asked the bartender hoarsely. She looks so weak and sad at the same time. Like life has left her soul already.

She is drunk. Her face messed up. But even though, in this miserable condition, her beauty is inseparable. She's gorgeous and the way she dressed is fabulously elegant. She's wearing a midi dress that parted down to her thighs, revealing her long, smooth legs. Her plump body shows her attractive curves, including a slight curve of her beautiful cleavage. Something that makes the bartender gulp nervously.

Under these circumstances, this woman is easy prey for any random guys. She definitely couldn't stand up properly and needed someone to carry her up and out of this place. And, that guy must be someone who has no bad intention for her at all.

"It's 1 AM, miss..." The bartender replied her, glancing at his watch and his gazed worriedly return to this miserable lady.

"Did you come here with a friend? Or, will someone pick you up later?" The bartender asked her in an empathetic tone. This woman is a new face here. He has never seen her before. Anything could happen to her.

The beautiful woman shook her head vigorously with a weak smile on her lips.

"No… I came alone…"

"It's…late… already….I ….have… to …go… now…."

"Please be careful…." The bartender said those words worriedly. If his shift is over, he would bring this woman back to her house safely.

Unfortunately, he can't...

His shift has just started.

The woman took her bag, took some money from it, and put it scattered on the table. Then, she began to walk unsteadily. The room is dark and the loud music banging inside her head. The surrounding was spinning in her eyes. She blinked her eyes and shook her head. Trying so hard to focus on moving forward. Her body swayed when she was bumped by people who were busy dancing erratically around her. This place smelled nasty. This is her first time here and she doesn't like it at all. She smiled once again. A stupid smile.

Her feet were wobbly like jelly when suddenly, she was got hit by another bump. She was about to fall forward when immediately, someone grabbed her from her back and hold her waist tightly in his arms.

"Hello, sweety…."

.......................

6 hours earlier….

Tears rolled down on Renata's cheeks when in the midst of their romantic candlelight, Johan gave her a divorce certificate and a letter of agreement to be signed right away. Her eyes were blurry with tears while Renata stared and read each line of the sentences that were stated in great detail in those letters. But the longer she read it, her chest was tightened with an unspeakable heartache.

"W… what are these??"

She asked her husband weakly. Her logic understood the meaning and purpose of the letters in her hands but her heart was still trying to deny the facts she had just received.

She still hoping that all this was just a dream. A worst one. A nightmare.

A joke, perhaps??

Her own husband….

Does he want to divorce her???

Why???

What the hell is wrong in here???

Isn't their relationship has been in great terms for the past 4 years???

So?? Why is it ???

"I'm so sorry…." James replied to her regretfully. With a great compulsion, he had to do this because he was greatly pressured by his mother and his big family.

"To be honest, I don't want to do this also….but…"

"Please understand, Ren. I am the only son of the Alvaro family so they truly wish us to have a child so we are able to continue our lineage and family name. Especially for my father who really wants offspring. With your condition, especially after we consulted with the obstetrician, the chances of us for having children are…"

"Pretty small…"

"In fact, it's impossible in fact ... then ..." James stopped and inhaled a deep breath. Thinking hard before he's blurting out other words from his mouth. Trying to explain in the best way he could so he wouldn't hurt her feeling. His voice was hoarse. Betraying his effort. His heart was saddened with regret and disappointment of himself when he saw her flowing tears. But he was also helpless under pressure from his family to urge him to divorce Renata and initiatively, look for another spouse who could conceive and bear their lineage. For her family, a barren woman is a disgrace. A blemish. A stain. Trash to be thrown away.

"I see…"

Renata said painfully as she closed her eyes and let her last tear escape from her eyes.

GOD!!!! This is hurting her so much.... so fucking damn much!!!!

Renata thought that when her husband took her to a romantic dinner at their favorite sky-dining restaurant, it means to give her a special surprise.

Yes, he is right!

A divorce certificate and a letter of agreement. HA!!

...........................…

There is no other surprise that is more special than those two.

Without saying much, Renata took a pen and quickly signed them. Then, she handed it over back to James.

"Tell your mother. Hopefully, he can find a better companion for you…" Renata said coldly as she stood up and walked away leaving her ex-husband behind. Without looking back.

"Hell no… Renata…. Hun…. Please …wait… wait a minute… that's not what I meant…"

James tried to catch up his wife's steps and reached out for her hand but Renata quickened her pace. Her heart broke into million pieces tonight. It feels like being slashed by thousands of knives that have been smeared with vinegar. The wound gaped and dripped blood.

Renata was unstoppable. James was left behind.

They split up. Once James arrived at the elevator, Renata had closed the door. The last view that James saw was his wife's swollen eyes. A gorgeous and beautiful woman who used to cherish his days and once was his soul mate.

His heart's choice.

.......................

Three months earlier….

The couple was staring at the ultrasound photo seriously while Dr. Sinthawati, one of the best obstetricians in the city explained the condition of Renata's uterus and the reasons why it was so difficult for Renata to get pregnant during their 4 years of marriage.

"Mr. James, Mrs. Renata's uterus has endometriosis and it was located right in the area of ​​the fallopian tube so that it shut the pathway for sperm to be able to fertilize her ovum. Medical treatment is needed to solve this problem...."

Right after she heard it, Renata's body went limp on her seat regarding her condition.

"What should we do, Doc?" Renata asked anxiously. She knows very well how the Alvaro family had put high hopes that Renata could get pregnant quickly and give birth to a newborn baby as the successor to their surname.

"We can try the IVF, ma'am…"

"Would it be succeeded, Doc?"

"With the mother's condition, it's a bit difficult? Maybe the success rate is only around 20-30%."

Hearing this, Renata slumped in her chair and cupped her face in both hands. Disappointment and despair began to creep into her heart. With such a small percentage, it is tantamount to saying that she is infertile. What would James' big family react after they heard about it?

"It's alright, Nat-"

"No matter what happens, I will definitely stay be by your side..." James coaxed her and rubbed his wife's back gently. Trying to calm his soulmate.

Renata smiled and leaned her head in the crook of her husband's neck.

"I love you, James..."

Now…..

The same man betrayed his own words.

..................…