“Is that the ideal way to initiate a conversation with
someone you haven’t seen in months?” Daniel
questioned with a smirk tugging at his lips.
He strolled over to the table situated in the left corner
of the room and retrieved a bottle of red wine along
with two glass cups.
“How about we begin with a drink?” He proposed,
raising the wine gracefully.
It was strange how the wine he picked turned out to
be my favorite wine. And for a moment, I was tempted to ask how he knew about the right wine to get but
then, I was suddenly reminded of how much he knows me.

“No, I will pass,” I declined his offer.
“But, why? I thought this was your favorite?” He
expressed shock and confusion evident in his tone.
“Yeah, it used to be. But unfortunately, I no longer have a taste for red wines,” I lied defensively.
“That’s strange,” He said staring at the wine with a look of sadness laced with disappointment on his face.
“Please, Daniel. You have already taken up a lot of my
time. Can you please get to the point of why you called me here?” I urged in fear that my girls might start to
wonder where I was.

“Alright,” He calmly conceded, returning the wine and
glass cups to where he had originally picked them from.
“So, won’t you at least take a seat?” He asked pointing
out a seat for me.
“Don’t bother about me, Daniel. I am fine standing,” I
d maintaining my stance.
“That’s okay,” He heaved out a deep sigh and walked
up to the bed where he slowly lowered himself. Then
rubbing his palms on his thighs he began,
“Vivian, I acknowledge that I messed up my
opportunity to be with you…”

“…. I’m glad you know that,” I interrupted rolling my
eyes, immediately looking away.
“But the truth is, I never stopped loving you,” He
revealed.
Upon hearing this, I swiftly turned staring at him in a
blend of disgust and unbelief.
“Really?,” I scoffed.
“Yes, Vivian. The reason I distanced myself from you
was my fear of becoming like my father who failed as
both a husband and father. I was scared that I might
not be ready for the responsibilities that lay ahead. I
feared that I might not be able to provide you with the happiness and fulfillment you have always desired due to my lack of family orientation,” He sincerely and
remorsefully admitted.

“And you call this an excuse? Daniel, what made you
think that such a flimsy excuse can make up for the
heartbreak and agony you put me through? I asked
and pleaded for one simple thing which is that you love me the same way I loved you. But no, you kept playing it safe making it look as though I was the only person in the relationship. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? Often, I felt like I was asking for much.
Sometimes, I felt I wasn’t doing enough. And now you
suddenly show up with these irrelevant and lame
excuses for your actions,” I poured out in pain.