Sandy Andrews thought she had moved on from her one-night stand with Ceci Brooks but life had other plans. When she discovered she was pregnant with his child, she made a difficult decision to raise the child alone, in an attempt to shield her guarded emotions from further hurt. Not long after, Ceci discovers Sandy's secret and is determined to be a part of their child's life. However Sandy was adamant that he'd not be involved in her life or her child's life. As they navigated the issues of co-parenting, old feelings resurfaced, and they began to reconnect on a deeper level. Just as they were finding their way back to love, Landon, a vicious and manipulative colleague from Sandy's past, reappeared. He stepped into her life with the intent of winning her heart. He had a personal vendetta against Sandy after being embarrassed at Chris’ party. Ceci felt his relationship was threatened by Landon's schemes, and vowed to get revenge against Landon. Will Ceci's desire for revenge destroy their second chance at love? Can they overcome the obstacles that threaten to separate them?
Chapter 1 Love Unraveled
Sandy Andrews, a 23-year-old culinary student, lived in the bustling city of New York in a one-room apartment with her mom, Catherine, who worked several jobs and took several shifts just to make ends meet.
“Good morning Mom”, I greeted my mom as I saw her preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
The kitchen showed signs of being ignored for a long time. The walls, once white, were now covered up with cooking stains, the cabinets hanging loose on their hinges, with their paint chipped off. The mini-fridge at the corner hummed quietly, covered with dust, and was almost empty except for old and expired food.
“Morning, my angel, how was your night?”, my mom asked.
“Great I guess” I said and picked up a slice of leftover pizza from the previous night, placed it on a barely neat plate and tossed it into the microwave.
“Mom, I'd be out late today, Chris is celebrating his 25th birthday”.
“Okay, but don't stay out so late though, you know how unsafe the streets are these days”
“Okay momma, love you”
“Love you, too, sweetie,” my mom said and planted a kiss on my forehead.
I set off for my normal daily routine; sluggishly walking down the street, to my favourite café, café musa, and picked up my usual cup of Hazelnut Mocha, relishing the rich, nutty taste as I joined the stream of commuters making their way through the city streets.
With my headphones in and my favourite album, Legends Never Die, playing, I made my way through the crowds with practised ease, weaving between tourists and delivery trucks and headed uptown to the culinary school.
Arriving at the academy, I saw my best friend, Alexa, who was also a student.
We've been friends since our childhood and know everything about each other. Arriving 15 minutes before opening time, we had enough time to chat and catch up on our weekend
“What's up, girl?” Alexa asked me as she noticed my usual energy was replaced by a sluggish attitude. My uniform, which was usually smooth and wrinkle-free, now looked rumpled.
“Had a bad night?”, she questioned further.
“The usual, I guess”, I shrugged.
Guessing had become my go-to word that morning.
I put on my apron and chef's hat, and arranged my workstation, ensuring that every utensil was spotless and neatly arranged.
My OCD instincts always kick in regardless of my current mood.
“How was your weekend at Brad's?” I reluctantly inquired, making it seem like I was interested in having a conversation. Monday was my not-so-favourite day of the week, and I always had a bad mood swing accompanying it.
“Girl, we had the best vacation ever,” Alexa said beaming with a smile from cheek to cheek, her eyes lit up as she narrated her stay. “Brad's the sweetest guy ever and I'm marrying him” she delusionally added.
“Yh, right,” I rolled my eyes, “You're coming over for Chris's birthday tonight, yh?”
“I wouldn't miss it for anything in this world,” she replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“It's his big 25, gotta get him a pretty lady as a gift” Alexa grinned at the prospect of a fun night ahead.
“You know better than anyone that Chris isn't interested in getting a girl”, I immediately cut her daydreaming short.
“And that's because we all know he's deeply in love with you,” Alexa said, staring at me with her deep blue puppy eyes. “There’s no need to act all naive, you know?”, she grinned.
“Those eyes don't work on me at all”.
Alexa looked unrelenting, “there's only one way to find out boo”, she said and blushed deeply.
“You know he has a thing for you right?” She asked.
I thought we were done talking about this.
“C’mon now Alexa,” I said, brushing Alexa's words away, “we've been platonic friends since our younger days, and we'd remain just that”.
Alexa raised her eyebrow, “Yh, keep deceiving yourself”
We returned to our respective tables as our instructor came in.
The day was almost over, and Chris's birthday was just starting. Everyone gathered at his house for the celebration, dancing and drinking. An awful stench of weed and booze lingered in the air as bodies danced to the music blasting over the speaker, hips were swaying and couples were grinding and making out at every corner of the room.
A particular couple was making out at the food table and another guy, their friend I suppose, stood at the corner, recording the whole session. All my friends were hooked up with someone, enjoying the whole time while I just stood there with my red plastic cup filled with vodka, sipping it, till I downed the last of my drink.
Eww, y'all could at least get a room, I could gouge my eyes out.
It's not as if I do not enjoy going to parties, I do, but this particular one wasn't giving the vibe I expected it to give. I looked over my shoulder and saw Alexa making out with a guy from our neighbourhood.
Typical Alexa. She'll make out with 10 guys, ignoring that she's in a serious relationship, and never remembers any of the guys she hooked up with.
She seemed to be having so much fun, so who am I to judge? She was swaying, and that meant she was tipsy. I was supposed to be her sober mom that night. I guess I was living up to my duties.
I left my lonely corner, pushing my body against the crowd, when I felt a sweaty palm holding onto my wrist.
“Sandy? Sandy A-A-A-Andrews?” He stuttered, his eyes widening in surprise as he fumbled with his words.
Who else besides my friends knew me at this party???