SECOND CHANCES

Sunday morning, at Aria and Caleb’s beach-house, Aria and Caleb sit side by side on the couch, scrolling through old family photos. ARIA move sideward to reach Caleb, she lovingly lay her head to Caleb’s shoulder. “have you ever thought about reconnecting with your dad? It's been so long since you last saw him.” CALEB, looking nostalgic.. “You know, Aria, I've been thinking the same thing lately. Maybe it's time to reach out and see how he's doing.” Aria's face lights up with excitement. ARIA That's a great idea! Let's plan a visit. It would be a perfect opportunity for you to reconnect with your dad. Caleb nods, his determination shining through. EXT. GEORGE'S HOUSE - DAY Aria and Caleb stand nervously in front of a beautiful house. Caleb takes a deep breath and rings the doorbell. GEORGE (50s, kind eyes) opens the door, his face filled with surprise and joy. GEORGE Caleb! Is it really you? It's been so long. CALEB (hugs George) Yeah, Dad, it's me. I missed you. INT. GEORGE'S LIVING ROOM - DAY Caleb and George sit on the couch, catching up and reminiscing about the past. Aria watches, happy to see the father and son reconnecting. CALEB (smiling) Dad, I have something to tell you. This is Aria, my amazing wife. Aria extends her hand, and George shakes it warmly. GEORGE (in awe) It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Aria. Caleb has told me so much about you. INT. GEORGE'S KITCHEN - DAY Caleb and Aria join George for a home-cooked meal. They laugh and share stories, cherishing their time together. CALEB (expressing gratitude) Dad, I'm glad we found each other again. It means a lot to me. GEORGE (teary-eyed) Caleb, I've missed you so much. I want to make up for lost time. INT. GEORGE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Caleb's younger brother, LUCAS (30s, apologetic expression), and his ex-fiancée, LUCINE (late 20s, regretful), enter the room. Aria watches as Caleb's face fills with mixed emotions. CALEB (surprised) Lucas, Lucine... I didn't expect to see you here. LUCAS (contrite) Caleb, I'm sorry for everything. I've realized how wrong I was. LUCINE (teary-eyed) Caleb, I regret leaving you. I was scared and made a terrible mistake. Caleb takes a moment to process their words, then looks at Aria. CALEB (resolute) Aria, I want to forgive them. It's time to let go of the past and focus on the future. Aria, although hesitant, understands the importance of forgiveness. ARIA (nods) Okay, Caleb. If this is what you need, I support you. INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Aria, a smart and observant woman in her late 30s, is sitting on the couch with Caleb, her loving and outgoing husband in his early 40s. They are engrossed in watching a romantic comedy on TV. While Lucine is regretful watching the couple whom she loved the guy before. She secretly felt jealous. Her life is now miserable. ARIA (excitedly) This movie is so adorable, isn't it? CALEB (smiling) Definitely, it reminds me of our love story. Suddenly, Lucine, Caleb's beautiful ex-girlfriend in her late 30s, enters the room. Aria notices her sly and seductive smile. ARIA (whispering) (suspiciously) Caleb, isn't that Lucine? What is she doing here? Caleb turns around, surprised to see Lucine standing near the entrance. CALEB (nervously) Oh, Aria! I didn't expect her to drop by. We've been friends since college, you know. Aria's curiosity intensifies as Lucine makes her way towards them, flashing a disarming smile. LUCINE (cheerfully) Hi, Caleb! I hope I'm not interrupting anything important. CALEB (awkwardly) Oh, no! Aria and I were just watching a movie. ARIA (politely) Hello, Lucine. What brings you here? LUCINE (teasingly) Well, Aria, I just couldn't resist dropping in to catch up with Caleb. You know how charming he can be. Aria tries to conceal her doubts as Lucine makes her intentions more evident. ARIA (slightly annoyed) Ah, I see. Well, we were just enjoying our movie, Lucine. Maybe you can catch up with Caleb some other time? LUCINE (persistent) Oh, it won't take long, Aria. Just a quick chat. We used to be quite the pair, after all. Caleb notices the growing tension between the ladies and clumsily intervenes. CALEB (nervously) Hey, Lucine, why don't we catch up over coffee another day? Aria's not feeling well today, and we were just about to finish watching our movie. Lucine, realizing she's been pushing the boundaries, chooses to respect Caleb's request. LUCINE (sighing) Alright, Caleb. I got the message. Let's plan for another time, then. As Lucine makes her way towards the exit, Aria's anxieties begin to ease. ARIA (relieved) Thank you for understanding, Lucine. We appreciate it. LUCINE (apologetically) I understand, Aria. I didn't mean to cause any harm. Take care, both of you. With Lucine's departure, Aria and Caleb are left to contemplate the unexpected encounter. CALEB (softly) Aria, I'm sorry if Lucine's appearance caused any discomfort. She's just an old friend from the past; you're the love of my life. ARIA (smiling) I know, Caleb, and I trust you. Our love is strong, and moments like these only make us stronger. Let's focus on our movie, okay? Caleb leans close to Aria, intertwining their fingers, and they resume watching the movie with a newfound sense of reassurance. Caleb wants to stay for few days before going back to the Island so they he could catch up some times to his father and friends too. He didn’t see his brother after their encounter last night. Lucine didn’t come in their house too. He brought his wife Aria to the beautiful places in their city. Aria is so happy and amazed the advancement of the big cities. She used to live in a palace too, but, this is her first time to go out freely without body guards. Caleb is a multi-millionaire but, he is a low-key person who unlikely to show off his wealth. AT GEORGE’S VILLA Caleb woke up early due to noise downstairs. He look at his wife who still asleep soundly, so he didn’t wake her up. He kiss her and leave their room to check what’s there outside. To his surprise, there’s a choir who sing a birthday song. He forgot that today is his birthday!..wow! I almost forgot my birthday!..and.. “Clarence?! Dude! Is that you?..he was really shocked to see his best buddy in LA before, Happy birthday to you Caleb!..Bro!..how are you!..they fist bump and hug each other. “Happy bro!..” the other one said. Owwss?!..Jack?! Chad?! Anthony?..oh!..your complete bro!..who brought you here together?..is this a reunion?!… “Yes, bro!..Jack said..and there’s another one,” Everyone turns around to see whose their about to enter..Caleb’s smile faded when he saw Lucine. “Hey, Caleb! Happy birthday!..” then she kissed his cheek. Caleb shockingly widened his dark eyes. He shot a death glare to Lucine. “What are you doing Lucine?!Caleb, angrily said.. But, Lucine smile and said, “it’s just a happy birthday kiss Caleb,please don’t get me wrong..” “I’m not happy with that Lucine, i have my wife already.”please stay away. But, Caleb, Please Lucine.. Lucine shut her mouth and keep silent. In her mind, I can’t Caleb, I regretted that I replaced you and choose your brother who hit me when his drunk. But, she will find time to win his heart back. She will leave Lucas soon. Aria wake up when the sunlight hit her face from the window where the curtain lift a little. She pat her side to touch her husband but, it’s empty, there’s no one. She rise, wash her face, fix herself then go down. Her smile faded of what she saw. “Caleb? Lucine? She whispered and cover her mouth. She saw what Lucine did. She’s almost throw the vase to Lucine. She knows that she’s flirting to her husband. She felt something pinching her hearts like needles. She’s about to appear when George enter. “Hey guys! How are you?”George greet them all.. Aria hesitated and retreat. She go back to their room. She’s jealous. Love, come down, Caleb spotted his wife and immediately call her and she followed. “By the way guys, this is Aria, my wife.” He tell them. “Wow! Congrats Caleb!,,hi Aria! “ Anthony said. Aria accepted Anthony’s hand as well as his friends. Well, let’s celebrate Caleb’s birthday now!.. Okay let’s go! Caleb is so grateful to have this kind of friends and business partners. They catch up each other. They eat, drink and share their life’s experience and discuss about business. Aria feels out of place. She asked Caleb to let her go upstairs since she also don’t like to see the flirty one, Lucine. While Lucine smiles happily. “Ring..ring..ring..” Lucine turn off her phone. Lucas called Lucine but, she wants to ignore it. She hated him and wanted to leave but she hesitated, she will wait for the right time. After the celebration, everyone bid goodbyes.