After six months Grace was happy again. She had healed from the heartbreak; she was even glowing and had regained her weight again. You could tell that she was ready to love again. She came across different men who asked her to go out with them but she turned them down because she said to herself, “They are all looking for fun and I want someone who is serious and wants to settle down.” But the truth was that she wouldn’t have known who was serious about her until she gave him a chance.

One night, Grace went out to some club with her friends to have some fun after a hectic week they had had at work. As they were busy drinking and dancing, having fun, there was a good looking guy looking at Grace. Finally, he stood up and went to greet Grace.

“Hi, I’m Jackson,”

“Oh, I’m Grace, how can I help you?”

The way Grace was talking showed that she was already drunk. The guy offered to buy her drinks and they ended up having a conversation and laughing. The way they enjoyed each other’s company, one would say these people had known each other for years. That night they even exchanged numbers. It was like she was ready to love again. The guy even drove her back home because she was very drunk.

After few days they started flirting over the phone and ended up going out on dates and developed feelings for each other. The guy poured his heart out to Grace. The words he spoke would make any woman smile and Grace was forever smiling. And for a second she said to herself, “I think I have found the one I have been looking for. He is better than David and all the other guys I have dated. He knows how to make me smile, he is indeed a keeper; he is the one.”

He promised her the heavens and earth. He told her how he would never do anything to hurt her. Grace was convinced that Jackson was a perfect man so she gave him a chance to be part of her life.

Three weeks after they agreed to try things out, Jackson asked Grace if he could take her to meet his parents. Grace did not even sit down to think this through, she just agreed. She was excited and she thought that he was doing that because he was crazy in-love with her. All she ever thought about was a wedding and marriage. Most of the time, when a guy takes his woman to meet his parents it’s because he is serious and wants to marry soon. But all this seemed strange; how can you date someone for some weeks and already want to meet his parents?

They did not even know each other very well but Grace just agreed to everything. Even when her friends tried to talk some sense into her, she told them where to get off and leave her to live her life the way it suited her.

Do you know what is sad?

What is sad is that Jackson never loved or even cared about Grace. He just wanted to use her and then leave. But poor Grace was too in-love to see that. I sometimes ask myself, how could she be so blind and reckless? I mean, after what she went through, she should have an idea whether someone loves her or not. I now believe it when they say that love is blind.

Jackson was a good player and he used many girls. So he never had good intentions about Grace. After a week of Jackson having taken Grace to meet his parents, he asked for money from Grace, R20 000 to be exact, saying that he wanted to secure a deal and that there were some people owing him money and they would pay him after two days and he didn’t want to lose the deal.

He promised Grace that he would pay back the money after two days. And because she trusted him, she took her savings and lent him the money. She did not even consider drawing up a contract so that it could help her if it happened that Jackson does not want to pay her back. Well, Jackson took the money and left to have a good time with his other girlfriends.

“This woman is a fool. How can she trust someone she met a month ago with her money? Is she that desperate for love?” Jackson said to himself.

***

Tell us what you think: What do you think will happen next? How do you think Grace will find out?