Barry Briggs had been divorced for over a year and all he could think about was getting back together with his ex-wife, Margie. But Sheila, his current girlfriend, stood in his way of reconciling with his ex-wife. Drowning in debt and feeling tired of his current relationship, Barry sets himself on a mission to accomplish three things: to break up with Sheila, become financially free, and rekindle his marriage. But then a fatal heart attack, Sheila’s pregnancy, and a dangerous man from Sheila's past send Barry's life spiralling out of control. Will Barry have time to put his life in order and get back together with Margie before it is too late? Contemporary Romance – Suitable for young adults aged 18+

2. CHRISTINE JOHN
Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved
www.ChristineJohnBooks.com
Last Chance

3. Last Chance
Copyright © 2014 by Christine John
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the owner of copyright.
Email: christinejohnbooks@gmail.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

4. Other Books Written by Christine John
How to Start and Run an Online Business
Short Stories for Teenagers
How to Get the Job You Want
The Runaway Bride
WordPress for Beginners: The Easy Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Website with WordPress
http://www.christinejohnbooks.com
http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnBooks
http://www.google.com/+Christinejohnbooks77

5. Dedication
To Rik, Jaz, Sabrina, Charley, Sahonna, Kiran, and Terry
Thank you for your inspiration and encouragement. The writing of this book would not have been made possible if I had not met all of you.

6. Chapter 1
2014 – Present
Barry Briggs arrived home just after eight in the evening. The sky was still bright as if it were in the middle of the day. He shivered slightly when he stepped out of the car into the cool evening air. Even though it was supposed to be summer time in England the weather was still a bit chilly in the evenings. He was very tired and hungry and was looking forward to sinking his teeth into his cheese burger. He could smell the lovely aroma of his Big Mac Meal. Now this is a man’s meal, he thought happily as he smiled lovingly at the brown paper bag he held in his hand.
His partner Sheila De Silva, on the other hand, did not care much for meat, at least not the take out kind. She wasn’t exactly a vegetarian, she just didn’t want to eat any type of meat that came in a paper bag. Instead of a burger and fries, Sheila told him to get her a salad. Boring, garden fresh salad with carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and just a sprinkle of salad dressing. He could not understand how she could only eat salad without any meat, like chicken or steak. She may as well be a rabbit!
He stretched his arms. He felt a little tightness in his lower spine. He gently rubbed the sore spot. He hoped that Sheila would be in a good mood tonight and would give him a massage. She had the most amazing way of easing the tension in his back – with her feet! She gave the best massages but she had been in such a crabby mood lately and he wasn’t sure why.
A sudden blast of warm air hit him in the face as Barry stepped into the house. He found Sheila sitting in front of the television watching Eastenders, eating her Shin Cup Noodle Soup, her long, slender legs stretched out on the couch. He took off his jacket and hung it on a hook behind the door.
“Where’s my salad?” she asked without taking her eyes off the screen. Barry handed her the salad and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
“How was your day, darling?” he asked.
“Not now, Barry. I’m trying to watch my soaps!” she snapped.
Barry sighed wearily. “Okay. I’ll be upstairs.” I guess I won’t be getting a massage tonight, he thought.
When he reached his bedroom he sat down on the bed and took out his meal. He put the television on just in time to watch the winning lottery numbers. He took out his lottery ticket that he always kept in his wallet. He checked his ticket against the results. He smiled

7. when he saw that he got three of the winning numbers. It wasn’t the jackpot but at least he won twenty pounds. But he had hoped that one day he would win the Euro Millions jackpot. He would collect his winnings and buy another ticket tomorrow.
He then sunk his teeth into his Big Mac and chewed slowly, savouring every bite. As much as he enjoyed eating his burger and fries he missed coming home to a warm home-cooked meal, but it had been over a year since he and his wife Margaret got divorced.
To this day he still regretted the way he and Margaret split up. He thought they had a pretty good marriage at first. It wasn’t perfect, they had their disagreements once in a while, but they were happy. Then things changed after the children were born and when Margaret started working longer hours at the hospital. Before he knew it his wife had filed for divorce on the grounds that he was having an affair and he had moved in with Sheila. Everything happened so fast!
Barry finished his meal and went to take a shower. When he came out he found Sheila sprawled out on the bed reading a fashion magazine. Barry got dressed in his blue and white striped pyjamas and laid down on the bed. He still felt some stiffness in his lower back.
“Sheila, do you feel up to giving me a massage tonight?” he asked hesitantly. “I’ve got a little pain in my back.”
Sheila glanced at him impatiently. “Not now, Barry. You can see that I’m reading my magazine.”
“Oh come on, Sheila, please? A five minute massage, that’s all I ask. Please, please, please?” He tickled her side which made her laugh and jump off the bed.
“All right, all right!” Sheila threw the magazine on the dresser. She stretched out her hand and rested the other on her hip. “Give me fifty pounds and I’ll give you a massage.”
Barry stared at her in disbelief. “Oh come on, Sheila. You can’t be serious. If I wanted to pay for a massage I would have gone somewhere else.”
“Don’t look at me like that, Barry. I was only joking.” She sat down on the bed and made him roll over on his stomach. She stood up on the bed and carefully stepped on the small of Barry’s back. With her hands leaning against the wall, ensuring that she did not put her full weight on his body, she began to move her feet slowly up and down his back. He grunted, his face ground into his pillow. Barry groaned as Sheila hit a particularly sore spot.
He closed his eyes and relaxed his body as Sheila massaged away the tightness in his lower back. She went on for about five minutes and then she stepped off his back.
Barry sat up and rotated his shoulders and head. He then stood up and stretched his whole body. “Aah! That feels so much better,” he said as he smiled at Sheila. “Thanks for the massage. You’ve got some magic feet there.”

8. “My feet aren’t the only thing that’s magic,” said Sheila softly as she pulled Barry down on the bed. He positioned his body on top of hers and Sheila crushed her lips on his, her tongue grazed his teeth as she teased her way deeper into his mouth. Barry’s heart beat faster as his body mounted in excitement.
They quickly got rid of each other’s clothes and made mad, passionate love to each other.
This was something else he did not get about Sheila. One minute she was cold and then the next minute she was hot. Her moods changed so quickly he was never sure what she was going to do or what she was going to say.
During their lovemaking, an image of Barry’s ex-wife suddenly popped into his mind and for a moment he wished that it was Margie who was in bed with him now instead of Sheila. He found it so strange that he was suddenly thinking about his ex-wife while having sex with his current partner. But still, he could not stop his mind from wondering about his ex-wife.
His mind continued to drift as he recalled how well his ex-wife Margaret, Margie as he liked to call her, used to massage his back.
2006 – Winter
Barry and Margie had been married for about three years and she was five months pregnant with twins. Barry was in the process of converting one of the spare rooms in their council house into a nursery. He was standing on a ladder painting the room in cream when he felt a sudden sharp pain in his lower back.
He dropped the paintbrush and, on unsteady legs, he stepped down the ladder and attempted to rub the sore area himself.
Just then Margie came in holding two glasses of lemonade and saw how much pain he was in. “Are you all right darling? What happened?” She rested the glasses on a table and placed her hand on the area where her husband was trying to reach.
“It’s my back,” he said. “I think I pulled a muscle.”
“Oh, well let me help you, darling. Come and lie down.” Margie took him by the arm and led him gently to their bedroom where they sat on the bed. She made him lie down on his stomach and she pulled up his shirt. “Now, darling, tell me where it hurts.”
She gently pressed her fingers on the lower regions of his back until she felt his body stiffen and he winced in pain. “Right there, Margie. That’s where the pain is.”
“All right, darling, just relax,” she said softly as she put gentle pressure on his lower back. She massaged the sore area in circular motions until she felt his body relax.

9. “Aahh, that feels good,” he sighed. The gentle pressure of his wife’s hands made him feel so relaxed that he wanted to sleep.
“How’s your back now, darling? Does it feel better?” asked Margie.
“Yes, much better. Thanks Margie,” said Barry as he drifted off to sleep.
2014 – Present
“Ouch!” Barry cried as he was rudely awakened by a sharp pain in his shoulder blade.
Sheila had pinched him and climbed off the bed.
Barry sat up and rubbed his shoulder. “Why did you do that?”
“Because you called me Margie!” she shouted. She grabbed the magazine she was reading and threw it at him, nearly hitting him in his eye. “I can’t believe you called me by the name of your ex-wife just after we finished making love!” Her pretty face twisted in disgust. She threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket.
Barry covered his face in shame. He did not realize that he had called out Margie’s name in his sleep. “Sheila, I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. It was an accident. I don’t know why it happened… Hey, what are you doing?”
She had grabbed his wallet and was taking out all the money that it contained.
“Sheila, that’s my wallet! Why are you taking all of my money?”
“This is the money that you owe me,” she replied as she waved the cash in his face.
Barry was a bit dazed and confused. “But I thought you said you were joking about charging me for a massage.”
“The massage was free,” said Sheila, “but you owe me a hundred pounds for calling me ‘Margie’.” She threw his wallet on the floor, grabbed the car keys and her purse and turned back before heading out the door.
“Get it through your thick skull, Barry. You’re not married to Margie anymore. You’re with me now, and don’t you forget it!” She then slammed the door to their bedroom and left the house.

10. If you enjoyed this chapter from my book Last Chance you can grab your copy now from any Amazon website. This book is available in Kindle and Paperback.
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About the Author
Christine John is the author of six books and loves writing about different topics such as job hunting, online business, web designing, personal development, short stories and poetry.
She was inspired to write this novel by her colleagues at a will writing company where she worked. Her teammates encouraged and inspired her to write this novel and without their support, she would not have been able to complete it.
Presently Christine lives in the United Kingdom where she continues to help and inspire her readers with her writing.