Almost five years ago, a lad was broken - hearted. This is for the reason that his 13 year old relationship was gone. His fiancée left him for another guy. Two months after this, he found himself another girlfriend. The lad's name is Richard and the new girl is called Lisa.

It all started when one night, Lisa was having stress because of her job that she decided to send a message to Richard if he can join her for a cup of coffee. He agreed and that was the start of their beautiful friendship. Lisa was attracted to Richard the first time she saw him although she didn't realize that he would be interested in her. After that cup of coffee, they will spend hours and hours talking about anything and she was just happy because she found Richard to be a good conversationalist. In another instance, he gave her short notice and that he introduced her to his friends. Even if she found this against "the rules” she decided to succumb to his request. It did not take long for Lisa to share her secrets with Richard and he loved the idea that she trusted him.

One Friday night, after Lisa had shared all of her secrets, Richard decided to invite her for a little get - away. She felt there was nothing wrong with that so she trusted him. They spent the night inside their car stationed in the chilly park of one tourists' area. Before the sun rose, they decided to watch it. They acted as lovers although there were no words spoken if they actually agreed to be sweethearts. On their way home, there were smiles and holding hands. Until finally, he broke the silence by asking if she is happy. She answered "yes.” They spent the whole afternoon giving affection to each other and ate lunch over a Chinese restaurant. Lisa can still remember how he kissed her cheeks in the restaurant. Before he dropped her for home, she whispered……”I love you.” Richard was not sure of what he heard that he confirmed it with her. Lisa can't remember if he answered back. This started their wonderful romantic relationship.

Two months later, he proposed to her. She said yes and they agreed to get married 2 years after. As in any other relationships, Richard's and Lisa's is no exception. There are times that it was bumpy but there are times that they are so in love with each other. One of the challenges is Richard's hectic business schedules and his family priorities being a breadwinner. Lisa also found that he has an "interesting” relationship with his family. She observed that since Richard's family is very enterprising, the subject of money is very controversial to his family. However, one of the highlights of their relationship was when they attended the Catholic Engaged Encounter. They gave their vows that they will "live happily ever after” with Jesus Christ as the center of their relationship.

The year they decided to get married, there were signs that it won't push through. Other than their career commitments, there was no preparation and no mention of the status of their engagement. At exactly the same time, Lisa's application for a work abroad was approved. This was a sign that a wedding wasn't happening. Lisa also prayed that when this happens, it's a warning that this relationship was not meant to be.

Lisa left for abroad and 7 months later, Richard decided to give her a visit. It was a painful experience, because he admitted he had lots of temptations while she was away. He just spent 3 weeks with her and Lisa felt that this is not the same person anymore. She expected more from him and the quality time they used to have together were all gone…….she didn't hear from him any update about his proposal, about his plans for their future, and "living happily ever after………..”

These are great reading materials: Moral of the Story #1: http://www.therulesbook.com/topten.html by Sherrie Schneider and Ellen Fein

Moral of the Story #2: He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys by Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo