As Melanie steps out of the guest house, she can't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness because the day started well for her with that really thoughtful gesture from Caleb. However, Shirley's call sort of negatively altered her day. She has been trying not to let it get to her and just figure out a way to deal with her issue with her mom so that things will not get messy at all.She has also been looking forward to seeing Caleb all morning. For some reason, she wanted to speak to him about the latest development, because she didn’t want him to think that he was the problem, or he did something to her when she decided to go MIA like she always does because she can’t come up with a better option, and especially after the lovely breakfast that he had sent her way, she had even taken extra care to dress nicely after Alistair left her room, hoping to make a nice good impression.She has a yellow and black long off-shoulder sundress, with a slit that reaches all the way to the
As Alistair navigates the streets of Blackwood, he can’t help but feel a sense of unease. He does t know a lot of things about Melanie, but from what Caleb told him, she seems to be really close to her twin sister, for her to leave her comfort zone to come to stay with her, but her sudden refusal to go to her sister's house, sort of threw him off guard, and now Caleb is not saying anything concerning where they are supposed to go from here, and now he is left wondering where to take them.He glances at the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of his best friend's concerned expression and his babe's stony silence. It is clear that something that she isn’t willing to talk about is seriously bothering her. Alistair’s eyes flick back to the road ahead, his mind racing with possibilities. He contemplates between taking them to Caleb’s house and the hotel since Melanie doesn’t have a place to stay, but just dumping her at his father’s hotel may not be the best idea. Given the tension betwee
“I don’t understand why are being so stubborn and inconsiderate of my feelings, babe,” Caleb says, his eyes flashing with frustration. “I am not being stubborn Caleb, but what part of I don’t want to talk to right now so you do not understand?” Sophia’s eyes narrow. Just as it seems like the argument between Melanie and Caleb is about to escalate, Sophia clears her throat and drops her clutch on the antique glass table. Sophia is dressed to the nines in a sleek black pencil grown and red stilettos heels, her silky black hair cascading down her back. “Caleb, darling… since she doesn’t want to talk to you, I am here ready to talk to you, so let’s catch up because we have so much to talk about!” Sophia exclaims, her eyes lighting up as she sees Caleb’s attention on her, she rushes over to him, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug to mark her territory in front of Melanie. Caleb’s eyes meet Melanie’s over Sophia’s shoulder, and for a moment, they just stare at each other. Mela
Tired of the whole back and forth with Melanie, Caleb’s expression is stern as he looks at Melanie, after dealing with Sophia on the phone. “Stand up,” he says, his voice firm but controlled “What’s going on Caleb?” She asks, but Caleb is in no mood for any conversation again, and he just gestures for her to stand up, but Melanie hesitates for a moment, with her eyes darting back and forth, but then she stands up, her eyes never leaving his face. “Where is this coming from?” Melanie asks, her voice laced with confusion, but Caleb doesn’t respond. Instead, he turns and opens the door, expecting Melanie to follow him. “Come on,” he says, his voice firm. “Where are we going?” She asks but Caleb just keeps on walking. It is until they are outside, walking towards the car, that Caleb finally answers her. “We are going to Ryan’s house,” he says, his voice neutral and Melanie’s eyes widen in shock. “What? Why?” She asks, her voice incredulous but Caleb’s expression did not change. “
“Before we get into anything serious, do you need something to eat?” Caleb asks because he is starving. “You sent Alistair to deliver me a breakfast platter, so I am still stuffed,” Melanie answers, rubbing the belly part of the free gown that she has on. “I did?” he asks her and Melanie shoots him a confused look. “You didn't?” she questions him. “My bad…I completely forgot about that,” Caleb quickly codes that Alistair just sent the food, to lay the groundwork of what he needs to get used to for him. “Are you sure that you were the one that sent the food?” Melanie starts to doubt as she questions him. “I mentioned it before I went out to indulge myself in an unhealthy amount of alcohol, but I wasn't expecting him to remember to send the food because my mind was just all over the place.” he lies, so that he won't destroy the effort that Alistair put into making Melabie happy, while he was indisposed. “He is that reliable?” Melanie asks suddenly interested in Alistair's persona
“Before we get into anything serious, do you need something to eat?” Caleb asks because he is starving. “You sent Alistair to deliver me a breakfast platter, so I am still stuffed,” Melanie answers, rubbing the belly part of the free gown that she has on. “I did?” he asks her and Melanie shoots him a confused look. “You didn't?” she questions him. “My bad…I completely forgot about that,” Caleb quickly codes that Alistair just sent the food, to lay the groundwork of what he needs to get used to for him. “Are you sure that you were the one that sent the food?” Melanie starts to doubt as she questions him. “I mentioned it before I went out to indulge myself in an unhealthy amount of alcohol, but I wasn't expecting him to remember to send the food because my mind was just all over the place.” he lies, so that he won't destroy the effort that Alistair put into making Melabie happy, while he was indisposed. “He is that reliable?” Melanie asks suddenly interested in Alistair's persona
“Wait, what?” Melanie pauses, as she has just started her meal, and she suddenly pauses, her fork hovering mid-air. Her eyes widen, and she can feel her heart skip a beat. “Are you serious?” she asks Caleb who is busy observing her expression, barely able to believe the words she just heard. The shock is so intense that she almost drops her fork. “Yo…yo…you…I’m kidding,” Caleb lies and Melanie exhales in relief, that she starts massaging her chest that is rising and falling with her palm, as if that will quiet down the thumping of her heart in the rib cage of her chest. “Is that how much pressure the thought of not being married to me brings you?” Caleb throws the question at her because he wants to judge what her reaction will look like when she finally tells him. “Are you joking?” Melanie questions him, after hissing at him. “Or did you think that was funny?” she presses and he just shakes his head. “Ever since I broke up with Alex, the thought of being stuck i
“Calm down and finish your food,” Melanie tells herself. With that, she puts her ranging thoughts on hold as she settles down to eat her food and finishes it.Immediately Melanie is done with her food, she pushes her plates aside, and her mind starts racing with the thoughts of Caleb’s suggestion once more. She gets up from the table, gathers all her dishes, and takes them to the kitchen where she washes them because she didn’t meet Caleb’s dirt dishes on the sink.Before she finishes washing her dishes, she starts ascending the giant staircase with determination. However, on getting to the end of the staircase, she looks around and remembers that she has never been to his house before. So, she takes out her phone to dial his number because she doesn’t want to start screaming his name like an illiterate in such a giant, beautiful mansion.On dialing Calb’s number, she hears a faint ringing tone coming from the door on her left, and she leaves where she is standing to go closer, only f
“Is it just me? Or does it really feel like Aiden is struggling to decide if he wants to like me or not?” Melanie points out after Aiden walks away from the table and Caleb shoots her a strange look. “What is there to decide? You either like someone or you don’t like them, there shouldn’t be any in between,” Caleb points out but Melanie shakes her head because she doesn’t agree with him. “So what is there to plan now? Are we keeping him or a we letting him go back to his mom where he truly belongs? Melanie asks and Caleb pauses to think. “You really want him here, don’t you?” She paints out and he shakes his head. “I honestly don't know,” Caleb answers her. “If you don’t know if you want him in your life or not, why can’t you just settle without a fight?” Melanie asks him. “Settling without a fight is way too easy for her, and I am guessing that she must be expecting that, but when my lawyers are done gathering the evidence of how poorly she raised him,” Caleb informs “ You thi
Melanie and Caleb retire to bed fulfilled that night and in Melanie’s point of view, she can feel closer to her daughter more than she felt before, and In Caleb’s point of view, his perspective about Melanie not being able to stand him starts to change because he saw her genuinely laugh and smile, the type of smile that reaches her eyes and he felt really content because who could have thought that Dawn's death will make Melanie to stop running away from him as a person but laying herself down as a living sacrifice. Melanie and Caleb’s grief journey continued throughout that week, with at least one highlight of the day. On the first day, they started by creating a memory garden, where they planted trees and flowers that held special meaning to them. The next day, they decided to take a cooking class together, they learned how to make different baby foods that Caleb learned after he found out about her, but she didn’t even stick around to try. On the third day, wrote letters to the
Melanie, Tony, Olivia, and Alistair return to Caleb's mansion to join Caleb because the day is far spent, but Melanie hasn’t been able to do so much out of the list of activities that she has set out for the memorial. As they pull into the drive way, the day has been emotionally draining, but she tried her best not to let it weigh her down, while she did everything with a smile on her face, so that nobody will be worried about her mental health, and with Alistair, Olivia and Tony, she had a lot of fun while trying to face her grief like a big girl.As they step out of the car, Melanie's eyes land on Caleb, who is standing by the entrance of the house, and she rushes to hug him because she didn’t realize how much she missed him and wanted him back. A warm smile appears on his face as he sees her full fit, and Melanie can’t help but feel a flutter in her chest as she takes in the sight of him.“Hey,” Caleb says as she approaches him before Olivia and Tony step out of the car to also gre
After Melanie ends the call with Kalinin and Ryan, she makes her way out of Caleb’s inhouse office and she heads straight to his room where she realizes that the room looks and feels different to what she is used to, but she isn’t able to pace it till she sees the note on the bed.“Good morning sunshine, you mentioned that you wanted your thinks moved out of your room, so I supervised them moving your things from your room to mine… once again, I am sorry for speaking to you the way I did yesterday,” Caleb apologizes again and she walks into his walk-in closet to see that a space has been created for her in the room.She exits the walk-in closet for the bathroom and she realizes that all the toiletries on her own side of the bathroom are composed of the toiletries that she was into when she was staying with him, just that everything is brand new.“I have no idea the products that you used now, but these were the ones that were in your bathroom, so I just asked him to have new ones sent
The next morning, Melanie slowly opens her eyes, groggily taking in her surroundings. She is still in Caleb’s office, sitting in his chair, but as she looks down, she notices her body is covered with a soft, plush blanket.“Could it have been one of the stewards that needed to clean up?” she mutters, feeling a sense of surprise and wonder, trying to recall how the blanket got there because she didn’t remember covering herself before she went to sleep, and she is certain that she didn’t bring a blanket with her to the office the previous night.As she lifts the blanket, she sees that it is one of Caleb’s because it has his distinct monogram, embodied on the corner. A faint smile crosses her lips as she realizes that Caleb must have covered her with the blanket while she was asleep, and her eyes scan the room, searching for any signs of Caleb, but he is nowhere to be found. She wonders if he went back to his room to sleep or left for the important meeting that he mentioned the previous
“Can I be brutally honest with you?” Melanie speaks up after a while, and Caleb raises sb eyebrow at her, curious about what she has to say. “I have no idea about what the hell I am doing and I don't think I have ever lost anyone close to me to be able to grieve properly…in short the closest thing that I have lost was my puppy” Melanie informs him. “Do you want to go upstairs to get the full gist?” Melanie asks him and he considers for a moment.“Not exactly,” He answers her“I have an important meeting at work tomorrow and I really need to get some sleep,” Caleb excuses.“Can't Alistair stand in for you at the meeting, as usual? Or doesn’t he know that you lost your daughter?” Melanie asks him multiple questions.“I haven’t told anybody on my side, not even my mom … so no, he doesn’t know and even if he does, there is no way he can stand in for me because the only thing he has been used to doing over the years is running the night club with me, so I left him to take care of the nig
As Melanie steps out of the hospital ward, she is met with the bright hospital light that seems to mock her somber mood, and she squints her eyes, scanning the area to see if Caleb eventually changed his mind and decided to take one last look at his daughter, till her eyes land on Ryan who is relaxing on the wall, waiting for her.Ryan’s face is etched in concern as he watches Melanie approach him. He can see the pain and grief, written all over her face, and his heart goes out to her as he envelopes her in a warm hug.“Hey babes, I’m so sorry about Dawn…I can only imagine how you must be feeling,” Ryan says, his voice soft and gentle.“Funny enough, I was imagining what it was going to look or feel like to be one of those mothers who found anything that their children did to be cute, but now I just feel so lost,” Melanie scoffs, her eyes welling up with tears that she blinks back.“I’m here for you, Mel…what can I do to help?”Ryan nods sympathetically and Melanie takes a deep breath.
“Is it just me, or did the doctor just leave here?” Melanie questions Caleb after staring into space for a while, but he doesn't give her an answer, he is just standing there trying to process the news of his daughter's death. It is not until Kalinin steps out of the ward, her face etched in sadness as she envelops her in a hug that Melanie recalls the previous 5 minutes.Kalinin was with the doctors in Dawn's ward while they tried to save her, she has just witnessed the devastating loss of the young child, and her heart goes out to the grieving parents. As she walked past Caleb to give Melanie that is standing in the hallway a hug, she could see the anguish and despair written on his face. As Kalinin hugs Melanie, she doesn’t say a word or do as much as move, her eyes are just dating back and forth, trying to process everything. Kalinin tightens her arms around Melanie, holding her close as she starts to do so uncontrollably. “I am really sorry sister…I had no idea that she was a
The drive to the hospital was a tense and uncomfortable one, with Caleb and Ryan barely exchanging a word. The air is thick with animosity, and the silence between them is palpable. Caleb is still fuming from their earlier conversation, and even though Ryan agreed for him to drive his car, it doesn’t make Caleb feel any better, judging from the way he gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with tension. Ryan seated beside him, stared out of the window, his eyes fixed on the passing scenery because he thought that it would make things less awkward, but as they drove, the only sound was the hum of the engine and the occasional beep of the car horn. The tension between them was so thick that it seemed to have a life of its own. Despite their mutual dislike for each other, they both knew that they had to put their differences aside for the sake of Dawn. They drove in silence, each listening in their thoughts, as they navigated the bustling streets. As they approached