“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's hands shake as she pushes open Alex's door after entering her fiancé's passcode. She hadn’t planned on coming here today, but the stress of a prospective pregnancy has forced her to seek consolation in the one person that she feels she can trust. She is ten days overdue for her period, and she is beginning to lose her mind about her mother's likely response. “How is mommy going to respond?” Her stomach knots at the thought. Before taking a pregnancy test, she feels like she should speak with Alex face-to-face so that he can mentally get ready to become a parent if the findings are positive. "Alex?” Melanie yells, "I need to talk to you," She says as she enters, but no one answers. Melanie starts to get nervous since she knows for sure that Alex is at home since his car is parked outside. “How could he be anywhere else?” Her pulse is pounding as she moves from the living area to Alex's bedroom. “What if he reacts badly?” she thinks and She notices them at that p
Once Melanie and Alex split up, Alex enters denial mode that he would rather focus on Melanie's eternal place in the afterlife instead of giving up that she is just gone, period. He is confident that she will come begging for him to return and that he is what she needs so doesn't bother to chase her and he doesn't talk to her for three days at which point he is boiling in hate and disdain. “Where are you?” “Why are you ignoring me?” On the fourth day of their breakup, Melanie reads Alex's text message after Shirley and her neighbors told her about Alex showing up at the house as well as right in front of where she works. Melanie is terrified and she pulls out her phone, texts her twin sister Kalinin about what is happening, in case something does happen to her. Melanie sighs and sets her phone down because Kalinin is a medical doctor, so she might working in the hospital. “How are you, baby girl?” Kalinin replies almost immediately “I am not fine,” Melanie replies, unable to
Melanie takes the next few days pondering if Kalinin asking her to move to Orion is the right decision to make and she would have loved to get a second opinion from someone else but she has been betrayed by friends too many times and now she had cut off all her friends for the sake of her mental health. Melanie hands over her beauty studio to Shirley to manage for the six months that she may likely be away from Pearl Coast and she ties up a few loose ends. Melanie books her flight to Orion and informs the parties involved that she will be in Orion the next day. Melanie did not think saying her goodbye to Shirley was going to be hard because her assistant was the coolest thing that she had to a friend at the moment. The next morning, Melanie ducks out in the early dawn of her last days in Pearl Coast, packing stuff, and saying her final goodbye to her assistant, She then checks in for her six-hour flight to Orion at the airport. She gets a coffee and makes herself comfortable a
“Why didn't you speak to me before putting me on that dating site?” she demands an answer from Kalinin “We did not want to hurt you,” Kalinin answers. “…But you need to begin living again.” She proclaims unapologetically. “Mom doesn't know about the state you are in and I know that you will be alright...it is just a matter of time.” She sounds like she is trying to console Melanie but she is threatening her with this statement. “It is not as simple as you make it sound,” Melanie complains. “Well sure…but we just want to get you out of your shell, we can cut it out eventually if that is what you want.” Kalinin is quick to assure. “I feel like you are trying to rush me into things.” Melanie sobs. “I thought leaving Alex would help but now I am lost.” she completely breaks down. “Why can't you just allow me to figure shit out on my own?” Melanie complains again. “We thought moving you away from all the reminders would help make it easier for you, but we are still so c
“Hey Meelah, hope you’re doing well. It's Alex’s uncle, Ethan.” the text reads. “I know that this might seem unexpected, but I've been thinking about you lately and I wanted to reach out,” he continues. “you’re an incredible person, and I always thought you deserved better than my nephew so, would you love to grab a coffee and catch up sometime?” Melanie’s eyes widen as she reads the message from Alex’s uncle. She couldn’t believe he would reach out to her like that. Although Ethan Sinclair’s message seems friendly and casual, but Melanie can't help but feel that it sounds slightly flirtatious. Melanie feels a mix of emotions: surprise, discomfort, and a hint of fear and even though Ethan is being respectful by acknowledging the past relationship but he is also showing interest in getting to know Melanie, she doesn’t know how to respond or even if she wants to. Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, Melanie decides to focus on something else. She suddenly remembers the datin
“Okay, sure. What time and where?” she asks him after pondering for a while, her heart racing with anticipation because agreeing to meet up with someone that she just started talking to is way out of character for her. “10 pm at ‘The Beat’ club. I’ll leave your name at the door,” Caleb replies. Melanie nods to herself, even though she knows that he can’t see her but she is feeling a thrill of excitement at the prospect of meeting Caleb later in the day so she quickly gets up from her bed and rushes to Kalinin’s matrimonial room with excitement radiating from her face. “Kali, Kali! You won’t believe what just happened!” Melanie exclaims, barely containing her enthusiasm and forgetting to acknowledge Kali’s husband’s presence. “I will just excuse myself,” Martins takes the initiative and excuses him from the room without making the situation awkward. “What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Kalinin looks up from her book curious “I matched with someone on the sit
Melanie crosses Kalinin's gates and draws a long, steady breath. Exhilaration combined with a hint of fear permeates the air. Melanie has only visited here very once since Kalinin relocated with Marcus four years ago but she is resolved to find out where the night will carry her, but the thought of how to navigate her way in this unfamiliar city at night makes her anxious and resolute at the same time. As she leaps into the Uber her sister booked, she gives the driver the club address that Kalinin helped her copy out and she relaxes into the car. Enthralled by the city’s sight, Melanie watches out the window on the trip. Though overwhelming, the pulsating street activity and the brilliant neon lights are thrilling. The thrill of adventure beats her heart, a nice break from her nervousness about the upcoming meeting. When she gets to "The Beats," the club is large and before her, its door is decorated with powerful lettering suggesting an evening to remember. Melanie pays the driv
“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