Melanie eschewed heading home straight away after her visit to the West Family residence. Instead, with Melissa in tow, she went on a grocery-shopping spree with her mind already drawing up everything the house was lacking.The duo came out of the supermarket soon after. Melissa was suddenly struck by the jejune need for her mother to carry her, but Melanie’s hands were completely full of groceries by then. “Millie, come now, be a good girl. How about we have a little walk to our car first? Once we’re there, Mommy can put this stuff down and then carry you in her arms, okie? The car’s in the supermarket’s basement; it’s not toooo far, is it? Come on, let’s be a good girl.”Melissa refused to be reasoned. She fell onto her butt and sat on the floor before weeping to herself. She was not known to bawl loudly, so her antics did not attract much attention from disinterested passerbys.Still, Melanie was a little hard-pressed as to what to do. A situation like this was dime a dozen to ev

A few dextrous inputs later, Alejandro obtained Melanie’s exact location.For some reason, anxiety bubbled within him as he stood outside the fine diner—it was one of those establishments meant for couples, he realized. What if it was a man who was eating with her right now?He forced his composure to remain and descended the car before heading inside the restaurant. It was all too easy to descry the one silhouette that was so familiar that it was impossible for him to miss; she was sitting right next to the window. Then he saw him—Mateo Rodriguez, sitting across her on that same table. Spleen skyrocketed within Alejandro, but he halted his step and stood still. He dialed Melanie’s number again.He watched her pick up the phone. Watched her push the call away with a skillful tap. Watched her not breaking her composure, as though the call did not happen, before jumping right back into a lively conversation with Mateo, laughing.It was the first time Alejandro had ever experienced

During the weekend, in order to avoid Alejandro, Melanie asked both Arianne and Tiffany out for a mini gathering. She intentionally let Alejandro know where she was going so that he wouldn’t go “berserk” again.Both Arianne and Tiffany did not bring their children with them, hence it was only Melanie who had brought Millie with her. Tiffany even teased Melanie as she said, “After going through so much trouble to come out to play, you’ve actually brought your daughter with you as well. Wouldn’t you find it annoying? Melanie, you should take it easy occasionally; everyone knows that you’re the ‘perfect mother’...”Melanie looked slightly fatigued because of the sleepless nights caused by Alejandro’s torment. “Millie is a good girl, so I bring her with me wherever I go. Plus, it’s not annoying since I’m used to it.”When Arianne noticed that Melanie did not look well, she asked with a concerned expression, “Are you alright? Are you sick? You look very pale…”Melanie was feeling depres

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t recall, probably because I was more of a bookworm back then,” said Arianne embarrassedly as she smiled.However, Mateo did not seem to mind. “It’s fine, there were so many people in the university, so it’s perfectly normal that you wouldn’t notice me. I suppose it’s a kind of fate that we were in the same university previously.”At the dining table, they chatted happily and had a lot of common topics to talk about.After they were done eating, Arianne announced that she had to leave first. She had to pay more attention to Smore since he was going to attend school soon. Before Melanie or Tiffany could offer to send her back, Mateo took the lead and said, “I’ll send you home and come back to meet up with Melanie and Tiffany later on. It was so difficult to meet some of my acquaintances ever since I returned to the country; it’s boring, staying at home alone.”Mateo’s character made it really hard for others to reject his offer, so Arianne nodded her hea

Both Tiffany and Arianne loved Chinese dishes, so Tiffany began to preach as she said, “I’ll come here whenever I feel like having Chinese dishes in the future. I just really like the food here. I’m not going to eat for free though. The food here is absolutely delicious!”Mateo was only able to find some time to greet the trio when they were halfway done with their food. “I’m so sorry, I was held up with work just now. Please order whatever you want, don’t be shy. I’ve also told the kitchen to give your table the best treatment; your food will be prioritised when it’s being served so you don’t have to wait for too long.”Tiffany jokingly said, “You’re such a nice guy…”Then, Mateo blinked his eyes at her. “Why, of course, I’ve got to take care of my friends. You’re Melanie’s friends, so you’re my friends as well. There’s no need to stand on ceremony. I’m going to go back now, enjoy your meal.”As they watched Mateo leave, Tiffany whispered, “Melanie, does he fancy you? Or did he… f