"Taa dah! Here, Mr. Hartless, have a taste" Melina snapped him out of his thoughts."No. I don't like ice cream.""Just one spoon, please" Melina insisted."I said I don't like..." Before Dominic could finish, Melina shoved a spoon into his mouth. Immediately the cold texture of the Gelato made contact with his tongue, his pupils dilated greatly."What do you think, Mr. Hartless? How does it taste?" Melina asked, anticipating his remark.Slowly, Dominic took out the spoon and asked"What did you say this was again?""Gelato. Italian Gelatos""Ah." He nodded and slowly turned to the vendor. "Can I... have one of your Gelato?"Melina let out a chuckle. "You like it already, don't you?""No. That's not it. I just thought since this our first date and you like the Gelatos too much, I can have some if it will make you happy."Melina snorted. This man. His arrogance is on top of the entire universe. "Besides, it's just one cone of it, just one." FEW MINUTES LATERMelina let out a slight g

"Was that why you left Westwood?" Dominic asked after a brief silence between them and Melina nodded."I was too heartbroken then. I lost everything and everyone I loved and cherished. Even the person thought I would spend the rest of my life with." She pressed her lips together to hold back the tears threatening to slip down. Dominic saw a certain pain and anger that flashed through her teary eyes and he couldn't help but wonder.Did someone else hurt her more than her parents did, eight years ago?"Have you visited your parents since you came back?""No. I don't have to courage to face them." Melina scoffed."You badly want to see them, don't you?"Melina glanced at him with a sad, faint smile. "I guess. As much as I am still angry with them for disowning me that easily, they're still my parents. I can't help but worry if they're ok. How have they been doing since that day eight years ago? Do they miss me or have they completely forgotten about me? Are they safe? Where are they now?

Dominic noticed how tense Melina's body was making him frown. She was trembling slightly like she just encountered something terrifying. "Melina, are you okay? Did something happen?" He made to pull out but Melina didn't let him."Can we stay like this for a while, Mr. Hartless... please?" She asked in a mumble. Dominic didn't say anything further and he allowed her to hug him while hugging her back. Gradually, Melina's tensed body loosened up and she relaxed. She then pulled out from the hug and looked at Dominic with a smile. "Thank you""Can you tell me what happened now?" He held her hands.Melina looked down and let out a deep sigh. "I was just reminded of something, something horrible from my past. If I'm to talk about it now, I might break down in tears." She looked back up at Dominic and added "Can I not ruin this happy night for us?" She smiled faintly.Dominic wanted to ask further. He wanted to know which past she was reminded of. What horrible past was she talking about?

Dominic sat inside his car, waiting for someone. A knock came, followed by the door opening and a man stepping in. "Here are the documents you requested, Sir" An envelope was handed over to him, and the man left. Dominic took out the test result inside the envelope; a paternity test result. Looking down at the end of the paper, it was a 99 percent match. Shantel and Leon were his kids. Dominic wasn't surprised, not even one bit. He already knew from day one, from the very first day he set his eyes on Leon, that he and Shantel were his. To him, it was too good to be a mere coincidence but because he had pressing matters to handle at that moment, he had to keep finding out the truth aside. After he remembered who Melina was, he had even more reason to believe that Shantel and Leon were his kids and with this result he was holding, no further evidence was needed. He drove straight to school to pick his kids up. Shantel and Leon were excited to see him. The little girl rushed to him and

Dominic's question made Melina's face die down in a gloom. She stared back into his eyes that bored deep into hers like he was searching deep into her soul and looking for answers. There were so many questions in his softened gaze that he was yearning answers to. Yet, Melina couldn't bring herself to tell him anything.She couldn't tell him about her recent encounter with Killian. She couldn't tell him anything about her sad past with Killian. She didn't want to bring it up for fear that talking about her past was going to open up all the wounds she spent years trying to bury.Melina was also scared of what Dominic's reaction would be. Things are starting to make sense between them and they're both starting to know each other more. What if he starts withdrawing himself from her after learning about her past? What if the same thing that happened between her and Killian repeats itself?These and many other 'what ifs' made Melina remain mute. "No. There's nothing else" She stepped away f