Melvine came out of the hospital after finishing her shift .
It was 9.15 of night . The street got much calmer than it was in daytime .
She looked around in search of the familiar black clothed figure and got a bit upset to find that he had not come , today too .
She sighed as she took out her phone and after thinking for a moment dialled his number .
The person picked up pretty fast .
( On call )
Ryan : Hello , darling .
Melvine : You are not coming today too , are you ?
Ryan : Sorry darling , I am a bit busy these days . Why ? Do you miss me ?
Melvine : ( After contemplating for a while ) Yes .
Ryan : Sorry , I cannot come today .
Melvine : It's okay . I'll leave first .
Ryan : Hmm .
( A moment of silence )
Melvine : When will you be free ?
Ryan : It'll take some time .
Melvine : ....
Ryan : But I'll meet you tomorrow . Okay ?
Melvine : Alright .
After some more words she hang up .
She started walking as a bitter feeling spread through her heart .
It has been a while since they last met . They just talked on the phone a few times .
Ryan had informed her that he is busy and she , of course , believed his words . But she couldn't discard the irritating feeling of her heart .
She knew why she was frustrated or what made her frustrated .
When she was talking to him on the phone , she could hear many other sounds in the background ; loud music ... chattering and cheering of people ... flirty giggles of women .... their seductive voices calling Ryan's name ... she heard everything .
The conclusion was clear ; Ryan was most probably at a bar , with other women .
Ryan's nature was not unknown to Melvine and nor that she didn't witness something like this before but thinking about Ryan being close to other women, always makes her frustrated .
She started walking when her phone rang again .
She checked her phone . There was , for some reason , a slight glimpse of hope in her eyes .
God knows whose call she had expected but her eyes soon lost the light of hope as she checked the caller ID that showed : 'Mrs Farwell calling'.
She let out a sigh . Her mind filled with annoyance as she disconnected the call .
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Next day in the S forest .
Currently , two angels , Riley and Erika , were walking along the forest trail .
Recently , there was some information that some dark powers could be sensed from the forest . So Joseph send the two of them to look into the matter.
Riley wanted to come alone as he was not used to work with others ; But Joseph insisted that it would be safer to send both of them together than to send either of them alone . So Riley had to comply .
Riley was quiet as always as they walked through the serene forest .
Usually , Erika was not very talkative but the silence was getting a bit too suffocating for her .
She glanced at the person, beside her , who had a solemn expression on his face.
So she said with a small smile .
" Why does it seem that you are upset because you had to come with me , instead of Selina ? "
Riley turned to her with a frown as he said ," What ? Where does she come from here ?"
Erika said maintaining her teasing smile , " Just asking , because your expression has been so solemn since Joseph asked you to come with me .... I've noticed , when you have to go with Selina you don't seem to have any problem but you were so unwilling to come with me . So .... " , she didn't complete the sentence as she shrugged her shoulders .
Riley remained expressionless as he spoke in a straight voice , " It has nothing to do with Selina . I'm just not habituated with working with others . And if we talk about unwillingness you , too , were unwilling to come with me . "
" No no no , that's not right. " , she hurriedly said , "I just said that because it's a bit awkward being with you alone . "
Riley couldn't help but frown at her words .
She continued , " Since you don't speak much with anyone it's hard to communicate with you . So I said that . But in reality , I was more than willing to come with you . "
The way she said that it left Riley speechless.
After a moment he spoke , " And , may I know the reason for such eagerness ? "
Erika didn't beat around the bush as she straightforwardly said , " Because you are very interesting . "
" Interesting !? " , he looked at her as he spoke sarcastically , " Don't you mean suspicious ? Or it is just a different way to say suspicious ?"
She raised her brows as he continued .
" It's not that I don't know what others think of me or how they see me . So no need to use such pretentious words . "
" I didn't use any pretentious word , Riley . I said what I feel . And I don't really care what others think . I can just say that I don't suspect you ... at least not yet . "
Riley raised his brows as he spoke , " Sometimes , it's better to follow the crowd . "
" Are you indirectly saying that the suspicion against you is right ? You do work for the dark souls ? " , she smiled as she said .
" It doesn't matter . "
Erika laughed a little as she said , " Like I said , you are interesting ..... very interesting and scary too . "
She said the last part in a low voice but he heard her anyway .
He didn't beat around the bush and asked directly .
" And how am I scary ? "
" Of course , you can read thoughts . What if my thoughts get exposed ! "
" I don't think , there's anything to be scared of unless .... you have something to hide . "
" And what if I do have something to hide ! " , she whispered as a mischievous smile spread through her lips .
Riley frowned but chose to ignore her words.
Nobody spoke after that as they continued walking .
Soon they come to a crossroad . Two narrow roads were leading to two opposite directions .
They exchanged a short glance as Erika held her two fingers in a particular manner , faint silver light appear as she moved her fingers in the air .
She spoke , after scanning the surrounding .
" This way . " , she pointed to the road on the left side .
" Are you sure ? Because I am sensing dark energy from the right side . "
" Someone had gone this way , I checked it.", Erika said with confidence .
" But I can't feel anything from the other side . " , Riley spoke in his usual straightforward manner .
" Riley , I am not joking . There is a different energy source in the left . It's strong . I don't know how you can't feel it ? "
" What about you ? Do you not feel anything from the right side ? "
Erika hesitated a bit before replying , " Not really . "
Riley pursed his lips as he remained silent for a moment . Then he said .
" Let's check both sides then . "
He prepared to leave when Erika said .
" Or , let's go separately . It'd also save time."
" Not a good idea . We don't know what is awaiting us . "
" It'll be okay . I can manage . And if something happens , I believe , my powers would be able to protect me . "
"There are things that can't always be avoided by powers."
She frowned at his words but didn't ask anything because he always talks in a twisted manner .
So she said , " I'll be careful ."
Saying that , she turned to the road on the left side as she walked towards the unknown, while looking at her retreating back a strange expression flickered in Riley's eyes .
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At a small cafe near Daisy hospital .
Melvine was sitting face to face with an another woman .
Contrary to Melvine's awkward expression the other woman had an amusing smile on her face .
After a long silence , the other woman who was named , Nia , finally broke the silence .
" What's up ? What do you want , this time ?"
Melvine became flustered as she spoke .
" Can't I treat you to a coffee without any reason ? "
Nia laughed a little and said , " You are not the type who would share a drink with your partner's ex , without any reason . " , Melvine pursed her lips as she continued ," So , what is it , this time ? "
" It's really nothing . It's just , I had a feeling that last time when we met , I behaved a bit impulsively . And also , I didn't thank you properly . I was very disturbed during that time . So I ..... "
" That's not a big deal . " , Nia cut her off , " That's actually very normal , I didn't mind . And about thanking me , I don't think , I was much of a help to you . "
" No , it was still a lot . "
" I still remember the day . " , Nia spoke , " You were looking so distressed , as if you've lost some precious possession of yours . You were asking about Ryan's whereabouts. You wanted to meet him urgently . I swear , I never thought that someday I would see you in that state ."
Melvine said in a low voice , " I had something important to tell him . "
Nia nodded and couldn't but thought about the day .
[ So , it was the time when the relationship between Melvine and Ryan took a dire turn after the serious argument in the hospital . Melvine was utterly depressed as Ryan completely disappeared from her life . She could not be at peace . She wanted to meet Ryan , she wanted to talk to him . She wanted to be with him.
That time , Melvine was trying really hard to find his whereabouts . Fortunately , one day , she met Nia . She asked her about Ryan's whereabouts . Though Nia couldn't help her much in this regard but she did tell her about some places that Ryan usually visits . Melvine was really thankful to her for her help , no matter how small the help was . She was deeply moved by her genuine nature . ]
Melvine reminisced the day as she said with a sincere heart , " Thank you so much for your help . "
" You really don't need to thank me for that . But I am happy that I could help ." , she thought for a moment and asked , " So did you manage to get back with him ? "
A small sigh escaped Melvine's lips as she replied ," Kind of . "
" Whoa ! He agreed ?? "
Melvine nodded .
" Wow , you must be really special ! "
" Special and me ! " , Melvine smiled in self-mockery.
" Why not !" , said Nia," You even managed to change his mind , that's really surprising !"
Melvine didn't respond as she took a sip of her coffee . After a moment , Nia started .
" See, as much as I know , once Ryan ends his relationship with someone he never reconciles with her ; He does talk to them or help them but never gets back with them. "
She stopped for a moment before continuing again , "Back then , judging by the situation , I could sense this much that things were pretty serious between you two . And you were trying to get back with him , so I thought that, most probably, it was you who wanted to end the relationship and then regretted. I couldn't tell you about this at that time because you were already depressed and I thought it would make you more upset . You were trying very hard to find him , if I had said that Ryan never reconciles with his past partners , it would've crushed your hope and efforts . I didn't want that .
And it wasn't my place to say anything either so I left everything for you two to settle . "
Nia took a deep breath as she watched Melvine who had not much expression on her face.
Nia continued , " You know , I was certain that you were going to end up more heartbroken , after his rejection . But I am genuinely happy that you managed to get back with him . "
Melvine sighed ; Only she knew how hard it was to mend their relationship.
Nia said ," Honestly speaking , when I first saw you with him I was a bit surprised . "
Melvine looked up at her .
" Because I have never seen him with women like you ..."
At this point , Melvine cut her off as she asked .
" And what does 'women like me ' mean ? "
" It means , decent women . Women with decent background , good upbringing, proper education , decent job and all .... I've not seen him indulging with such women . He may have his own reason for that , but I think he doesn't want to break the hearts of innocent women like you ."
After she was done speaking , Melvine softly said , " I see . "
Some time passed as none of them said anything . After a long while Melvine suddenly said .
" Can I ask you something ? "
" Go ahead . "
" How did you and Ryan meet ? "
Nia thought for a moment as she started .
" I used to work as a waitress in a bar . Ryan was a regular customer there . He , like other customers , used to flirt with me , that's actually pretty normal in a bar . But , one day , things got riled up when a man offered me money in exchange of sleeping with him . I denied but he kept on pressing the matter , at one point he began to harrass me . It was when Ryan intervened .
He said something to the man . I don't know what deal he offered him but after their conversation the man didn't pester me anymore . And I ended up with Ryan . "
" Then ? "
" Then we started hanging out together . "
" You know , my time with him was one of the happiest time of my life . He treated me very well . For once in my life , I felt very special . Every moment that I had spent with him was blissful . I feel so good thinking about that time . "
Melvine could feel genuine happiness as Nia talked about her time with Ryan . So she asked , out of curiosity .
" If everything was perfect .... why did you guys break up ? "
Nia smiled as she said , " Shall I simply answer your question or let you find out the answer yourself ? "
" I don't want to find out . You answer ."
" As I said , Ryan is a very good partner . He is romantic , caring , and considerate
too . Anyone would ask for a man like him . But somewhere , I always felt that something was amiss . I always felt that the good time was not permanent ; that it would end at any moment . Because , I knew very well that Ryan was not serious about the relationship , in fact he had never been serious about his relationships . I knew , he was seeing other women but I really couldn't say anything to him about that . "
Melvine listened in silence . She could feel each and every word of Nia .
Nia went on , " I was not delusional ; It was clear to me that he was not committed to me in any way . I knew that there was no future of our relationship and there would never be any future either . So I decided not to get too hopeful . He already gave me a lot , it was more than what I could even ask for . So there was actually nothing I could complain about ."
" Then ? "
" Things took a different turn and I decided to end the relationship . "
" What different turn ?..... I m...mean .... "
" No need to hesitate . As I said , I was quite certain that our relationship had no future . I knew , things would never change between us . And honestly speaking nobody would like to live like that for the rest of their lives . So I was thinking about moving out of the relationship . And I knew , Ryan wouldn't object to it .
That time , I met a man ; Not very special but sincere . He said , he was interested in me . After some thought , I started spending time with him . One day , he proposed to me , saying he wanted to marry me . And ..... I said yes . "
" What happened after that ? "
Nia smiled beautifully as she showed her hand , there was a simple but beautiful ring , on her ring finger . She said , " We are happily married now . "
" And ..... Ryan ? How did he react ? "
" When I told him everything he looked neither surprised nor bothered . As if , everything was absolutely normal . He genuinely congratulated me . He then asked a few questions about the man , when the marriage was about to take place and all and wished me a happy life ahead . "
" It was actually a relief that I didn't develop feelings for him ; Otherwise things wouldn't have ended so well between us . I had always wanted that our relationship ends on a happy note , with good memories . So I'm happy that everything went as I wanted ."
Silence fell between them as Melvine didn't know what to say . But after some moments she suddenly asked in a hesitated tone .
" So ..... did you guys sleep together ? "
A mischievous smile spread on Nia's lips .
" That's a secret . " , she spoke in a serious manner as she laughed out loud .
Melvine pursed her lips and said no more .
Nia said , " Now you tell me . How is everything going between you two ? "
Melvine's face dropped . She remained quiet for a moment and said , " I don't know ."
Nia sipped her coffee as she watched Melvine .
After a moment of silence , Nia said .
" Miss Melvine , I have a small advice for you and I hope , you won't take my words in a negative way . "
Melvine looked at her and waited for her to continue . Nia continued .
" Miss Melvine , I would suggest you not to expect too much from Ryan. You see , you can ask for anything from him ... but not commitment . "
" You can enjoy the moments , you spend with him . You can cherish his company and caring nature but .... when you dream of a future with him you realise that everything has been nothing but a sweet illusion . The moment you fall for him .....you're doomed ."
" So it's actually the best to suppress the feelings at the very beginning before they lead to unbearable suffering . "
Melvine didn't speak . She just nodded at her words .
" But I think .... , " , Nia said again , ".... saying all these to you won't really change anything . "
Melvine frowned a little as Nia continued .
" Because as I see it .... you are already doomed ."