Janice froze. She squatted to get a closer look. She was completely taken aback when she saw the dog more closely.

Wasn’t... wasn’t this Nino whom she had been looking for?

"Nino?"

She picked him up in surprise.

Nino licked her face enthusiastically, extremely happy to be reunited with her after such a long time.

"Who are you?"

A cautious sounding male voice came from behind.

She turned around and saw a familiar face.

It hit her suddenly.

No wonder she felt that he looked familiar when she saw him at the entrance of the Bateman Group. It had been the same man at the hospital.

He must be the little girl’s father.

He was visibly surprised at the sight of her.

"It’s you?"

Before she could react, he took the little girl into his arms and appeared extremely nervous.

She realized the reason and explained.

"Oh, I saw her out wandering in the street. She seemed to have lost her way, so I brought her back."

Hearing her explanation, Finn relaxed. He turned his head and softly reprimanded the little girl before turning back to Janice.

"Thank you. Come in and have some water."

He carried the child into the house.

Janice hesitated, then picked up Nino before entering the apartment.

The apartment was not very big. It was a two-bedroom that looked plain but cozy.

Finn poured Janice a glass of water and offered it to her, looking a little reserved.

"We seldom have guests. There’s only water, sorry."

Janice said that it was fine. She took a sip, then thought of Nino, whom she was still holding.

She asked, "Where did you get this dog?"

His glance fell on Nino as she spoke the words.

He’d noticed the instant connection between her and Nino. It was unusual. On a normal day, it was difficult to even get close to Nino.

Remembering what Sophie had instructed when she gave him the dog, he said.

"Oh, I bought it at a pet store."

Janice was quiet. She remembered seeing him with Sophie previously.

As for Nino, it had been with Sophie before now.

Could it be that Sophie had needed a dog-sitter so left it here?

She spoke after a slight pause, "Then... can you sell it to me? I have special feelings for this dog."

She wanted to give it a shot, but didn’t expect Finn to be easygoing.

"If that’s the case, take it. Anna can’t take care of a dog. I just didn’t want her to be lonely at home so I bought it to keep her company."

As Finn spoke, he reached out to stroke Anna’s hair.

"I see. Why don’t you send her to kindergarten?"

She was of school going age, after all. Most kids her age attended school.

When he heard her question, he looked unhappy.

"She can’t go to kindergarten."

Janice was taken aback.

"Is there a reason why?"

She looked at Anna. She seemed normal.

"She..."

He wanted to say something but he was hesitant.

She didn’t persist when she saw that.

"It’s okay. I understand if this is personal."

As she spoke, she walked to the side of the little girl, knelt down slowly and turned to her.

"Your name is Anna, right? Don’t wander around by yourself in the future."

She reached out to stroke the child’s soft cheeks. Standing up, she said, "I won’t impose on you further. I’ll take the dog with me, but I still need to pay you. I’ll leave you some cash."

He was going to refuse but she had already stashed some cash into his hands.

...

"Just take it," she said while shoving it into his hands.

She turned and left with Nino in her arms.

Finn looked at the cash in his hands.

Janice took Nino home, then placed him back in his doggie bed. Watching Nino play happily in the room gave her some gratification.. There was no way to describe this feeling of regaining what one had lost "If only Chris could remember," she thought. That would be perfect!

But reality was often much crueler.

But she wasn’t going to give up.

If Nino is back, nothing is impossible.

All the constellations were in place. Even the stars were aligned in her favor.

She opened her chat with Chris on WhatsApp and after hesitating for a moment, she sent him a short text

No matter what, she had to give it a try.

Chris had been feeling uneasy in the office since Janice left.

Not only because of the messages, but also because of how complicated his feelings had become.

He dreaded the fact that she could leave any time and wondered how he would deal with it.

Should he or should he not let her go?

His was in two minds and It felt as if he was going to be split in half.

Just then, his phone beeped. He furrowed his brows and looked at it, only to find that it was a message from Janice.

"Come back. I have something to tell you."

He stared at the message and did not respond for a long time.

But he knew very well that ignoring it wouldn’t solve the problem.

He paused for a moment before finally getting up. Grabbing his coat, he walked out the door.

Back at the villa, Janice had just finished cooking the last dish and brought it to the table. She looked at the sumptuous dinner on the table and was pleased.

This was the first time she had cooked these many dishes.

She hoped that her efforts would impress him.

She knew that it was very unlikely that he would return because he still hadn’t replied to her messages.

She took off her apron, went to shower off the smell of food and changed into a clean set of clothes. When she came out, he had still not arrived.

She couldn’t help glancing at the clock. It was almost eight o’clock.

The street lights were lit. It was still early, she comforted herself.

She’ll wait a bit longer.

She sat down at the dining table, and Nino immediately began to rub himself against her feet, attracted by the smelt of the meat on the table.

She picked him up, placed him on her lap and began to comfort it. "Nino, he isn’t back. We can’t eat yet. Can you wait for a bit longer?" Nino seemed to understand and let out a few soft barks. She ignored it. In fact, she was hungry as well.

But all the dishes on the table had been cooked for him.

If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have bothered.

However, as time went by, her disappointment grew and she accepted the fact that he would not come back.

In fact, it was part of the process of pursuing him.

She thought she would give it one last shot.

It didn’t look any different.

She would rather he be happy than to think about it.

She let out a deep sigh and made a decision.

Once she was done thinking through it, it didn’t matter anymore. She got up and walked upstairs.

Just as she walked up the stairs, the door opened.

She was shocked and turned her head to see if it was truly him.

...

She recognized the silhouette and continued to stare at it. Her gaze met his and she was slightly surprised. She turned around to head back down.

"What happened to your face?"

Her attention was on the bruise on his face. Chris turned his back to her uncomfortably. "It’s nothing."

He took off his shoes and walked to the dining room to pour himself a glass of water.

The sight of the sumptuous dinner on the table caused him to pause.

Janice quickly said.

"You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?"

As she spoke, she picked up two dishes. "I’ll heat them up."

Just as she was about to head to the kitchen, he grabbed her hand.

"It’s okay. Let’s eat."

She turned to look at him. He quickly withdrew his hand and sat down awkwardly.

She dropped the plates and sat down, "I thought you wouldn’t be back," she said.

There was a trace of self-mockery in her tone.

Chris didn’t say a word. He just glanced at her and started eating.

If he had known that she had cooked so many dishes for him, he wouldn’t have driven around in circles.

He was glad that he was finally back.

Janice watched him as he ate silently and didn’t say anything else either. All she did was put food on his plate.

"Try it. This is a new dish I came across."

"Delicious."

As he ate, he complimented her cooking.

Janice was relieved.

Chris gobbled down the food before asking, "Why didn’t you eat? Have you eaten?"

Janice didn’t say anything. Instead, she pulled out a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet.

She poured two glasses, one for him and one for her before saying anything.

"We haven’t had much time together alone. Let’s toast. Thank you for all your understanding and care for me during this time." she said.

They clinked glasses and were about to drink when he snatched hers away.

"You can’t drink."

He put the glass of wine aside and gave her a glass of water.

Janice stared at the glass of water in amazement.

He remembered!

No wonder he had been acting weird these past few days.

She curled her lips sarcastically.

"Okay. I’ll drink the water instead."

She raised her glass again in a toast and drank it. But bitterness was filling her heart.

"Try these. I just learnt how to make them."

She put down the glass and covered her sadness with enthusiasm, putting food in his plate all the while.

Chris noticed that something was wrong with her, so he stared at her.

She stopped.

"Let’s end this."

She said.

Chris’ heart skipped a beat. As expected, she did bring it up.

He didn’t want to come back because he was afraid that she would bring it up.

"Why?" Even though he already knew the reason, he still wanted to ask.

Raising her head, she did not want him to see her tears as she continued, "There are some things that cannot be forced. It will just make us both unhappy."

"But I don’t think it’s forced," he said.