“I told you not to run around with so many people here. If anything happens to you, your Mommy will be heartbroken, and of course your godmother will be heartbroken too. But above all, you should not accept any food from strangers, especially when your Mommy is not around."

The little boy was sensible enough to know he was wrong and he listened to Sonia with a guilty look on his face.

Once back with Ariana, Sonia couldn't help but complain, “Your son is really a little escape professional. He disappeared in the blink of an eye while I was having a dessert. I found him munching on someone else's snacks

Realizing that what he did was wrong, Melon looked at Ariana and tugged at her sleeve, trying to appease her.

“Mommy, I didn't mean to, and I also met a handsome man just now."

Ariana felt both annoyed and amused. She nudged the little boy's nose and said, "You are really good at socializing, But I want you to stay with me from now on, okay? You shouldn't follow strangers just because you think they're handsome."

As Ariana spoke, she picked up her son into her arms and looked around in confusion. People in the venue all wore masks. How could he have seen a handsome guy?

“Where did you meet this handsome man?" Ariana asked curiously.

Melon pointed in Holden's direction with his small hand and said with a sigh, “He looks so much like Dad and he is also handsome. I almost thought he was my dad."

Ariana was stunned by the little boy's words and she looked in the direction he was pointing. She was shocked to see that it was the man with whom she had danced earlier.

Ariana's lips curved gently, a helpless smile forming in response to Melon's words, which she regarded as mere innocent chatter. She chose not to take them to heart.

Setting aside the remote chance of Theodore's miraculous resurrection, she held a firm conviction that the man who had just danced with her couldn't be him,

Ariana's faith in Theodore's unwavering loyalty remained unshaken. His reaction to seeing her would have been anything but indifferent if he were alive. This, she believed with every fiber of her being.

Despite her certainties, she refrained from outright dismissing Melon's words, instead opting to tenderly stroke his head, her affectionate gesture masking the complexities within her.

Ariana was acutely aware of her young child's yearning for the father he had hardly known, It must be the reason he had mistakenly identified another man as his dad.

Holding little Melon in her embrace, she tasted the bittersweet tang of guilt.

Melon, ever wise beyond his years, nurtured a silent longing for his father, rarely allowing it to surface in Ariana's presence.

Except for that one time — a time when he'd seen a picture of Theodore on her phone and curiosity had compelled him to ask.

Bearing the weight of a truth too cruel for such a tender soul, Ariana chose to shroud it in shadows; lest it unleash pain beyond measure.

While he refrained from voicing it, Ariana could see the ache that swam in Melon's eyes whenever other fathers materialized before them, a poignant yearning that tugged at her heartstrings.