The Day I Kissed An Older Man

After tucking Emily in, Melinda walked over to the other bed where Lilin was lying. The little girl was already fast asleep, yet her furrowed brow hinted at a troubled dream.

Melinda gently smoothed out the wrinkles between Lilin's eyebrows, then lifted the covers and laid down beside her, quietly closing her eyes. Despite her skill in counseling Emily, Melinda could not entirely suppress her own worries. She was concerned about Adam's well-being in prison.

'That grumpy guy has never been easy to handle. Will he still be throwing tantrums at the others there? Sigh...' Melinda thought to herself. The challenges in life seemed to be universal.

Melinda was unable to find solace in sleep, so she gave up on it and sat up. When she realized that it was already dawn, she decided to get up and grab some breakfast for Emily and Lilin. Melinda slipped into her shoes and put on her coat before making her way to the door of the ward. As she opened it, she coincidentally bumped into Corinne, who was just about to knock. Melinda was surprised to see her. "Corinne? What are you doing here so early?"

not alone as she was cradling Joey in her arms. Joey could not fall back asleep after being startled by a nightmare, so Corinne decided to take a walk to shift his

He couldn't sleep, and we thought we'd drop by to see my mom," Corinne explained. Melinda looked at the marks on Joey's tiny face. She

Emily, so she opted for a partial truth. "He had a minor bump. Missus Addison, is

and raised a finger to her lips, signaling Corinne to keep quiet. "She just managed to fall asleep. Let her rest a bit more. I'm heading out to grab some breakfast at the hospital entrance. How

into the room, confirming that Emily was still

the door to the room and

Joey in her coat as they stepped outside so that he would