The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Rita's mind raced with questions. 'Why did he accept another woman's daughter as his own? Why should he let that woman's daughter be addressed as his daughter and not his stepdaughter? I'm not the only daughter! Why did he do that? Will I ever have an answer to that? Will I ever be able to find a way to undo all this so everything can return to the way it was before?'

Sherman tactfully switched on the radio without making too much of a fuss about it. As the melodies filled the car, he heard Rita's silent cries in the background.NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.

After what felt like an eternity, Rita turned around awkwardly and felt embarrassed to meet Sherman's gaze.

She wiped away her tears and offered a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. It's not like me to become so emotional. I guess I'm just safer opening up to you. Thank you, Sherman." As their eyes met, Sherman felt a pang in his chest. He knew right then that the unavoidable had sunken in.

He struggled to find the right words, but before he could speak, Rita seemed unable to bear the embarrassment and hastily bid farewell as they arrived at her destination. Without another word, she opened the car door and ran off.

"You don't have to run..." Sherman mumbled as he glanced at her leaving.

Rita seemed to collapse as she reached the door of her house and covered her face in agitation. "Why did I even say all that?" she mumbled to herself in frustration. "I can't believe I broke down in front of him. Argh! What was I thinking?"

Exhausted, Rita collapsed onto her

bed. She was set to investigate Esmond with Sherman, but she felt too embarrassed to see him in her current state. Her mind continued to be filled with the scenes of what happened that afternoon, even when she was getting a shower before getting to bed.

Meanwhile, Sherman returned to his empty home and felt a sudden pang of loneliness as he switched on the television. He recalled his

grandmother asking him whether he felt even the slightest bit lonely living by himself in a large apartment. At that time, he came up with a rather witty response about how perhaps he should live in a smaller house if he did not want to feel lonely.

His grandmother simply retorted by saying, "You know that's not what I meant." She was not like other old women who had the traditional mindset that marriage must come at a certain age. She simply wished that he would take better care of himself and find a partner to spend time with.

He did not really take her advice to heart back then, and it took him a while to finally understand what she felt. After some thought, he put on some music, but that only seemed to amplify the emptiness in his home.

Perhaps, as his grandmother had suggested, another presence was required to fill the space at his home. Glancing at his schedule, Sherman realized that his grandmother had told him to visit the family home the next evening, which was slated to be after the investigation with Rita.

"I almost forgot," he muttered to himself, knowing that he would have to suffer the consequences of missing a family gathering.

When it was finally time to hit the

sack, he was plagued by the lack of a peaceful night's rest. Rita's image lingered in his mind, especially that of her having to hide her tears. She should not have to go through all that or hold her tears in-it was important to let out one's pent-up feelings once in a while.

Vince's actions had shown that describing him as 'unreliable' would be an understatement.