Julie stared at the house which was huge, and for a few seconds, she was left speechless. The location of the house was slightly away from the city and was on the quieter side, with trees surrounding it. "It is beautiful and really big……"

  "Mm, it is," replied Roman, coming to stand behind Julie and placing his chin on her shoulder. "I had to consider our future. I thought about the apartment, but then it won't be just us two forever."

  On hearing his words, Julie's cheeks turned red, and she turned happier. She asked him, "Do you plan to have a dozen kids?"

  Roman's lips twisted into a smile, "Sure, why not? The more the better. A big family and also there's a room for Donovan."

  "I am glad to hear that," replied Julie, because Donovan would surely demand to have a room in their house so that he could come and go when he wanted.

  Roman had always craved to have a family of his, as they had been stolen from him when he was still young. And she understood his need to have a big family in the future.

  "Does Donovan know about it?" asked Julie and Roman shook his head.

  "Not yet. I thought it would be more fun to see him turn annoyed that he doesn't have a room dedicated for him in here," hummed Roman, and Julie placed her hands on Roman's when he wrapped it around her. "If you don't like it, there are two more houses."

  "No," Julie shook her head, "This is more than perfect. Thank you, Rome."

  "You are thanking me quite early when there's more in store," he whispered next to her ear. "There are a lot of things I want to give you."

  "What is that?" asked Julie, playing to be innocent, when it was clear with the tone of his voice what he was talking about.

  Roman's nose moved on the side of her neck, "I can show you better than tell you. But there is somewhere else I want to take you."

  When he unwrapped his arms around her, Julie turned to face him, "Seems like you have been busier than me, planning things."

  Roman offered her a smile, "Who else will I plan for, if it is not for you? Are you ready to see the next surprise?"

  "I cannot wait," replied Julie, and they walked back to where they had earlier parked the motorcycle. "I feel bad that I didn't make any surprise plans for you……" her words trailed. She had been busy trying to revert the state of the land that everything else had slipped out of her mind until last night.

  She wondered how to surprise Roman, not wanting him to be the only one making her happy.

  "You are a surprise that beats any other surprise in my life. You don't have to do that," said Roman, handing her the helmet.

  "Mm," responded Julie, putting the helmet over her head, and Roman took the job of clicking the straps below her chin.

  "I mean it," Roman promised her, and he sat on the seat of the motorcycle, and soon Julie sat behind him.

  They travelled for quite a lot of distance before Roman finally entered the diner where they had their first date. The memory was still fresh, and it brought a smile to her face.

  "We are on a date?" asked Julie, getting off the motorcycle and noticing there weren't many vehicles parked outside the diner.

  "Seems like it was only yesterday that we were here, isn't it?" he asked her, and he helped her out of the helmet. "Why don't you go and settle yourself in the booth and I will be there in a minute?"

  Julie nodded, with a bright smile on her face as she turned a little giddy at how romantic Roman was. Who would have ever thought that the grumpy and aloof senior who she had crashed into outside the diner would turn out to be like this.

  Walking towards the door of the diner, she pushed it to hear the bell ring above the door. When she was about to pick a booth, her eyes fell on someone sitting in one of the booths. The smile on Julie's face faltered, and she felt her chest heavy.

  When the person felt her gaze, he turned and met her eyes.

  Julie's footsteps were careful as she walked towards the booth where the man sat. Her lips parted, but she was speechless.

  "How have you been doing, Julie?" asked Uncle Thomas, and there was a slight awkwardness around them.

  "Uncle Thomas…… What are you doing here……?" asked Julie.

  The memory of how her uncle had left the house with her behind was still there, and it often hurt her when she thought about that day. From where her uncle stood, he was right. After all, he had lost his wife because of a vampire she was associated with.

  "I came to meet you," replied Uncle Thomas, and he brought his hand forward, "Would you like to take a seat?"

  "Yes," replied Julie, dazed that her relative was here for her. She was sure that he didn't want to see her ever again the way he had left.

  "Actually Roman was the one who got me to come here……" said Uncle Thomas, and Julie's eyebrows raised in surprise. He did? Of course, he did, she thought in her head. "How have you been?"

  Having her uncle sitting in front of her right now meant a lot to her, and she quickly blinked her eyes, "I-I am doing good. How have you been? Where is Joel?"

  "He's in school. Has his exams. I asked one of the teachers to look after him until I go back," replied Uncle Thomas, and he offered her a smile. Julie smiled back at him. She heard her uncle sigh softly before he apologized, "I have thought about the way things turned out last time. And I should have been more understanding about your side."

  Julie shook her head, "It was never your fault. Your grief and anger are valid……" Because Aunt Sarah had never meant to be part of the hunter's group, Donovan had made a mistake in killing her. "How are you doing, Uncle Thomas?"

  "I think I am trying to hold things and have been doing better than before," answered Uncle Thomas.

  "I am truly sorry for what happened. If I knew something like that would happen, I would have not visited that weekend," explained Julie.

  "None of us knew, Julie. It just happened…… What has happened is done and things that are lost cannot be found. I won't lie, with the loss of Sarah, it has left a hole in my chest that is going to take time to fill. But after speaking to Roman about somethings, I realized that there are more important things, to hold on to things that I still care about. No matter what weird things you are associated with, you are still my niece, Julie."

  Julie had been hurt when her uncle had decided to cut ties with her, and now that he was back because of Roman, she couldn't ask for anything more.

  "And you will always be my uncle Tom," replied Julie, and Uncle Thomas smiled over her words.

  "Does this mean……you will be back here?" It was because he and her cousin now lived in a different state.

  "I wasn't initially planning, but Roman offered Joel to be put in a good school. I think he wants me to stay near you," said Uncle Thomas, and Julie's eyes lowered, the smile on her lips stretching further. "He seems to be very different from the impression he had given me before. He cares a lot about you."

  "He does," replied Julie, and she wondered where Roman was because he hadn't entered the diner. It seemed like he was giving her and her uncle space to talk.

  "Thank you for coming here, Uncle Tom," she knew it took a lot of effort for him to come here after what happened. "I promise nothing like that to happen to you again."

  Uncle Thomas nodded, "Are you safe? I mean with them……?"

  Julie nodded, "The safest. I know that you ended up on the wrong foot earlier, but they care."

  "I see," murmured Uncle Thomas, and he said, "I guess if you are safe, that should be more than enough. And it seems like the boy loves you. It took two hours of talking on the phone, and two days before I tried to look at things differently. You know you could compel me to stay here……"

  Julie smiled at her uncle's words, "It wouldn't be right to manipulate you. It wouldn't be from your own free will…… and I wanted you to forgive me for whatever happened from your heart."

  "You didn't make any mistake, Julie. It was no one's fault but that…" her uncle wasn't happy with Donovan. But he said, "We have both lost people equally. Maybe we can start anew and try to put the past behind us."

  "I would love that," Julie was quick to agree.

  "And maybe this time with no secrets."

  "Yes, Uncle Tom," Julie smiled, and her uncle smiled back at him.

  "What would you like to eat? I was nervous and didn't order anything yet," her uncle chuckled, and Julie smiled,

  "I will have what you eat. Let me go and see where Roman is."

  The waitress arrived at their table, talking to Uncle Thomas, while Julie stepped outside the diner and noticed Roman with a cigarette between his lips. Hearing her footsteps, he turned and asked her,

  "Everything okay with the surprise?"

  "More than okay," replied Julie, and she hugged him. "Thank you, Rome. It means a lot to have him here."

  "I know," replied Roman. "Now everything is perfect," pulling the cigarette away from his lips, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.