Not Pity, This is Love.

As they walked away from the place where the argument had taken place, Dominic spoke to the agitated Emma, who was trying to hide it, and said, "I had a dream, both you and me; we were on a trip with your mother while singing your favorite song. It was such a touching moment that I even woke up crying."

"You never cry..." Emma smiled at Dominic's lies to make her happy; she always caught him, and that difficulty in lying made her understand what he really felt when he approached her.

"I cried when you said you wanted to be my girlfriend, as well as when my favorite football team lost the cup... Anyway, I cry over simple things."

"Plus, I was about to call you, but then I remembered you'd kill me if I woke you up at night, so I held back, I swear." Dominic said with a calm smile, as if just a moment ago he hadn't wanted to kill the guy who had harassed his dear girlfriend.

Emma noticed all the things Dominic was putting in his cart and asked, "Hasn't your father come back home? You must be taking advantage of his being away to eat all that junk food; you shouldn't overindulge in eating food like that or you'll end up in bad shape."

"Are you so mean as to distance yourself from me just because I gained a few pounds?" As Dominic said this, he discreetly tossed some boxes of dry food, mixed sweets, and chocolate.

"I'm worried about your health."

"When I'm old, the last thing I'll worry about will be my physical state; don't be so unconcerned. When you come to my place, at least I'll have something to feed you with; you're the first one to finish off my precious ice cream." Dominic smiled as he lightly nudged Emma, but his eyes were scanning around for the idiot who had left a moment ago.

Emma felt much calmer, but it was obvious she was being boring; she felt very sad, and there was really nothing more she could do about it. This was one of the reasons she wanted to push Dominic away, but she was selfish because she felt peaceful by his side.

"Are you buying anything else?" Dominic asked after seeing Emma so quiet. Normally, he's the one who's silent, but he understood she might be worried about money. "My father said if the problem is about money, it's not really a problem. Your mother will stabilize with the new medications; she might feel bad because it will take a while to stabilize her condition."

"I hope so," Emma muttered as they reached the checkout to pay for all the things they had bought. After going through the line and having their items scanned, Dominic walked to an ATM while Emma paid for her things.

Inserting the card, he entered the amount he wanted to withdraw; although Emma would get angry, this time he would help her and wouldn't accept a no for an answer. "My father will understand; he also paid for mom's school when they were both young."

Withdrawing no more than two thousand dollars, which were more than enough to pay for Emma's apartment rent, Dominic, who had arranged all his things in two carts, headed for the exit.

"I ordered a ride; it shouldn't take long to arrive, so let's go together." Dominic said as he saw a large car stop right in front of them, walking up to the driver's window and saying, "I ran into my girlfriend; is there any problem if you take a detour to her place?"

The man in his thirties looked at the extra money in Dominic's hands and shook his head. "As long as you pay the extra fee, I can give you a ride across the city; let me help you load those things."

Emma, who was helping load all the food she had bought, asked, "Why are you buying so much food?"

"My father should be back in a few days, so I have to fill the shelves and his fridge with beers; he'll hit me if I don't." Dominic said, smiling slightly and obviously joking whenever it came to his father.

"You shouldn't have been out all these days; we didn't see each other; I should go help you clean the house before your dad comes back." Emma got into the car, followed by Dominic, but from the corner of her eye, she saw a black car parked not far from their spot. There were at least four people waiting inside the car, and this made her furrow her brows.

Are they following us?

That was for sure; they're gang members, so they most likely want a little clash of hate to stir up trouble. Especially if they're drunk and drugged, they're a damn time bomb no one wants to mess with.

"Since classes are about to start, we'll have more time to see each other and talk about what we've been up to these last few days... By the way, at my new job, the pay is much better, and the elderly couple who are my bosses are a lovely pair." Emma had changed completely after being with Dominic, something she didn't even realize herself.

But this time Dominic was serious when he found out he was being followed by some people, so after hesitating, he took out his phone and sent a message to his uncle.

"Uncle Antonio, I know it's a bother, but I need your help because some gangsters are following me to my girlfriend's house. I wouldn't ask this if it were just me, but I fear my girlfriend might get hurt when I'm not around."

In a few seconds, his uncle replied, "[It's never a bother, nephew; send me the location; I'll be there in a few minutes].""

Emma, noticing Dominic's silence, asked, "Dominic, is something wrong?"

Showing a calm smile, Dominic took her hand and said, "It's nothing, just that my father sent me a message with a huge file early yesterday morning. I got the notification that it finished downloading, so I'm just a bit nervous it might be a virus."

"You should have downloaded it on an old device; my mom's phone got messed up after a stupid ad telling her she won $10,000 popped up on the page where she watches her Thai dramas. Since that day, I've been taking good care of her devices with antivirus that blocks those pages." The usual Emma had returned, which calmed Dominic, but he was certainly nervous about what those people would do.

"I fell for those ads, damn bastards, and instead of winning money, I got a notification that I won a car. Luckily, I didn't finish entering my credit card; they would have stolen everything I had." The driver joined the conversation, sharing his tragic experience.

Emma was glad they weren't the only ones affected by that, saying, "True, do you also like foreign soap operas?"

The driver, taken off guard, cleared his throat and said, "Something like that; my friend is from Brazil, so he tells me a lot about them."

Dominic, listening to how the driver made up a response, immediately thought the pages he visited were adult sites. So, after knowing they were close, he said, "By the way, I'll help you unload since these things are too heavy for you to carry to your apartment."

Emma shook her head and said, "You shouldn't waste more time; the longer you stay here, the more money you'll spend. I can carry the things myself; I'm a part-time worker."

"The gentleman will wait for us; there won't be any problem." When Dominic said these words, the driver parked on the side of the building where Emma lived, and they both got out. "Wait a minute; I'll talk to the driver while unloading the things."

"Yes, whatever you say..." Emma stopped refusing, knowing Dominic's stubbornness was quite strong.

When Dominic approached the driver, he said, "You can take a drive around the building after we enter; wait for me there after that. You can have this money too, any problem?"

The man lowered his gaze and smiled. "Of course not, but take this: you don't want to have a baby at your age. They're grape-flavored, but they're one of the best, recommended by an expert."

Dominic looked at what the man gave him and smiled. He had never seen grape-flavored condoms before, but it's always good to learn something new, so he simply thanked the driver. After helping with most of the bags, he and Emma entered the building.

Once inside the building, they headed for the elevator, and fortunately, there was no one else there. Emma stayed silent, looked at Dominic, and said, "It wasn't really necessary for you to do that, but you know it makes me happy."

"Hmm, what did you say?" Dominic looked at Emma as if he hadn't heard what she had said, but this was just one of his jokes.

"The elevator's open; we need to get out or we'll be stuck inside." Emma blushed a bit as she exited the elevator. Dominic teased her occasionally, especially with such embarrassing things.

When they reached the apartment, Emma opened the door, and Dominic, who was standing at the door, decided not to enter. He walked a few steps and left the bags near the entrance, so when Emma came back, she was a bit surprised and asked, "Don't you want to come in this time? Since you're here, you should come in and say hi to my mom. She asks about you a lot."

"Yes, but I'm expected downstairs; just give me a hug, and I'll leave this place." Dominic said as he opened his arms, waiting for Emma to approach.

Emma went to Dominic and whispered, "Sorry for earlier; things haven't been going well lately, so it's hard for me."

Dominic, who hugged his little girlfriend, slipped the money he had withdrawn from the ATM and said, "There's nothing to worry about; I'm a very indifferent man and wouldn't get mad at someone as beautiful as you... Well, see you at school."

Stepping back, Dominic kissed Emma's forehead, and after bidding her goodbye, he walked to the end of the hallway, where he stopped. "Alright, I'll need to sort out these lazy drunks."