He couldn't believe that he was actually going out with her. Then suddenly fear started to fill his heart. As he stared at her, it was only then that he started to realize that Moniqa was someone he could only have in his dreams.

She was a star with such beauty and radiance that he could never obtain.

Xiah continued to stare at Moniqa as things started to fill his mind. “I know I can never truly have you, Iqa . . . . That's why I am willing to be contented with this make-believe world. . . . At least . . . . in this world . . . . even for a short time . . . . I can make myself believe that you are mine . . . .”

Xiah's heart was somehow feeling pain. But he just ignored it . . . . and tried to put on a happy smile.

This was his special day with her . . . . And he was determined to just forget everything . . . . and just pretend . . . pretend that they were truly in love with each other.

“Xiah . . . .” Iqa uttered.

Xiah smiled. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No . . . . Xiah . . . First of all, I just want to say sorry . . . .” Iqa started to say with a sad look on his face.

“Sorry? Why? What do you mean?” Xiah asked.

“Sorry . . . . for dragging you into this mess. . . . Sorry . . . for complicating your life. We have only met each other for a couple of days . . . and now . . . look at us . . . We're suddenly forced to look and act like a couple. I'm sorry . . . for all the inconvenience this situation might cause you,” Iqa apologized.

Xiah smiled sweetly at Iqa. “Why is it you're always apologizing for everything . . . . You don't have to say sorry to me . . . Come to think of it . . . I'm the one who started this problem. . . . So if there's someone who should be apologizing . . . . it should be me. So please stop blaming yourself.”

Iqa looked straight into Xiah's eyes. She could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“Thank you . . . .” she uttered.

“Come on . . . . I think we have to go . . . . or else our managers will be calling any minute,” Xiah said with a laugh.

Iqa smiled back at Xiah. “Where are we going so early in the morning?”

“We're going to have breakfast first,” Xiah replied.

Iqa just nodded. “Breakfast . . . that sounds good.”

As they were about to go out Moniqa's apartment, Xiah boldly took Moniqa's hand and held it.

As soon as their hands touched each other, a sudden warm feeling started to fill their hearts. Somehow they both felt like holding hands with each other was the most natural thing in the world.

As Xiah held Moniqa's hand . . . . the only thing he could think about was how her hand fitted so perfectly in his hand. How he wished he could hold her hand forever.

After breakfast . . . .

They were already in the car discussing where to go next.

“So where do you want to go?” Xiah asked Iqa.

“I don't know . . . .” She replied with a smile.

“They said we could go anywhere we like . . . How about if we go to a mall? Or watch a movie?” Xiah suggested.

Moniqa smiled. “That sounds like fun. But do you think it is wise to go to a mall? Many girls will recognize you instantly . . .”

“Oh . . . .” Xiah uttered. It had totally slipped out of his mind that he can't go out so easily.

“I'm sorry . . . But you're right . . . . going to a mall may not be advisable for both of us,” Xiah said with a sigh. He was really disappointed.

Moniqa saw the sadness and disappointment in Xiah's face. She suddenly smiled.

“Come on . . . . I have a perfect idea,” she said.

“Where are we going?” Xiah asked as if confused.

Moniqa whispered something to the driver. She was obviously very happy.

“It's a secret!” she replied with a sweet smile. “Just wait. . . .”

Fifteen minutes later . . . .

“Here we are!” Moniqa exclaimed with joy.

Xiah looked outside the car. He was suddenly shocked.

“But we're outside the mall . . . . Iqa. What are we doing here?” Xiah asked with concern.

“We're here to have fun. We're going to take a stroll . . . then we're going to buy some stuffs . . . then we're going to see a movie . . . .” she replied with a glitter of happiness in her eyes.

“But as you said before . . . . many people will recognize me . . . . and you,” Xiah said again with concern.

Moniqa laughed. “Don't tell me . . . . you're scared of your own fans . . .They won't eat us . . .”

“No . . . but I just feel it's not safe . . .I'm more concerned about you . . . .” Xiah replied.

Moniqa suddenly looked straight into Xiah's eyes. It was true . . . . she could see the concern in his eyes. Somehow this made her feel she should be honest with him.

“Xiah . . . . I'm always willing to take the risk. I don't want to always be confined to what I can or can not do. And frankly right now . . . . I want to enjoy my time with you,” Iqa said honestly.

Xiah's heart suddenly leaped with joy as soon as he heard what Moniqa said. Then he suddenly smiled.

“I'm also willing to risk everything . . . just to make you happy . . . .” Xiah seriously said to Moniqa. They both looked into each other's eyes. Somehow they could understand what the other was trying to say just by looking at each other. Xiah smiled and then he gently held her hand as they both stepped out of the car.

Xiah didn't let go of Moniqa's hand as they walked around the mall. Somehow they both felt like they were floating into thin air as they strolled. Moniqa was feeling very happy as well. She had never felt such a satisfying feeling like the way she is feeling right at that moment.

“Happy?” Xiah asked Moniqa as they strolled along the mall. It was still very early and there were still only a few people in the mall.

Moniqa laughed. “Yes . . . very happy . . . . And you?”

“Happy . . . . like you will never imagine . . . .” Xiah replied with a hidden meaning.

“What do you mean?” Iqa asked.

“Nothing . . . .”

“So this is how it feels like to stroll around the mall . . . . with your boyfriend holding your hand. . . . Frankly . . . .I've never experienced this before,” Moniqa said with a sigh.

“You mean . . . you never went to a mall with your boyfriend?” Xiah surprisedly asked.

“No. . . . I never went to a mall with my ex-boyfriends. I always forbidden to go anywhere without any chaperon. And all my ex didn't want to go out if I was with a bodyguard or a chaperon. The life of a celebrity has its disadvantages . . . . and one of them is all your personal relationship will be affected. I have had five boyfriends since I was eighteen and they all didn't work out. My longest relationship was more than a year and that was with Akira. But then he also grew tired of me . . . . and ended up replacing me with Reina. I know I can't blame him . . . since I had a lot of faults too. I was always busy and I didn't have much time for him,” Iqa said with sadness in her eyes.

Xiah didn't want to see Moniqa sad. It was breaking his heart seeing her down. He held her hand tighter and he led her to the arcade area of the mall.

“Where are we going?” Moniqa surprisedly asked.

“We're going to have fun. . . . “ Xiah answered.

Xiah and Moniqa passed the time different games in the arcade. As they played and happily laughed at each other, how Xiah wished that their time together would never end. How he wanted to be with her forever.

After the arcade . . . Xiah and Moniqa also went to some stores and bought some personal items for themselves. As they were busy trying to select what to buy . . . . many of the sales people in the different stores were already making a big fuss over them. But Moniqa and Xiah still continued to shop and go around the mall as if they were ordinary citizens.

Hours passed, Xiah then led Moniqa to the cinema center. They were already sitting and were already waiting for the movie to start when . . . .

“Thank you . . . . Xiah. . .” Moniqa uttered.

“For what?” Xiah asked.

“For being so nice . . . .and making me feel so special . . . .” Moniqa answered.

“You are special . . . .” Xiah softly said.

Moniqa softly laughed. “You're so cute . . . . do you know that? You can easily make a girl fall in love with you . . . “

“Do you think you can fall in love with me?” Xiah asked Iqa in his mind.

“Xiah . . . . What are you thinking about?” Moniqa asked as she saw Xiah was looking at her intently.

“Nothing . . . . I was just thinking how we were able to spend time together without any fans disturbing us . . . .It's like a dream,” Xiah said with a smile.

“Yes . . . .it is like a dream,” Moniqa uttered.

“A dream that I don't want to wake up from . . . . “ Moniqa said in her mind as well.

“Iqa . . . .” Xiah wanted to say something.

“What?” she asked.

“No . . . . nothing . . . . “Xiah had suddenly changed his mind.

Moniqa could feel that Xiah was feeling very tense and awkward with her. She then slowly leaned her head on Xiah's shoulder. She didn't know why but somehow she wanted to do it, and she was feeling very tired. Somehow she felt she needed to rest her head.

“We are supposed to look like a couple right? I hope you won't mind . . . .But I am a little bit tired . . . .” Moniqa said to Xiah.

The moment Moniqa rested her head on Xiah's shoulder, his heart suddenly stopped. He could smell the scent of Moniqa's hair and he could feel the warmth of her body next to him. It was as if his entire soul was on fire. He was somehow burning inside. . . .

A few minutes passed . . .

Moniqa had unexpectedly fallen asleep. And as she slept . . . . Xiah just lay still and wished the day will never end.

“Iqa . . . . “ Xiah softly uttered her name as he gently caressed her face. She was still sleeping soundly.

“Iqa . . . . if only you could hear me . . . . Do you know how much I want to be always by your side? I can't understand it . . . . Maybe it is love . . . . But I've never believed in love at first sight. So I can't really say it is love . . . . yet. . . . But what I do know is that I like you . . . . It's like whenever I see you . . . .I always want to be with you . . . I want to be around you . . . so I can take care of you and protect you. . . . I don't care about anything else . . . . but what I am feeling right now. . . . And honestly . . . . right at this moment . . . . I don't want to say I love you . . . because I don't even know what love really is . . . . But I just want to be honest and say . . . . I like you . . .“ Xiah continued to boldly say while thinking that Moniqa was asleep.

Unknown to Xiah . . . . Moniqa wasn't asleep . . . but just resting. She had heard everything that he had said . . . . Moniqa's heart was beating wildly.

“Sorry . . . . Xiah. . . . Even if I also feel something for you . . . I am afraid I won't be able to show it and let anyone else know. . . . . especially not you. I have already complicated your world enough. If I answer your feelings with my own feelings . . . I'm afraid . . . I will just cause more problems for you . . . . So sorry . . . . Xiah . . . We can only be friends . . . . That is the only thing I can offer you . . . .” Moniqa said as she tightly closed her eyes. She wanted to stop the tears that were somehow trying to escape her eyes. She just continued to pretend that she was asleep . . . . and she said to herself that she was also going to pretend that she didn't hear anything. . . . . She was going to pretend that she didn't know anything. . . .

“It is for the best Xiah . . . . Sorry . . . .” Moniqa said in her mind.