When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

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Vinson looked like he had just dashed off a construction site, still clad in his work gear, his face smeared with dust, and breathing heavily. But he couldn't care less, "What's up with Clyde?"

"What else could it be? It's all about that Rachel!"

Jade clenched her fists, seething with anger.

"Even if Clyde's been a mess, he couldn't have forgotten everything, could he?"

"And that Rachel, knowing full well the situation, how dare she try to step into your shoes?"

She and Eliana started ranting, while I closed my eyes, taking it all in.

Rachel might have fallen for Clyde back in college, and perhaps that's where her resentment towards me stemmed from.

Every time I bought her lunch, making excuses for not wanting it or being unable to finish it, I could see a glimmer of resentment in her eyes.

Back then, I thought she resented her own lack of means or her background.

It never occurred to me that she resented me.

She might have felt I was insulting her with my charity, or that I was just discarding things I didn't want onto her.

Bit by bit, this resentment had sharpened into a dagger aimed right at me.

Suddenly, I understood why she did what she did.

Even if it was for a fleeting moment of happiness, she was willing.

Her words at the Patterson family gathering still echoed in my mind. I was always the beloved one.

She was blind to the tragic death of my parents, to the years of agony being married to Clyde had brought me. She even overlooked how Clyde humiliated me at the office for her sake.

In her eyes, I deserved it all.

Eliana and Jade continued to rail against Rachel and Clyde, but their words were becoming a blur to me. Warren thought they were too noisy and sent them out to grab some comfort food and essentials for me. Eventually, it was just Vinson and me left in the room.

He sat by the bed, silent, just watching my hand as the IV dripped.

"Vinson..."

"Does it hurt?"

We both spoke at once, then fell silent again.

I shook my head, replying, "No, they gave me an anesthetic."

I looked away, not wanting him to see my pain.

How could it not hurt? The injection hurt, and it still hurts now.

Even looking at the needle in my hand, I felt an unbearable pain.

Remembering how Clyde once said he didn't want me to have children because it would be too painful, knowing how much I feared pain, tears involuntarily streamed down my face.

Clyde always knew pain was my greatest fear.

Even though he strayed, when I was sick, he'd be by my side.

But now, he couldn't even offer me the basic respect, thinking everything I did was to lure him in.

When that reporter called out to me, bleeding, I saw Clyde hesitate, but he didn't turn back to look at me.

I knew he saw Rachel in me.

If anything happened to me, he would always put me first.

Yet, even so, my heart ached as if pricked by needles.

Vinson wrapped his arms around me, gently stroking my hair.

"Melanie, let it all out. It's okay to cry. Don't worry, I'll always be here for you. Don't be afraid. Without Clyde, you still have me, and your friends. Don't be afraid."

I cried uncontrollably, wanting to vent all my frustration.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open, and Clyde's voice, laced with sarcasm, filled the air.

"Looks like I've come at a bad time, huh? Seems like you've found someone to comfort you. I

name, Miss Melanie." Co My