When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie) novel Chapter 10

Ever since I started working, I've felt some of my old spark returning. But the best part? I finally had a paycheck.

The day before, our finance department, in an unprecedented move, handed me a month's base salary. To me, $20,000 felt like winning the lottery. I didn't dwell on why they paid me for a month after just three days of work. After all, Clyde wasn't short on cash.

I immediately transferred half to Jade, who'd been slaving away preparing nutritious meals for the two of us every day. Despite her decent salary, taking care of her grandma on top of everything else, including me, has been a real struggle.

Unfortunately, she refused the money and gave me an earful in the hospital room. "What do you think you are doing? My meals aren't just for anyone, you know. Don't bother to transfer money unless you have a million or two to spare."

I held my food tray, grinning at her.

"Jade, I'm back at work and got my first paycheck," I chuckled.

"What's so funny? You haven’t fully recovered yet. Eat up. You're such a pain sometimes." She roughly dished out some lobster for me, quickly wiping a tear when she turned her back.

I devoured the lobster, tears welling up in my eyes, too. Jade’s terrible cooking was a waste of the lobsters. After a hearty meal, we fell into our usual chit-chat.

Seeing me back at designing, she was worried. "Isn't your condition supposed to keep you from overthinking? You should be resting, and Clyde..."

Mentioning Clyde, we both instinctively stopped. He was both a taboo and an inevitable part of my life.

I waved it off. "Working makes me happy. Having money makes me cheerful, better than lying in bed all day. It's not like I have much else going for me besides this one talent. Who knows, I might not stick around long, but the buildings I design... they'll keep standing tall."

"Stop, don't talk like that," Jade was superstitious, trying to ward off bad luck with her words.

"You need to bulk up and get some resistance. You have to eat more lobsters. I'll bring it daily. And get some for yourself, too."

I nodded silently, but my mind was on my budget. Lobsters were expensive, and frankly, eggs and milk were cheaper protein. Luckily, now that I had a salary, I shouldn't have to worry about affording food.

Perhaps it was the uplift in spirits, but my recovery was going well. Before being discharged, I managed to finalize my design revisions.

Lina rushed to the hospital, excited. "Melanie, you're amazing. Your revision got approved on the first try. You have no idea the Design Department struggled for months only to get rejected. Everyone's waiting for you to lead when you get back. You've got to recover fast."

She babbled about how much everyone missed me, but I knew better. In the Design Department, I was a walking disaster for everyone else. Clyde sometimes couldn't separate personal from professional, often taking it out on the team because of me. I didn't want my presence to be a burden again.