When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie) novel Chapter 27

I used to count the minutes until he'd call. But now, the name "Clyde" flashing on my phone screen felt like a visual assault. Thinking about the handful of projects I had tethered to the company, I dragged myself back to the office.

As I walk into Clyde's office, I spot Kayla storming out, her eyes red from crying. She shot me a glare filled with resentment as she passed by.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I stepped inside and asked, "You needed to see me?"

Momentarily distracted by my newly chopped hair, Clyde blurted out, "Why'd you cut your hair?"

Ignoring his question, I repeated, "Was there something you needed?"

"Tonight's dinner at the Patterson Mansion. You're coming with me," he said, his tone laced with reluctance.

Clyde always seemed out of place among the Patterson family, though he was one of them. I knew bits and pieces of his past, orphaned and raised by his grandmother. He might not have left the small village if he hadn’t been so excellent in his studies. I always felt he had a unique vibe, which attracted me. His identity remained a secret until desperation almost broke him.

Three months after we broke up and I left for Aurorea, the Patterson family officially recognized Clyde and took him back to the family. Unfortunately, his grandmother was battling a severe heart condition, and he was busy taking care of his grandmother in the hospital and working in the company. He worked as a programmer and didn’t make much. Meanwhile, I was dealing with my first cancer diagnosis amidst my family's financial turmoil.

The decision to leave the country and Clyde was forced upon me by my mother, who was also secretly fighting cancer. She wanted to spare us both from a future marred by illness and mutual resentment.

I grabbed my mother’s hand in tears. “Mom, Clyde won’t despise me. He loves me so much. He won’t break up with me because I have cancer.”