When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie) novel Chapter 46

Taking the day off anyway, I decided to crash back into my room and sleep. The second round of chemo hit harder than the last, leaving me wondering whether it was out to kill the cancer or me. The side effects had me feeling sick for a while, followed by a nosebleed. It felt like an eternity of discomfort before I finally adjusted to the ordeal about an hour later.

After a shower, I collapsed on my bed. With Clyde out of the picture, the world seemed eerily quiet, and I drifted into a restless sleep.

Unfortunately, Clyde's persistence knew no bounds as he appeared at Jade's place.

First, I heard the endless ringing of the doorbell, which quickly escalated to pounding on the door. "Melanie, Melanie! I know you're in there. Open up!"

Thankfully, it was daytime, so no neighbors had come to complain yet.

Despite feeling awful, I managed to open the door. "What do you want?"

He seemed stunned by my appearance, his mouth opening, and closing without a word for a moment.

I tried to close the door, but he quickly stopped it with his hand. "Melanie, let's talk."

I considered slamming the door on his fingers but eventually decided against it.

When he tried to step forward, I blocked the entryway. "Let's talk here."

He hesitated, but seeing my insistence, he stuttered, "Melanie, are you sick? It wasn't Jade who went for a check-up today. It was you, wasn't it?"

Suddenly, he seemed to put two and two together, though not quite sharp enough or perhaps not genuinely concerned. Had he bothered to visit the hospital or pull some strings, he would've known it wasn't just a check-up. But he didn't, choosing instead to confront me, proving he hadn't even been to the hospital.

I couldn't be bothered to explain. "Yeah, just low blood sugar and too much stress. I'll feel better in a couple of days if you and Kayla keep your distance. If you finish talking, you might as well leave."

I tried to shut the door, but he was far stronger than me, making it impossible. For some reason, he was adamant about not letting me have my way today.

Leaning forward, he exerted pressure against the door. "Melanie, you forgot Grandpa wants us back at the Patterson Mansion. It's not convenient for you and Jade to live together. Come home with me." He cleared his throat awkwardly.

I made sure he couldn't enter. Yet, he didn't back down, as if determined not to leave without my agreement.

Eventually, I caved, "Just wait at the door. I'll be out in a moment."

Having promised Merritt, I felt obliged to comply. After all, the company's anniversary was around the corner, and we could part ways after that without much fuss.