When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

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?"Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

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."

My mother shook her head painfully, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Mel, Clyde's grandmother is critically sick, and our family is in financial crisis. You must go abroad now."

Hold

I shook my head violently, refusing to leave Clyde I didn't give up until my mother told me the truth that my grandmother and two aunts died of of cancer. Back then, I had no idea my mother had been diagnosed with cancer, which was why she got so desperate. "Mel, you may get the cancer, but look at our family... I know Clyde is a good guy. I also know you love him, but I don't want you two to hate each other later."

My mother continued, "If you hold him off now, how about later? Will you two even have a future?"

My mother's words stunned me. Clyde might not disdain me for my cancer, but what if our children died of cancer, too? Would he hate me after learning the truth?

Clyde always wanted a family, and I didn't have the heart to ruin his hope. I was only twenty then and never thought I would die. I had cried my heart out for days. Seeing the debt collectors knocking on our door, I flew abroad under my mother's arrangement.

Before leaving, I gave Clyde my grandmother's antique diamond necklace through a friend, hoping he'd use it to pay for his grandmother's medical expenses. He wouldn't accept it if I gave it to him myself. Our break-up had been messy, fueled by misunderstandings and my mother's harsh words, accusing him of being a gold-digger.

Proud as ever, Clyde waited outside

my house for days, leaving when rumors of me moving on with someone else reached him.

Meanwhile, a chance encounter at the hospital connected him with his biological grandfather, Merritt, needing a bone marrow transplant. That event saved Merritt's life and reinstated Clyde's place within the Patterson family.

Having married Clyde and interacted with the Patterson family, I learned about the tragedy that struck when Clyde was three. His parents disappeared during a family hiking trip. The family paid a ransom but heard no more words from the

kidnappers, so they gave up hope, thinking the kidnappers had murdered Clyde's parents. But Clyde's sudden reappearance after many years brought joy and tension within the family.

Clyde detested the pretense involved in interacting with the Patterson family, a task which eventually fell to me after our marriage. His reluctance was palpable, much like that, as he reminded me of the dinner at the Patterson Mansion before leaving the room with disdain.

Kayla's earlier tears made sense. As the current Mrs. Patterson, I was expected at family gatherings, a place she had no claim to. But the thought of dealing with the family's dynamics made me almost as reluctant as Clyde.

Yet, remembering Merritt's kindness, I put aside my feelings. Attending the dinner was the least I could do to honor the man who had been like my grandfather.