When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

A few heads turned in surprise as I walked in, but quickly looked away.

The strangers gave me odd looks, while those few who knew me avoided my gaze.

I figured if they were playing the ignorance card, I'd let it slide and just focus on my job.

But it seemed like the Design Department hadn't been managed in ages. Trying to get anything done was a Herculean task.

I knew Jared had what it took. He wasn't exactly a prodigy, but his meticulous nature and wealth of experience made him capable of handling projects of this caliber.

The rest of the Crawford clan, however, left much to be desired.

Aside from a few old-timers loyal to the Crawfords, the team was pretty much amateur hour.

And it was clear some weren't too thrilled about me snagging the project so smoothly.

"Ms. Melanie, what on earth are these drawings? You have to follow our company's guidelines," Sandra grumbled as she slammed the files on my desk.

"I get you're Mrs. Patterson, but is this how the Patterson Group operates? Can you not increase everyone else's workload?"

I glanced at my files and pushed them aside.

"If you can't understand them, find someone who can. The software's the same worldwide, what's there not to get?"

Sandra, a veteran in the Design Department, probably one of Talbot's old guard, had been giving me the cold shoulder since I arrived.

Getting any document from her was like pulling teeth, and she'd occasionally slip me the wrong materials.

If I hadn't already reviewed the designs, I might've fallen for her tricks.

My comeback really got under her skin. She ended up storming off, but not before slamming the files down on the table.

"I don't care who you are, you need to follow the rules. If you can't finish, don't even think about leaving."

She was clearly out to make trouble, but I wasn't in the mood to argue.

Better to work overtime now than deal with project issues later.

Just as I was about to dive back into the paperwork, two hours into my overtime, Lisa called.

"Melanie, Clyde's been hurt. You

need to come to the hospital," sheet said, her voice laced with pavel:

background noises adding to the urgency.

She texted me the address, and I rushed to the hospital, leaving my work behind.

Lisa gave me a knowing look when I arrived, and that's when I noticed Talbot lurking in the corner.

"How's Clyde?"

"He got hurt trying to save me. He

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lost a lot of blood," she sobbed,

dabbing at her dry eyes with a tissue in a display of forced elegance.

"Clyde cares about you. Of course, he couldn't stand seeing you hurt."

"A man protecting the woman he loves is only natural. Clyde's a real man!"

Talbot consoled his daughter, throwing me a sharp glance.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

His worldview completely baffled me.

Was he really pushing his daughter into being the other woman, seeing the wife as an inconvenience?

Ignoring their drama, I went straight to the nurses' station to handle the paperwork.

That's when I bumped into Marilyn.

She paused upon seeing me, then approached with a smile.

"Are you related to the patient from the construction site accident?"

I nodded, pretending not to know her. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm one of the doctors here. No worries, the injuries are pretty minor, just surface stuff. With the right care he should be back on his feet in a couple of weeks."

I feigned concern. "But with all that dust at the construction site, isn't there a risk of infection? Should he be hospitalized?"

Marilyn was patient and kind, her voice soft and reassuring. She assured me that hospitalization was an option if it would ease my worry.

My eyes caught her name tag, and I looked at her skeptically.

"Dr. Marilyn, you're from the nephrology department, aren't we in surgery?"