When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

Galen Brown was dead, and Talbot had hit him with five bullets.

The doctor said most folks would've dropped on the spot, but he hung on, probably just to have a last word with us.

Geneva was in tears, eventually passing out from the grief.

I, on the other hand, had to choke back my sadness and get all the paperwork sorted.

There were moments I nearly passed out myself, but I knew I couldn't afford to fall apart—not with Geneva and Clyde depending on me.

After I got back, Eliana kept on me, reminding me to get a check-up, that my meds were running low.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

All I could say was I'd deal with it once everything here was settled.

Lisa was swamped too, showed up once then hurried off.

The cops had been by a few times, just to take our statements since Talbot was already gone. It seemed like everything was winding down, just waiting on the final judgement for Garfield and Marilyn.

But what I didn't expect was the entire Patterson family showing up at Ironvale.

I was in the middle of massaging Clyde when Merritt and the crew barged in.

Seeing Clyde in his condition, Merritt's eyes immediately welled up.

"Melanie, how could you not tell us something this big happened!" Laird was the first to rush over, pulling me away and pushing me aside. Evelyn quickly came to my support, "Laird, Melanie's not the criminal here. What are you doing? You wanna start a fight?"

Lucia gave me a stern look.

"Even hitting her doesn't relieve our anger Clyde's the last of our line. What if something happened to him?"

"Because of her family's troubles, Clyde's even neglected the company. If it weren't for York, who knows what state things would be in."

Laird and Lucia kept at it, but I silently moved back to Clyde's side to continue the massage. The doctor had mentioned muscle atrophy from prolonged bed rest, and I was determined to prevent that.

Right now, the company, work-none of that mattered more than Clyde.

Seeing I wasn't responding, Lucia moved to confront me again until Merritt finally spoke up.

"Melanie, what did the doctor say?"

"The doctor mentioned Clyde suffered a brain injury. The surgery went well, but there might be nerve damage. It'll take some time for him to wake up."

"And how long is 'some time'? A month, two, a year, a decade?"

Lucia sneered, "And what if he never wakes up?"

"Then I'll take care of him for the rest of my life."

I fixed up Clyde's left leg, then got to rubbing down his right leg with a bit of essential oil.

Clyde's legs were strong and muscular.

If he had to lie here for months, I wondered if he'd be upset about his body fat percentage going up.

As I massaged, my eyes started to tear up. The room fell silent, with only the sound of my hands working.

Eaton whispered, "Uncle, should Clyde come back with us?"

Merritt nodded, "Arrange the plane, The Chandler family has also reached out. They have a neurology specialist ready to consult for

Clyde."

Hearing it was the Chandler family's hospital, I breathed a sigh of relief. With Warren Chandler involved, we were sure to find the best possible care. This time, I didn't go against Merritt's wishes and joined everyone on the plane.

But the day before we left, Merritt came to see me alone in the room. "Melanie, Clyde's hurt again because of you. I need an explanation." Choking back tears, I didn't know how to respond.

Clyde was in this condition because of me. If he never woke up...

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I heard my own steady and firm. "I will take

him

of

for the rest of my life's t

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