When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

When I returned to the office, I hesitated before heading to the conference room, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Mr. Hanley, today Mr. Patterson he..."

"Let me guess, he's MIA again? Melanie, is Clyde pulling my leg? What does he think this partnership is, a joke?"

Hanley was well aware that Clyde had bailed again, and after being stood up twice, he was furious.

Despite my attempts to smooth things over, he had no interest in keeping the partnership going.

I messaged Clyde and also shared what happened in our team chat. Though I was in charge of the project, I wasn't about to take the fall for this mess. Clyde remained out of touch, not showing up at the office all day. My colleagues from the Design Department kept asking what we should do, but without any directives from the top, our hands were tied.

Just when I figured Clyde couldn't care less about a multimillion-dollar deal, he surprised me by calling early the next morning, asking me to come to his office.

"Melanie, look at the mess you've made! You've lost us a major project, and now you're going to take full responsibility!"

Confused, I looked at the documents he threw at me - it was a contract termination notice from Radiant Systems, stating that our negligence had caused the project to fall through, and we were liable for damages.

"Melanie, you knew how crucial the Radiant Systems partnership was, how could you screw this up?" Kayla chimed in, clearly upset.

"Melanie, you're one of us at the Patterson Group, how could you play into Vinson's hands? Even if there's something going on between you two, you can't just hand over the project to him!"

I slightly opened my eyes, finding it funny how they both wore the same shocked expression.

I couldn't help but laugh. It turned out Hanley had gone straight to Vinson, and they struck a deal. Now, the Patterson Group wasn't just out of a partnership; we owed money, no wonder they were fuming. But what did that have to do with me?

"Clyde, are you out of your mind?" I retorted, tossing the documents back at him. "You disappear, and now you're blaming me? I didn't realize you were so irresponsible. When did you become so two-faced?"

I pulled up our chat history on my phone.

"I messaged you, tagged you in the group chat, what more do you want? Should I have dragged you back from the hospital? No one's going to cover for your negligence. If you don't care about your own company, who will?"

Clyde looked at his phone, puzzled

and frowning Noticing Kayla's guilty face, I quickly pieced together what toe

had happened. She had access Clyde's phone, so she could have deleted my messages. But she wasn't smart enough to realize that deleting Clyde's messages wouldn't erase everyone else's.

"So, you couldn't have called? It's my fault just because I didn't see a message?" Clyde argued with astonishing audacity.

Kayla exploded first, her voice trembling with rage.

"Melanie, you're just trying to sabotage Clyde for your lover. The company shouldn't have to pay for this."

"Are you in it for the money? Did Vinson offer you something?"

She glared menacingly, while I simply sized her up. Dressed head-to-toe in luxury brands, she was easily wearing a fortune. Feeling unnerved under my gaze, she stepped back, and that's when I spoke up.

"I'm not like some people who get involved for money. Clyde, I did call. Whatever Kayla told you, you can check with the phone company."

Picking up my phone, I left his office.

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If he had any sense, he'd realize who was really at fault. If he wanted to pin this on me for Kayla's sake, I was ready to fight back. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became. Realizing the person had loved for so many years was foolish was a bitter pill to swallow. In the past, his infidelity could be seen as retaliation for our messy breakup. But now, neglecting his company and pinning his mistakes on others, I lost all respect for him.

Before I could reach the elevator, he caught up with me. "Melanie, wait!"

Not interested in his excuses, I hurried into the elevator.

He reached out, causing me to stumble backward. Clyde quickly steadied me, his hand brushing through my hair.

"Sorry, Melanie, I didn't mean to be so rough. Are you alright?" His voice was filled with panic.

Stabilizing myself, I noticed a clump of my hair in his hand, a harsh reminder of my chemotherapy treatments and the resulting hair loss.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"Maybe if you put as much effort

into your work, we wouldn't be in this

mess," I quipped, pretending to rub my head as if in pain. He tried to

something, but I was already leaving The side effects of chemo were becoming more evident Seeing my pale reflection and thinning hair in the elevator mirror, I felt a wave of sadness. I definitely needed to find a stylish wig soon.