When Love Becomes a Cage by Nora

Chapter 6

Chapter 6



As I watched them walk away, everything suddenly clicked. No wonder Clyde never brought Kayla home. He was worried about her allergies to dog hair.

The young nurse looked like she was about to call out to him, but I stopped her.

"Ms. Crawford, is that your husband? That's not right," she said, clearly outraged.

The nurse was young, probably fresh out of college, and filled with a sense of justice.

I shook my head. "It's fine. We're getting a divorce. If he had stayed, I might've died sooner."

Anger could be a woman's worst enemy. Maybe it was because I'd been bottling everything up for the past three years, but my cancer came back.

The drama ended, and the doctors resumed planning the surgery. Perhaps feeling guilty about me, they checked my vitals and, finding them barely acceptable, scheduled the surgery.

Maybe it was my neighbor Brenda's cross that worked. The doctors had said my chances were slim since it was a recurrence, but the surgery went incredibly smoothly. I guessed God's blessing meant I got to live a bit longer.

I was suddenly grateful to Clyde for making me angry. If he had been too nice, I might've died sooner.

the pain was so intense that it was like my scalp was tingling. It wasn't my first surgery, but it hurt more, maybe because I knew there was no one to feel sorry for me. The first time I

her made me tear up. If only I had listened

gently wiped away my tears, whispering, "The surgery went well today. The pain from the anesthesia is normal. It'll pass." Sympathy was evident in her eyes. I could guess why. Today, I must've become the talk of the hospital, not because of the cut

I no longer cared. Surviving was all that mattered. In the days following the surgery, no one reached out to me, and I couldn't be bothered to care. The lady in the next bed and I shared a caregiver, saving me some

never reached out. No calls, no messages. But I kept seeing updates from him and Kayla. Kayla

the gossip group without her, she was

spoils her rotten, huh? Because of an allergy, they're off to Westbridge for

they're out enjoying spa treatments by

at least we're not as bad off as

is openly cheating,

and Kayla, it brought me into the conversation. In their eyes, I was the woman

seemed to

Immediately added this gossip group. They didn't know who I was then,

I was about to turn off my phone, a call came from a business partner. I

I answered, they launched into a tirade. "Ms. Crawford, if the Patterson Group doesn't

to cover our losses?" The more they talked, the more agitated they became. Eventually, I understood Clyde had taken Kayla to Westbridge and neglected many

vent, I spoke weakly, "I'm sorry. I've

vulnerable was the best approach. It wasn't my

softening their tone, "You had surgery? You're

you can't

Patterson, try contacting his