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.

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

me tear up. If only I had listened more to what she

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

that mattered. In the days following the surgery, no one reached out to me, and I couldn't be bothered to care.

of the night, I'd occasionally check my phone. Clyde never reached out. No calls, no messages. But I kept seeing updates from him and Kayla. Kayla loved to share

group without her, she was

an allergy, they're off to

slaving away here, they're out

least we're not as bad off as our

you believe Mr. Patterson is openly

it brought me into the conversation. In their eyes, I was the woman with a cheating husband but

to have forgotten

added this gossip group. They didn't know who I was then, so they shared everything with me. But it

about to turn off my phone, a call came from a business partner. I hadn't managed the project for months and had no idea

"Ms. Crawford, if the Patterson Group doesn't want to continue

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

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

approach. It wasn't my fault, so why should I

softening their tone,

you can't

Patterson, try contacting his