When Love Becomes a Cage by Nora

Chapter 27

Chapter 27



I used to count the minutes until he'd call. But now, the name "Clyde" flashing on my phone screen felt like a visual assault. Thinking about the handful of projects I had tethered to the company, I dragged myself back to the office.

As I walk into Clyde's office, I spot Kayla storming out, her eyes red from crying. She shot me a glare filled with resentment as she passed by. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I stepped inside and asked, "You needed to see me?"

Momentarily distracted by my newly chopped hair, Clyde blurted out, "Why'd you cut your hair?"

Ignoring his question, I repeated, "Was there something you needed?"

"Tonight's dinner at the Patterson Mansion. You're coming with me," he said, his tone laced with reluctance.

family, though he was one of them. I knew bits and pieces of his past, orphaned and raised by his grandmother. He might not have left the small village if he hadn't been so excellent in his studies. I always felt he had a unique vibe, which attracted me. His identity remained a secret until desperation almost broke

battling a severe heart condition, and he was busy taking care of his grandmother in the hospital and working in the company. He worked as a programmer and didn't make much. Meanwhile, I was dealing

was forced upon me by my mother, who was also

my mother's hand in tears. "Mom, Clyde won't despise me. He loves me so

is critically sick, and our family is in

Hold

cancer, which was why she got

now, how about later? Will you two even have

my cancer, but what if our children died of cancer, too? Would he hate me after learning

ruin his hope. I was only twenty then and never thought I would die. I had cried my heart out for

grandmother's antique diamond necklace through a friend, hoping he'd use it to pay for his grandmother's medical expenses. He wouldn't accept it if I gave it to him myself. Our break-up had been messy, fueled by misunderstandings and my mother's harsh words, accusing him

as ever,

for days, leaving when rumors of me moving on with someone else reached

hospital connected him with his biological grandfather, Merritt, needing a