When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie) novel Chapter 144

"Melanie, the car's here, let's go," Vinson called out, but I noticed Clyde looked visibly angry.

"Pretty cozy, aren't you, Melanie?" he sneered.

"And what should he call me, Clyde? Melanie Crawford or Mellie?"

I rolled my eyes at him, noticing with a mix of amusement and exasperation that he seemed to get more jealous with age.

"If he ever dared to call you that again, I swear I'd be over there in a flash to give him a piece of my mind!"

Clyde huffed, "I told you, you're not allowed to..."

"Don't worry, I won't be alone with him unless it's for work. No personal talks, and I'll check in with you every day, okay? How does that sound, my very own President Patterson?"

He tried to maintain his gruff demeanor but couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!"

Just then, his secretary knocked, and he swiftly switched back to his stern tone.

"Come in." And with a blink towards the screen, he said, "Gotta hang up now."

Seeing the call had ended, I couldn't help but smile too.

It felt like overnight, Clyde and I had returned to our old, harmonious selves.

Back in our school days, we would chat on Messenger until late at night.

Becoming a CEO had turned Clyde into this cool, aloof figure, but deep down, he was still the same Clyde.

Quietly, I put away my phone and followed Vinson to the car.

Surprisingly, Vinson had been quick to act, already starting the road repairs.

"I also bought some shares, consider it an investment. We're going to need a lot of materials moving forward."

We trudged through the muddiest parts, finally arriving back at the factory.

Vinson pointed ahead, "We'll have to stick to the old ways of transportation for now, but once the road's done, things will speed up."

"The local council's even talking about giving us an award for solving the villagers' transportation issues," he added with a chuckle.

"Doctor, I was kidnapped... and then exposed to radiation."

I didn't hide the incident or the medication I was using from him.

After a long look, the doctor finally sighed. "You're lucky to be alive."

"You need to be hospitalized immediately. You've got a fever, and we need to stabilize your condition."

After the doctor left, Vinson looked at me, concern written all over his face.

"Melanie, are you sure you don't want to tell him about your condition?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

Every time this came up, I remembered Kayla's words.

Did I want Clyde to feel guilty for the rest of his life? No, that wasn't what I wanted.

"Vinson, you should head back. The doctors and nurses are here; I'll be fine."