Chapter 5
Before she could even struggle, Graham forced her face down onto the nearby visitor’s cot, his palm pressing down hard on the back of her neck -an utterly humiliating position.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Melody’s voice came out as a trembling whisper. “My mom is right here.”
“Perfect. Now she can see exactly how her medical bills are really getting paid.” Graham let out a cold laugh, looking down at her with smug superiority.
He didn’t even need to be cruel; just his words alone were enough to grind Melody’s last shred of dignity into dust.
Her nails dug so deep into her palms they broke the skin, but she couldn’t feel a thing.
As Graham’s hand moved higher, her tears began to fall.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please, I’ll never do it again.‘
He paused, her red, swollen eyes pricking at something inside him.
This was exactly the outcome he’d wanted–so why did he suddenly feel uneasy?
Sorry. I lost my temper.”
Graham pulled her into his arms. “Once the baby’s born, Elaine will leave. Then it’ll just be you, me, and our child together.”
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He said it like it was some kind of favor.
Melody suddenly found it all absurd.
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Of course. The woman he truly loved was Elaine. Being with Melody was just a compromise, the consolation prize for lovers who could never be together
How could it not feel like charity?
His embrace was still warm, but Melody felt cold all the way to her bones.
Graham draped his jacket over her shoulders. “Come on, I’ll go home with you so you can change.”
His phone rang—Elaine.
Graham’s voice turned urgent. “I’ll get your bathwater ready, okay? You’re already hurt, so please be careful and don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
He hurried off without so much as a backward glance, not even remembering to bring Melody along.
Melody collapsed to the floor, drained, biting her lip as silent tears streamed down her face.
The only thing she was grateful for was that Olive was still asleep–her health had declined so much that she was barely awake for more than a few hours a day.
After a moment, Melody changed into Olive’s clothes and tossed Graham’s jacket straight into the trash.
When she got home, Elaine was on a video call with Melody’s biological mother, Doris Winlock.
Doris was fussing, her tone exasperated but doting. “You can’t get your
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stitches wet, understand? If you need anything, have Melody do it for you. If you end up with a scar, you’ll be crying your eyes out.”
Elaine spotted Melody and quickly turned the camera toward her.
Doris instantly switched targets. “Melody, you make the best soup. Make some light broth for Elaine to help her recover. And remember, she always kicks off her blankets at night–check on her so she doesn’t catch a chill…‘
“I nearly drowned in that river, and wasn’t Elaine supposed to be the one taking care of me?”
There was a pause. Doris mumbled, “But you’re fine now, aren’t you?”
A sharp pain stabbed through Melody’s chest.
She was supposed to be Doris’s closest family, but from the moment she returned three years ago, it was like everyone just assumed she’d stolen everything from Elaine.
The one everyone bent over backward to comfort and make whole was always Elaine
The call ended.
Elaine’s voice was soft and fragile. “Don’t take it to heart, okay? Don’t listen to Mom–she just worries about me too much.”
Before Melody could reply, Graham came out of the kitchen with a fruit platter, shooting her a warning look as he set it on the coffee table.
Melody lowered her gaze. “Okay.”
Elaine finally seemed relieved, handing Melody her phone. “I ordered a e. “I ordered a bunch of baby stuff–clothes, a crib, a rattle… Look, do you like them?”
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Melody stared at the order list, her heart twisting painfully tight.
The baby was gone. Looking at these things was just salt in the wound, a dull knife carving her open.
“As long as you like them,” Graham said with a smile. “Whatever you pick, Melody will love too.”
Melody forced a smile. “He’s right.”
Elaine beamed. “Oh, and have you two thought about a name for the baby? What should we call her?”
“Eloise Dorrick,” Graham said.
Melody’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at him.
Eloise.
He’d chosen a name that sounded just like Elaine’s.
For Elaine, he’d killed seven of Melody’s children.
The only one he’d ever allowed to live was now just another tribute to his love for Elaine.
“Why…” Elaine bit her lip, suddenly flustered. “Why that name?”
