Chapter 6
“The name was Melody’s idea. What, you don’t like it?” Graham shot back.
“It’s beautiful,” Elaine replied, finally smiling. “Melody, this baby and I must be fated–she even has a name like mine. Maybe she should call me godmother when she’s born?”
Graham nodded to Melody. “Of course. That would be an honor for the baby.”
Melody clenched her fists, struggling to breathe as the air around her turned icy and thin.
Elaine headed back to her room, leaving Graham alone with Melody at last.
She had a thousand questions she wanted to hurl at him, but in the end, only managed to whisper, “Graham, what do I even mean to you? What does our child mean to you?”
Graham’s brow furrowed. “I told you I’d be with you. But for the rest of my life, you have to let me keep some memories too.”
“I never insisted on being with you.”
“What are you saying?” His tone turned sharp, then softened a bit. “The day after tomorrow is your birthday, I’ll throw you a party, make it up to you, alright?”
“No-”
Before she could finish, a crash rang out from Elaine’s room. Graham
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Chapter 6
rushed over immediately.
His voice floated back, gentle and full of concern, fussing over Elaine, terrified she might cut herself on the broken glass.
Melody almost laughed. Her trembling hand drifted to her belly.
It was better this way. The baby was gone.
At least the child wouldn’t grow up in Elaine’s shadow, or become just another one of Graham’s reluctant compromises.
Save
Two days later, Graham threw her an extravagant birthday party. He her jewelry, a luxury car, fine art, a limited–edition designer bag–he even hired a top–tier band to play all her favorite songs.
Around her, people whispered enviously, as if Melody were the luckiest woman in the world.
But only she knew that, even as Graham stood by her side, his eyes never left Elaine.
The moment Elaine picked up a glass of ice water, Graham was there, swapping it for warm water.
“Did you forget how you cried from cramps last month? No more cold drinks.”
When Elaine reached for a plate of fresh seafood platter, he had it whisked away
“Your stomach’s too sensitive for raw food.”
Elaine pouted, and he offered her a little pudding to cheer her up.
She threw the pudding at him, but he didn’t even flinch.
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Chapter 6
“Elaine, be good.”
Frustrated, Elaine stormed off to the lounge. Graham started to follow, but the birthday cake arrived first.
He frowned, but reluctantly stayed to let Melody make her wish and blow out the candles.
“What did Mrs. Dorrick wish for?” someone teased.
“She must’ve wished for a long, happy life with Mr. Dorrick!” others chimed in, laughing.
Melody shook her head. “First, I hope Olive recovers soon. Second, I hope Graham and I will always…”
Her voice dropped. “Always be apart, never see each other again.‘
Before she could finish, a sudden cry for help echoed from the lounge.
“Graham… help me… please, no…..
Graham’s face went pale as he dashed away. A piercing scream followed.
Melody hurried after him,
Graham was cradling Elaine, who was sobbing uncontrollably. On the floor nearby, a strange man lay covered in blood, his fate uncertain.
Elaine trembled, crying, “Why would Melody do this to me?”
The more Elaine suffered, the more violent Graham’s glare became as he turned to Melody.
A chill ran down her spine. “It wasn’t me, Graham. Just this Onlin
believe me-”
please
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“Melody, I warned you. Haven’t you learned your lesson?” Graham’s voice was cold and deliberate. “Let me remind you again, if it weren’t for Elaine, you’d know exactly what kind of life you’d be living.”
Moments later, the giant screen covered in birthday wishes suddenly switched to a different video.
On it, an 18–year–old Melody, her clothes torn and barely covering her, struggled desperately as she was pinned down and dragged across the floor, humiliated and abused.
The men in the private room leered at her, shouting out bids for who would get to have her first.
“I’ll add a hundred.”
“I’ll throw in ten bucks, just for a taste.
A roaring filled Melody’s ears. She bit her lip hard and looked at Graham.
She remembered the words he’d whispered, over and over, when he
nightmare.
pulled her out of th
“It’s over.”
“Don’t be scared. No one will hurt you again.”
“It’s all in the past.”
But now, it was Graham himself who told her that was the life she truly
deserved.
