When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

"The person you're talking about is my legal husband, right?" I stood up, locking my gaze with the female reporter.

I felt like I'd seen her before, and then it hit me. She was in Kayla's social media posts.

There was a time when gossip in our group chat was all about a photo Kayla shared, dining out at some fancy steakhouse with this journalist.

I glanced at her name tag. "Isla? So, you're the BFF of my hubby's fling, huh?"

As soon as I dropped that bomb, all eyes in the room turned to her.

Her face turned red, but she still retorted, "So what? That doesn't change the fact that I'm a journalist with integrity."

As the cameras turned toward her, she took a moment to fix her hair. "I know the real scoop because I'm close with Kayla. She, Melanie, was desperate to marry Clyde, but the truth is, Clyde never loved her."

"Now that Clyde wants a divorce, she's shamelessly after his money. Shouldn't someone call her out for who she really is? How dare that homewrecker parade around like she's the victim?"

Her righteous tone made me burst into laughter.

I retorted, "Desperate to marry her? Did you even bother to check your facts? Clyde was the one who couldn't leave me alone. For your information, I filed for divorce. If you're so capable, ask him to hurry up."

I couldn't bother talking to her any longer, and soon enough, the restaurant's security was escorting the reporters out.

Noticing the commotion, my colleagues rushed back.

Lina was visibly furious at the reporters. "Are you seriously crashing our team dinner? With all these people here, why aren't you taking photos of us?"

The folks from Aspire World jumped to my defense.

"We were here to discuss a partnership, and you're ruining our meal?"

"Calling our boss a 'kept man'? Get your eyes checked!"

"Supporting a mistress over the rightful wife, are you all reincarnations of mistresses?"

The young crowd from Aspire World had sharp tongues, and soon, the reporters slinked away defeated.

I felt embarrassed. Everyone exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

Despite the awkwardness, dinner was enjoyable, but the night brought less cheer. Even though the reporters had guessed the truth, none wanted to report it. The public wasn't interested in the truth, only in juicy scandals. So, Clyde and I found ourselves trending again.

[Patterson Group's couple suspected of divorce]

[Reporter accused of being a mistress reincarnate]

[Former Mrs. Patterson to take a share of Patterson Group stocks]

The trending topics were

outrageous, each more sensational than the last. I even found myself engrossed in fan fiction about us, marveling at how close some

guesses were to reality. ButProperty belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

no

wasn't the drama queen they painted me as. I was someone battling cancer, holding onto

treatment for dear life.

The following morning, Clyde called. I knew he wouldn't let this slide. Neither would the Patterson family.

As expected, Merritt saw the news and insisted that we come to Patterson Mansion right away.

"I'll pick you up. Let's go together." Clyde sounded resigned, probably headache-ridden from the social media storm.

I checked my phone, noting that

some trends had been suppressed, which was likely the Patterson family's doing. This time, I didn't refuse. Showing up alone could only make Merritt more furious

But arriving at Patterson Mansion, Merritt was livid, even taking his frustration out on Clyde with a few cane whacks.

Clyde bore it silently, with Laird and Eaton's families watching, not saying a word.

"Look at the mess you two have made! What's all this rubbish online?"

"Our stock prices are plummeting. Do you even care?"

Though Clyde ran a branch office, the whole Patterson Group was affected, and Merritt was understandably angry.

Lucia eventually couldn't stand it anymore and came over to me. "Melanie, you got caught dining out with a man? How careless can you be?"

I nodded earnestly. "Yeah, it's strange how a meal with seven or eight people can get twisted like this."

Only a few knew about my dinner with Vinson, and with Kayla's friend showing up, it wasn't hard to guess who leaked the info.

Glaring at Clyde, Merritt then turned to me. "Vinson is the kid from Aspire World, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, Vinson. He's also a senior to Clyde and me."

"I don't have such a senior!" Clyde looked pissed.

Clyde's sharp reply landed him another smack from Merritt. "Since he's a senior and a business partner, just clear the air publicly." "Vinson, taking his mother's surname... So, it was him."

To my surprise, Merritt knew Vinson.

I was about to probe further when Clyde's glare silenced me, and he got another hit from Merritt. "What's with that look? This mess is yours to clean up. You'll stay at Patterson Mansion from today until the company's anniversary celebration is over. No arguments. That's final."