When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

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Rachel dragged me to the small garden bench outside the hospital.

She plopped down with a sigh and patted the spot next to her, "Have a seat."

I reluctantly took the far edge, keen on keeping a buffer zone between us.

She glanced my way.

"Melanie, you're infuriatingly beautiful, even with a wig."

Her random comment threw me off, and I didn't quite know how to respond.

But she didn't seem to expect a reply, instead, she gazed up at the sky.

"Reminds me of our first day at college, kinda overcast, but oddly comforting. Melanie, I was the first person at school to meet Clyde. The very first, no one knew him before I did."

There was a hint of pride in her voice, a sparkle in her eyes.

Back in our dorm, she always seemed a bit out of place, and I hardly knew anything about her.

Just that her family wasn't well-off, she relied on scholarships and student loans, even signing up for work-study programs from day one.

But what I didn't realize was that she and Clyde had shared a train ride to college on their first day.

Clyde probably didn't even remember, but he had helped a girl struggling with her luggage on the platform, and that girl fell hard for him.

"We really hit it off, coming from similar backgrounds, both doing work-study in the cafeteria, both tutoring to make ends meet. He was always so cheerful and charming, always carried himself with such grace, despite everything. I thought we were alike."

Her tone suddenly turned cold, her gaze turning sharp as she looked at me.

"But then you showed up, and everything changed."

Indeed, I was smitten with Clyde at first sight and had my dad sponsor him. But likewise, my dad sponsored Rachel.

Since we were roommates, I, of

course, pulled some strings for her. But she never saw it as me looking out for her; to her, it felt like a slap in the face.

•n•

"How is it fair that you throw around skin care products worth hundreds, while my monthly allowance is barely there?"

"You waste food and treats like they're nothing, tossing them aside, treating me like a dog!"

Her anger boiled over, and she stood up, pointing accusingly at me.

"You had your damned dad sponsor Clyde, just to steal him from me, knowing full well I had nothing!"

"You want to see me broken,

unwanted, but guess what, I worked hard, I got my own sponsor, I don't have to worry about loans or living expenses anymore, I don't have to eat your leftovers!"

I shook my head at her twisted expression.

"Rachel, the company sponsoring you, it's a jewelry design studio, right?"

"How did you know?"

"It belongs to my grandmother."

I said flatly, "I knew about your pride, so I didn't let my dad sponsor you directly." The Crawford family had a reputation for supporting students in need every year.

But for publicity and to maintain a good image, those students often had to come forward, something I knew Rachel would never agree to due to her pride. So, I had my dad make

2 discreet donation in the

name of my grandmother's studio to Rachel and another classmate.

Rachel was clearly stunned, disbelievingly laughing as she looked at me.

"So what? You think your scraps of charity are some act of mercy? Always playing the saint, that petty cash means nothing to me." She furiously removed her earrings and threw them in my lap.

"Clyde just gave these to me, worth eighty thousand, easily covers whatever your family donated. I don't owe you anything!"