Chapter 2

The stomach pain woke me. My gut twisted and churned so violently that I forced myself out of bed to get some medicine, only to find the bedroom door locked tight from the outside.

Fear tightened my chest. I pressed a hand to my stomach and quickly called Melody.

"Melody, my stomach's acting up. The bedroom door's locked, and I can't get out. Come home now!"

"Tony, today's awards ceremony is important to the school. Don't start something now." Melody's voice was worn thin with exhaustion.

"Melody!" A sharp wave of pain tore through me, and I couldn't hold back a cry. "It's real! I think my gastritis is flaring up badly!"

"Here we go again!" Melody's voice shot up. "Anthony, are you trying to ruin the ceremony? No wonder you were so calm last night. So this is when you decided to threaten me!"

"Melody, I'm not—" I tried to explain, but the relentless pain drained every bit of strength from me.

A moment later, I vomited a pool of blood.

She was about to say something else when Terrence's voice echoed. "What's wrong, Ms. Harper? Is that man giving you trouble again?"

"Maybe you should just go home. You don't need to stay with me..."

"Forget him. Work comes first."

Melody's voice mingled with the laughter of students in the background.

Then the call ended.

I steadied my breathing and dialed 911.

When I tried to stand, I collapsed into a pool of blood. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

…

The paramedics arrived quickly. They broke down the door and found me unconscious on the floor.

I remained unconscious for an entire day.

The doctor said my gastritis had triggered myocarditis. If the paramedics had arrived any later, my life would have been in danger.

Melody sat at my bedside and clutched my hand. She cried so hard she could barely speak.

"Tony, it's my fault… I'm trash… I was afraid that seeing me onstage with Terrence would set you off... Forgive me, honey… If not for me, then for the baby."

The last time she had cried like that was at our wedding. Back then, she had wrapped her arms around my waist, her eyes brimming with tears, and sworn she would love me for the rest of her life.

Nothing else had changed. Only we had, and now there was nothing left to save.

I could no longer reconcile the woman in front of me with the young, innocent girl in my memories.

I stared blankly at the ceiling.

For one strange moment, I felt something almost like relief. After everything that had happened, I no longer wanted to force myself to stay with Melody.

The sudden ring of a phone cut off her confession. Terrence was calling.

As if to prove her loyalty to me, Melody immediately put him on speaker and shouted, "Terrence, stop clinging to me!"

Terrence stammered from the other end, "M-Ms. Harper, the results are in. T-The baby you're carrying is mine... I won't cling to you. It's just that, as the mother, you have a right to know."

My hand clenched into a fist. I pressed my lips together, but I couldn't stop them from trembling.

The baby Melody was carrying was Terrence's?!

Melody hurriedly hung up and looked at me, anxiety and shame written across her face. "Tony, this child will only ever know you as its father."

A short, bitter laugh escaped me as tears slid down my face. "Melody, let's get a divorce."

"I don't want a divorce!" Melody shot to her feet and wrapped her arms tightly around me. "Tony, I love you. Don't say things like that."

I wrenched her hands off me and roared, "Then we're going to the OB-GYN right now. I want to watch you get an abortion!"

Melody closed her eyes and refused to look at me. "Terry has depression. If I get an abortion now, I'm afraid of what he'll do to himself."

"And what about me?" I hurled the water cup at her. "So I'm just supposed to accept that you cheated on me? Raise another man's kid for you? Is that it?"

Terrence's voice broke into sobs from the phone. "Ms. Harper, I won't make this hard for you. I'll go kill myself right now..."

Melody's face instantly went white. She grabbed her phone and bolted from the hospital room.

I watched her disappear through the door without a moment's hesitation.

My mother took my hand, her face tight with heartache. "My boy, we're not putting up with this anymore. We're getting this divorce right now. I'll go home and start packing your things."

…

The next time my mother called, all I heard was her sobbing.