Chapter 1

When I was bedridden in the hospital, plenty of people came to visit me. Most of my close friends dropped by, but Thomas didn't visit at all, even though he was my boyfriend.

He only called to say, "Mel has been crying nonstop, so I can't leave her. You need to take care of yourself.

"I can't talk anymore. Mel refuses to eat unless I feed her. I don't have much choice in the matter."

How pathetic.

We were dating for ten years, but in his heart, my life was less significant when it came to feeding his precious Melody.

Thomas was the one who fell for me first. He was the one who pursued me relentlessly. If anyone spread rumors about me, he would pick fights with that person. He was almost punished a few times for doing so.

I loved the crab cakes that were only available in the old parts of the city. He would even travel through storms just to buy them for me.

The results of my mathematics exams were abysmal. I always dragged him down, but he would stay up all night to look through my workbook. He would summarize all the tricky questions that I usually made mistakes on and explain them to me one at a time.

Thomas was the one who chased after me. He was the one who confessed to me, saying how he wanted to be with me for the rest of our lives. But he was also the one who abandoned me time and time again for Melody's sake.

The fresh wounds on my body were still bleeding. The occasional throbs of pain were a constant reminder that I should give up on a man who didn't love me anymore.

Holding back my tears, I deleted everything that had to do with Thomas from all my social media platforms. I then sent a message to my friends, informing them that the wedding was canceled.

"The wedding ceremony that's supposed to take place a month from now has been canceled. Don't waste your time coming."

25 days later, I was discharged from the hospital. I hailed a cab and returned to my marital home. The rose bushes that I had planted in front of the villa had been dug up and replaced with stalks of lettuce.

The swing set had also been taken away and replaced with a huge signboard that read, "Mel and Thomas' House of Love."

There was even a cartoon drawing of a couple kissing on the signboard. I didn't need to ask anyone to know that Melody came up with this idea.

This wasn't the first time she had stirred up trouble, but no matter how ridiculously she behaved, Thomas would go along with whatever she wanted.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh. After entering Melody's birthday into the digital lock, I entered my home.

There were only five days left before I would leave with Louis. I had to start packing my luggage. I went upstairs. When I pushed the bedroom door open, I never would have imagined that I would be greeted with the sight of a couple entwined with each other on the bed.

Thomas was topless and was only wearing a pair of pajama pants. The corner of his lips was bruised from being bitten, and there were fresh scratch marks on his chest.

Melody was snuggled against his chest while wearing nothing but a slip dress. Her plump breasts were pressed against his front, her body wrapping around him like a vine.

A lacy, black thong had been discarded on the floor.

I thought that I had mentally prepared myself, but when I laid my eyes upon them, I could feel the blood surging uncontrollably to my head.

This was my marital home and my bedroom. How could they do this to me?