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All Chapters of The Bird Flies Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Neal finally looked up from his paperwork and met my eyes. “The doctor said your mom’s finally doing better.“She should be ready for the bone marrow transplant soon. Why would you break up with me now? Do you want her to die?”I did not answer. I just gripped the paper a little tighter.It was my mother’s death certificate, stamped with the official seal.“Did you tell Mimi which ward my mom was in?”Neal chuckled and gave me a knowing smile. “So, that’s what this is about. Yes, I told her. Mimi heard your mom was sick and went out of her way to visit. She could be a little pampered.“Judging by your reaction, she must’ve said something that upset your mom. I’ll visit her soon and clear things up. You…”Before he could finish, I threw a newspaper onto his desk.[Beckett CEO’s Pregnant New Flame Takes Over, Girlfriend Demoted to Maid and Side Piece!]Below the headline was a photo of me helping Mimi Larson out of the prenatal clinic.The article was vicious.It suggested t

Chapter 2

I booked a flight overseas. It was scheduled for the next three days.I still had plenty of money left from borrowing against the only thing my father had left me. It was enough to buy my mother a plot in a good cemetery and support myself while I started over abroad.I dug out the plans for studying abroad that I had shelved five years earlier.I brushed off the dust.The notes were in my mother’s handwriting.After my father died, she would often tell me, “We have to keep going.”She was gone, too.I tried to comfort myself with the same words.Too afraid to fall asleep, I remained awake all night.I was afraid I would dream of her yelling at me again. Though the thought of not dreaming of her was just as frightening. What if she was still so angry with me that she refused to see me, even in my dreams?So, I packed through the night until everything was ready to go.Around nine, a commotion broke out downstairs. I stayed out of it. It was Neal’s house, after all. Besides,

Chapter 3

For a long moment, I looked at him. I felt nothing, not even anger.There was only sheer exhaustion.I crouched down and opened the suitcase.Not much was inside.After five years with Neal, I only had a few changes of clothes.Mimi was determined to humiliate me.She did not even bother to bend down. She stuck one foot into my suitcase, then kicked my clothes around and ground them beneath her fancy heel, scattering them across the floor.Once she had done enough damage, she finally seemed satisfied.She nestled into Neal’s arms and lifted her chin to look at me.“Fine. No key. Now, get out. I don’t want to look at you anymore. Neal didn’t sleep at all last night. He must’ve been worrying about the company. We need to get some rest now.”I looked at the clothes scattered around me. Most had been too badly torn up by her heels to wear. The inside of the suitcase was wrecked too. There was no point in packing it all up again.I turned to Fleming, the butler. “It’s all ruined.

Chapter 4

Cabs were hard to come by in Neal’s gated community.I was walking slowly. Even the nearest bus stop was a half-hour walk away.Luckily, the cemetery representative came to pick me up. By the time Neal drove around looking for me, I was long gone.I looked through the cemetery brochure as the representative talked me through the options. There were only a few good plots to choose from, so the decision was easy.My mother had kept my father’s ashes at home because she could not bear to part with them.Finally, I could lay them to rest together.I was afraid my mother was still angry with me. My father had always been more forgiving. No matter how badly I messed up, he would smile and persuade her to go easy on me. I pressed my cheek against his cold porcelain urn and asked him for a favor.“You always spoiled me, Dad. Come see me in my dreams whenever you can. Talk to Mom for me. Ask her not to be angry with me anymore. I just want to see her, even if it’s only in a dream. I’m

Chapter 5

The words hit him like a blow.Neal’s mind went blank. His knees nearly gave out.He gripped the nurse’s arm and asked her a string of questions in disbelief.“What do you mean, she passed away? How could she just die like that? Wasn’t her condition stable? She was supposed to have her transplant soon! Why didn’t anyone tell me?”The nurse froze, frightened by the fury on his face.My mother’s attending physician hurried over to explain to him. “Mr. Beckett, please calm down! Mrs. Tyler had a heart condition. She couldn’t handle that kind of stress. It took five years to get her well enough for a bone marrow transplant.“When you sent Ms. Larson to visit, the distress she caused put Mrs. Tyler’s life at risk. As her doctors, we would never have approved of that!”Neal went still, suddenly remembering what I had asked him in his office that night.“What do you mean, distress? I…”The doctor cut him off. Every doctor cared about their patients. His expression was grim.“The e

Chapter 6

Mimi was frightened and furious.But she tried to pacify him in a sugary voice.“I… I thought I was pregnant. I wanted you to make things official for the baby’s sake. Besides, she had all those great doctors looking after her. I merely said a few things to Mrs. Tyler. What harm could that do?”Smack!He slapped her again.He hit her so hard his palm went numb. Blood trickled from the corner of Mimi’s mouth.“Lie to me again, and I’ll cut off every bit of support you get from Beckett Group.”Mimi finally snapped.Being slapped twice had pushed her too far.Everything came spilling out, including things she knew she should have kept to herself.Clutching her cheek, she scrambled backward.She shouted through her tears. “I couldn’t stand her! I thought pretending to be pregnant would get rid of her, but she had no shame.“She was even willing to book my prenatal appointments! I had no choice but to go to her mother.“I heard she used to be a teacher, so I figured she’d be up

Chapter 7

After a while, my head began to clear.I cradled a mug of tea and listened as Vicente explained what had happened.Vicente Martinez was in my class at the language school. Our small class was a mix of nationalities, but we were the only two from back home. We even grew up in the same city.He had been hoping to introduce himself in class, but then he heard I was ill.“The medicine here can be pretty strong. I thought you might prefer something you were used to. I still had a few boxes I’d brought from home, so I came by to drop some off.“Your landlady said she’d knocked several times and got no answer. We were worried something had happened, so we opened the door. You were burning up and calling for your mom.”Embarrassed, I lowered my head over my mug.Vicente did not seem to notice.He had the warm, slightly goofy charm of an eager puppy. He held out his hand. “By the way, I never caught your last name. I only know you as Erica.”I reached out and shook his hand.“Tyler. E

Chapter 8

It was Neal.He came running toward me and stopped in front of me, out of breath.“You’re back. I’ve been waiting for you…”Then, he looked past me and saw Vicente. His voice trailed off.“Who’s this?”I took Vicente’s hand and introduced him to Neal.“My boyfriend, Vicente.”For a moment, Neal looked devastated. Then, he managed to compose himself.I knew who had left the roses.I smiled at him. “Thank you for visiting my parents’ grave.”For some reason, my calm response seemed to upset him. His eyes began to redden.“Why aren’t you yelling at me?”I took a closer look at him.He was much thinner. Grief had weathered his face.I sighed. I had made my peace with it.“It’s in the past.”I was done talking. I turned to leave.Dredging up our past would only reopen wounds that had finally begun to heal.There was no point in it.Neal hurried after me, refusing to let me go. Tears spilled down his cheeks.I had never seen him so desperate.“We can’t just leave it like

Chapter 9

I had not expected Vicente to confront Neal. He had seemed so calm about everything. I thought he just wanted to be my safe haven.His knuckles had been split and bloody the night before.When I pressed him, he told me everything.I had assumed it was jealousy, that he was being possessive.“What gave him the right?”I blinked, unsure what he meant.He was furious. Through clenched teeth, he asked again, “What gave him the right to do that to you?”Then, I understood. He had gone to Neal because he was angry for me, because he could not stand what Neal had put me through.For once, I was not caught up in the pain of those memories.I felt a happiness I had never known before.I took a few steps back with a serious expression.Vicente thought I was upset and instinctively pulled me into his arms. I gently pushed him back and held out my hand.“You’ve got a ring tucked away in your suitcase, right? Vicente, ask me to marry you.”Only much later did I understand what love rea

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