<h4>Chapter 343: Cadence</h4>


    "Mnie."


    Mnie looked up from the sand to see the ’Cad’ walking toward her and frowned. For once, he had called her by her actual name. Mnie, and not Melody. She didn’t ask him why, though the question hovered for a second before dissolving into silence. After all, he’d already mentioned that he was not going to rse her even if she proved that she was not Melody.


    So, here she was at the beach, for thest two hours, hoping to find some way to escape. The thought of running had crossed her mind again and again. She had even considered throwing herself into the sea, letting the current take her, pull her far away from here, from him. But she had no real n and the helplessness kept on bothering her. How was she supposed to escape this ind?


    Since she had yet to find an answer to this question, she sat, legs tucked up, arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the waves rolling in and out, as if they would help her find an answer.


    Thinking of whatever that she might have to endure, she sent a nce at Cad and then turned her face back toward the sea. It was better to look at the water.


    And yet, describe giving off ’go away’ vibes continuously, he continued to walk close to her. He approached quietly and then reached out to caress her hair, but she jerked her head away, making it clear she didn’t want to be touched.


    She caught the flicker of annoyance on his face with the sudden clench of his jaw, the way his fingers curled for a second like he wanted to crush something, but then, he seemed to master himself. He let out a breath and sat down beside her in the sand.


    "Why do you insist on sitting in the hot sun?" he asked. "You can go inside. Or at least wear the bikini I bought for you if you want to get tanned..."


    Mnie scoffed at that. As if she’d ever willingly show skin around him. The very idea made her stomach turn.


    He watched her for a moment with an unreadable expression trying to remind himself that she was not his Melody who would agree with everything he said...So. he tried to talk to her in a quieter way this time and spoke, "You are safe here, you know. No one is going to hurt you. Not even me?Don’t you see how patient I am being with you and all your tantrums? Would I have done that in the past?"


    Mnie didn’t respond. She didn’t even blink. Did the man want an award for not losing his shit and hitting her? What about the fact that he was holding her here against her will.


    But he took her silence as permission to continue. "You need to stop fighting this. You need to stop clinging to something that doesn’t exist. That life, that name... Mnie... it’s over. You need to ept who you are, Melody"


    Her head snapped toward him, and she rolled her eyes, "I’m not Melody."


    "Yes, you are." His voice hardened. "You’ve just forgotten. Or you’re choosing to forget."


    "I haven’t forgotten anything. I’m Mnie Collins. And you know it." she snapped.


    "That’s not true."


    Mnie stood up then. She had no interest in having any argument over her identity.


    Turning away from him, she began to walk away, determined to not get into any discussions. She didn’t care where she was going. It wasn’t as if she could escape him. She just needed to put some distance between them.


    But Cad was on his feet before she had taken more than a few steps.


    "Don’t walk away from me," he called out warningly.


    But she ignored the shout and kept walking.


    "I said—don’t walk away!"


    There was a sharpness to his voice now, a violent undercurrent he was no longer trying to hide. She felt a shiver of fear but still, she didn’t stop.


    The next moment, something heavy hit the sand in front of her with a dull thud. She paused and looked down. It was his phone. When she turned to look at him, his eyes were wild, jaw clenched so tightly it looked like he might break something just by grinding his teeth.


    "You keep saying you’re Mnie," he spat, voice rising. "You act like you’re so sure of it. Like you know everything. Fine. Then exin this."


    Mnie didn’t make a move as she stared at the man.


    "Go on," he snarled, taking a few steps closer. "y the video. See the truth for yourself. You’re so desperate to prove me wrong, right? So watch it. The real Mnie was discharged from the hospital two days ago. And do you know what happened next? Watch it."


    Mnie felt herself freeze at his words and looked at the phone before squatting to pick it up. As she unlovked the phone, she realized that it already showed a picture, with a video on pause. And even though the video was not ying, she felt her heart clench...


    Adam...And in his arms was the woman who looked remarkably like her. Suddenly, she felt herself tremble and a cold dread filled her. Until now, she had been sure that everything this man was saying was a lie and that Adam woulde looking for her, if she could not seed in escaping.


    But, now as she watched him carry ’her’ into the car outside the hospital, she could not help but believe what this man had told her. That ’Mnie’ was there... Melody had taken her ce and no one knew it... Not even Adam.


    She felt the man’s presence opposite her like a weight pressing into her spine. She didn’t need to turn look up to know he was watching her every reaction, waiting for her to crack with that gloating smile on his face.


    But she couldn’t look away from the screen.