<h4>Chapter 355: A Little Surprise</h4>


    "Mama, why did you bring me here? We should go outside and sit with Father and Adam..." Melody began, ncing over her shoulder toward the hallway they had just walked through. Her voice was edged with irritation, her steps unwilling as she moved towards the room. She wanted to sit beside Adam. Tonight was her chance. She was going to force him to keep touching her and she was going to keep touching him. To pretend of course.


    In fact, she had even nned for her mother to insist that they sleep here overnight so that she would get a chance to sleep in the same bed. But before she could say more or tell her mother to do what she wanted, she was pulled into a sudden hug. Her mother’s arms wrapped around her tightly, almost crushing, her voice trembling as she spoke.


    "Melody! My child! I don’t know... I don’t know what to do. I’m so happy, and yet I’m so worried." Her voice cracked at the end and Melody stiffened slightly before easing into the hug. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it.


    "Mama... what happened?" she asked cautiously, her brows pulling together as she tried to make sense of her mother’s reaction. "Why are you saying that? Did something happen to Father?"


    "No, no, not your father," her mother said quickly, stepping back just enough to look into Melody’s face. "It’s your sister. Mel... I got a phone call. Mnie... she’s been found."


    Melody froze.


    "You have no idea," her mother continued, voice breaking again. "You were right. All this time, you were right. Whoever took her-when they realized she wasn’t you, they just let her go. They didn’t harm her. She’s in a hospital now. Can you believe it? She’s safe. She’s alive. My Mnie is finallying back to us."


    The words hit Melody like a punch. She stared at her mother, unable to speak, her thoughts suddenly spiraling. This wasn’t possible.


    No. This couldn’t be happening. Cadence would never let Mnie go. Not willingly. Not unless something had gone terribly wrong. It didn’t matter if Mnie had tried to prove who she was. It didn’t matter if she had screamed or cried or begged. Once Cadence decided someone was his... he wouldn’t let go. He wouldn’t just send her away. Especially when he firmly believed that she was Melody.


    It didn’t matter how logical it sounded- Cadence didn’t operate on logic.


    Her mother took her silence for something else. "You’re shocked. I knew it, you would be shocked," she said, holding Melody’s hands now. "Mel, I know this has been hard on you. I know you were only trying to protect yourself. I’ll talk to Mnie when she returns, okay? I’ll ask her to forgive you. I’ll tell her how scared you were... how you thought there was no other way to protect yourself and you didn’t think that other person would harm her."


    Melody barely heard her. Her ears were ringing. Her body felt like it had turned to stone. No.. She couldn’t let Mnie return. She’d barely held Adam’s hand until now...


    "She’ll be here in a couple of days," her mother continued, her tone softening and bing more hopeful. "Dr. Jung said she’s still recovering. She’s been in and out of consciousness these past few days, which is why he didn’t know who she was earlier. He says she’s in a confused mental state too, so we should be gentle with her when shees home."


    "Dr. Jung?" Melody’s voice came out low and sharp, snapping her out of her daze.


    Her mother nodded. "Hmm? Yes, the doctor who’s bringing her back. He’s the one who contacted me."


    Melody clenched her jaw. Dr. Jung<strong>.</strong> Of course. How could she have forgotten about him?


    Her stomach twisted. The same doctor she had used months ago when she had needed an escape n. The same man who had helped her slip through the cracks.And now he was bringing Mnie back?


    Melody bit the inside of her cheek. This wasn’t good. Not at all. Mnie couldn’t return. That possibility couldn’t be allowed to take root. If she came back everything would unravel. Everything she had nned would fall apart. There had to be some way to stop this. There had to be a way to keep Mnie away.


    She nced at her mother, trying to speak, to form the right words, to get her mother to help her. She could tell her mother about the contract. Maybe they could convince Mnie to stay away from Adam.. But that was a far fetched possibility...


    "I know," her mother said softly, her eyes filled with something between pity and regret. "I know you’re scared. You’re worried your time with Adam ising to an end. So soon, too soon."


    Melody’s lips parted, but no words came. Her throat felt tight.


    Her mother continued, "Melody... my daughter... I know what it feels like to love someone who doesn’t love you back. I know the ache of pretending things are okay when deep down, you know you’re just borrowing time. So I’m going to tell you again, something I’ve told myself in the past- cherish thesest few days. Make peace with the time you’ve been able to steal. Don’t waste it with guilt or fear."


    Her mother’s thumb brushed a tear Melody hadn’t realized had escaped.


    "Once Mnie is back," she added gently, "once all of this is settled, I’ll send you away for a little while. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere safe. Somewhere you can begin to heal your broken heart."


    Melody blinked. Heal? Was that what they thought she needed? To be packed away like some delicate thing—some cracked porcin girl who couldn’t handle reality? Mnie hadn’t even returned yet, and already her mother was making ns to push her aside. Just like that? No.


    Her hands curled into fists at her sides. She would not be discarded again...


    Her mother leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, mistaking her silence for sadness. "Shh... don’t be upset. This was always going to happen. It was inevitable. Short of Mnie dying... you knew, didn’t you? You always knew your time here had an expiration date."


    Melody stilled at the words. Short of Mnie dying. She said it so casually. As if it was just an expression. An impossible what-if. But it wasn’t impossible.


    Melody’s mind had already started shifting, turning, calcting. Dr. Jung had said Mnie was weak. Disoriented. In and out of consciousness. She hadn’t even regained her full memory. She hadn’t been brought back yet.


    Which meant... there was still time. Enough to make sure Mnie never came back.


    If Mnie died now, it wouldn’t look suspicious. Her body had been through stress, trauma-there would be excuses. There would be grief, but not questions. People would weep, mourn, and move on thinking Melody was dead.


    She exhaled slowly, her face unreadable as she pulled away from her mother’s hands and gave her a tremulous smile.


    "Okay, Mama," she whispered. "I’ll try to make the most of the time I have."


    But her thoughts were already elsewhere as she started to return to the hallway. Unaware of the fact that behind her, Marianne Thomas was also smiling triumphantly, having aplished her own mission.