Chapter 342: What Is She Planning?
Cadence stared at the woman walking along the shore, his eyes fixed on her every movement. There was nothing particularly unusual about her, but he had a feeling. A quiet, persistent feeling in his gut that she was planning something. He just knew it. He couldn’t prove it. He had no evidence. But still, he watched her, waiting for some sign that would tell him what she was upto.
And yet, the longer he looked at her, the harder it became to hold on to suspicion. The more he stared, the more he found himself imagining something else entirely. He pictured walking up to her, reaching for her hand, and feeling her fingers close around his. He imagined them strolling together along the shoreline, their hands intertwined without tension. The way they used to be in the past, before he made the biggest mistake of his life of trying to keep her here.
He held on to that image for as long as he could. But it didn’t last as his thoughts were interrupted by the doctor, who had been observing her as well, "Could it be that Melody is suffering from some psychotic disease? Because she was terrified when she was brought here, and in that state, she might have begun to believe that she is Melanie, her sister?" The doctore murmured.
The words pulled Cadence back to the present with a jolt and he turned his head to look at the doctor, wondering if the doctor had lost his own mind. What a hoax? What a ridiculous analysis. Cadence didn’t say it aloud, but the scowl on his face spoke for him.
Still, the doctor continued, completely unaffected by Cadence’s growing irritation. "It could be schizophrenia. Dissociative identity confusion, perhaps. After all, by your own account, the Melody from before wouldn’t even hurt a fly."
Cadence said nothing. His lips pressed into a hard line, his arms crossed as he looked back at the woman walking along the sea, hoping the man would stop talking. But of course, he didn’t. "At least Melody would never have stabbed you with a butter knife. And with enough force to cause real damage."
The doctor’s voice trailed off, perhaps realizing he had said too much as Cadence stiffened.. Or maybe even he had begun to hear how absurd it sounded.
Cadence didn’t answer him though.
Instead, he looked down at his left hand, the one now wrapped in sterile white gauze, but still too painful. He could still feel the moment the blade went in. It hadn’t been sharp, not really, but the way she had driven it into him left no doubt. She had meant to hurt him and that was why she had driven it with enough force for it to actually go inside.
He didn’t want to admit it, not even to himself, but maybe just maybe the doctor had a point. What if she really didn’t remember who she was? What if she truly believed she was not Melody and Melanie?
What if... the Melody who had once looked at him like he was her entire world was gone?
The thought squeezed something sharp and cold around his heart. He had done everything to keep her close and to bring her back to his side. And while, he didn’t mind this Melody, he wanted the old one back. The one who used to look at him with a mix of adoration and fear in her eyes.