"Mrs. Chen. I'm sorry we can't continue further treatment unless your husband pays the outstanding balance." The doctor said to Emily.
Outstanding balance?
She had sent the payment to her husband's account a few days ago.
"Doctor, are you sure? I gave him the money." Emily pressed in a tired voice, and the doctor sighed.
"Yes, Mrs. Chen. I'm sorry, there's nothing more I can do." And with that, he walked out of the room.
Emily felt her stomach drop. Noah knew she needed the money for treatment. She had tried his line many times, but he refused to pick. She gently pulled her frail body off the bed and put on her coat.
"I want to go home for a minute to get the money," She told her nurse and then hailed a cab.
The moment she got home, she knew something was off. Noah's office bag was on the dining table.
Didn't he say he won't be home for a while as he was busy with work?
It was the reason he hadn't visited for once since she was admitted to the hospital a week ago after being diagnosed with a serious case of pneumonia.
She trotted towards their bedroom, and as she moved to pull open the door, she heard his strained voice.
"Yes, Melody. You feel so good."
Melody? Her sister?
Emily steadily pushed the door back just enough to peek, and her eyes widened at the sight.
There, on their matrimonial bed, lay her husband and her sister as they furiously went at it.
A gasp escaped her mouth, and she quickly brought her hand up to mute the sound.
Her eyes reddened, and she struggled with the urge to cry. She was already weak as it is.
Is this what she gets for spending five years of her life with him?
Noah Chen was her world. He was everything to her and he came into her life like a knight in shining armour. They'd met in college when she was barely living through each day.
Emily's mother had died the moment she was born, and she was taken in by the Fa family. They were a well-to-do family, and everything was going fine until Mr. Fa died of a heart attack, and Mrs. Fa and her daughter, Melody, became completely different. They made her into a slave and made a mockery of her at every opportunity.
Melody didn't just stop at home but also constantly bullied her at school and that was how she met her husband. Noah came in as her saviour, and she fell in love instantly. She had thought he loved her too, but now she knew she was wrong.
"You're better than my sorry excuse of a wife. She's just so fat." Emily heard Noah say and looked down at herself. She hadn't gained weight since their marriage. Yes, she was a little bit fleshy and curvy but fat was a far stretch.
Dejected, she turned on her feet.
He couldn't find anyone else to cheat with but her sister? He knew all that Melody had done to her. How much she detested her. She thought he was the only one on her side. Everyone said he didn't love her because she asked to be together and get married first.
Was it true? Kindness doesn't mean love...
She felt a tight knot in her chest.
She would not stand here and listen to any more of their hurtful words. It only wrenched her heart.
Emily spun around and headed out of the home that was meant to be her safe haven... protection from her cruel life. She kept walking absentmindedly until she became short of breath and her legs gave out.
The tears she'd been trying to hold back broke through her face, and the flood erupted.
Her shoulders shook as she wept profusely on her knees, tightly wrapping her coat around her body to shield herself from the cold.
By the time her cries subsided, it was already nightfall. She felt an eerie feeling in the unknown environment.
How did she get here? More importantly, how would she find her way back?
She didn't have to worry for long as the sound of a roaring engine filled her ears and bright light lit up her surroundings.
Two motorbikes came into her view, with a black, sleek car not too far behind, and they halted by her side.
The door to the car was thrown open, and a tall man in dark grey slacks and a black shirt, who looked to be in his late fifties, stepped out and marched towards her.
Each hard, firm step he took made a crunching noise that had a fearful impact on her heartbeat. Emily could feel fear spreading through her bones.
What was this dangerous atmosphere?
The man stopped at her feet and extended a hand arrayed with multiple rings towards her. He cocked his head to the side, and Emily felt a shudder go through her the moment his cold voice reached her ear.
"It is time to come home, princess."
