“Dexter… Dexter!”


    While we were all anxiously awaiting news on whether Dexter would pull through, a wail carried over


    from a distance.


    I frowned. Isn’t it a bit early for a funeral procession? The guy’s not dead yet.


    Melody was sobbing her heart out; her wails were legendary.


    Clutching a ghostly pale Hailey, Melody stumbled closer, her cries punctuating each step. Professional


    mourners had nothing on her performance.


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    I watched her with a furrowed brow. This woman was such a jinx.


    “Why the waterworks? He’s not gone yet.” I said, frowning.


    At the sight of me, Melody lunged like a rabid dog spotting a steak.


    I was just about to retaliate, to knock her into next week when suddenly I was hoisted aside and


    shielded in a protective embrace.


    Colin’s icy stare bore into Melody, his presence alone enough to chill the air.


    Melody’s raised hand and her fiery temper extinguished at the sight of Colin, and she recoiled in terror.


    “It’s him, Hailey, it’s him… He’s the murderer!”


    Fury etched across Hailey’s face.


    Apparently, Melody had charmed the socks off the older generation, and Hailey had already pinned the


    me for a car ident on Colin, striding over to deliver him a p.


    Colin was quick to shield me but took the p without flinching.


    Hailey was gearing up for another hit, but I stepped in, grabbing her wrist. “Hailey, Melody is one of the


    culprits behind Phoebe Caldwell’s death. Don’t believe a word she says.”


    “I trust my gut!” Hailey retorted, visibly shaken, her eyes rimmed red. “He’s definitely a murderer!”


    “Dexter was hurt because of him, Phoebe too!” Hailey loathed Colin, itching for vengeance on behalf of


    Phoebe and Dexter.


    I stood by Colin, determined not to let Hailey hurt him further.


    Melody wailed on. “Dexter got stabbed to save me; I’m so sorry, Hailey. It’s all my fault.”


    Her act had begun. She was seizing every opportunity to curry favor with Hailey, all to secure her


    approval to marry Dexter.


    Once upon a time, Melody and Dexter had been the picture of romance. Hailey didn’t dislike her, but


    knowing how Dexter had mistreated me, Hailey had never given her blessing to their union


    10.11


    because of our marriage.


    Melody knew that winning over Hailey was crucial to securing her ce in the Fitzgerald family. “You


    really are a jinx, crying over Dexter like he’s already a goner,” Ste remarked, returning from seeing


    Robin to the elevator, having caught Melody’s sobfest from afar.


    “Hailey, open your eyes. This one beside you isn’t human; she’s a demon. Dexter didn’t have to be


    critically injured; it was her stupidity that got him stabbed.”


    Ste spoke through gritted teeth, barely containing her rage at Melody.


    Melody kept up her tears. “Hailey, they’re all in cahoots with the murderer, trying to smear my


    name.”


    Hailey seemed inclined to believe that Colin was the murderer, a madman, ring daggers at


    him.


    If the doctors hadn’t emerged from the operating room, she looked ready to tear him apart.


    Colin stood behind me the whole time, vigntly watching over them.


    “Why didn’t you dodge?” I whispered, eyeing Colin’s swollen cheek.


    “She… gave you a home once.” Colin was a man who knew the clear lines between right and wrong,


    gratitude, and grudges.


    After all, Hailey had shown me kindness.


    I tightened my grip on Colin’s hand. “Next time someone hits you, dodge.”


    In the emergency room.


    The doctor came out to face Hailey. “Are you the victim’s mother?”


    #


    Hailey nodded through her tears. She was frightened.


    I wanted to go to her, to offer support, but my rtionship with her now…


    “Excessive blood loss, the wound is deep; we will do everything we can, but whether he


    survives is out of our hands.”