Chapter 263

“Mother? What are you doing at my workplace?”
Melody stepped out of the classroom a few minutes later, only to find her mother standing in the corridor, completely frozen in place. For a moment, guilt crept in. She hadn’t expected to run into her here—not like this.
The truth was, she had been avoiding her mother ever since she arrived a couple of weeks ago, silently hoping she would get bored or busy and return to wherever she came from.
Her mother had never stayed in one place for more than two weeks—not once in Melody’s memory. She was always on the move, always working, always somewhere else. But this time, it was different. It had already been two weeks, and she was still here.
And not just here—she was everywhere. When she wasn’t calling Melody to meet her and her newest boyfriend, she was out catching up with old friends or randomly showing up in places like this. It was starting to feel like she had all the time in the world.
Except Melody knew better. Her mother never had “too much time.” Which only made her presence now all the more unsettling. Because she wasn’t showing any signs of leaving. And now, here she was, in her workplace, staring unseeingly in the corridor.
Marianne Thomas was jolted out of her thoughts and, for a moment,she looked at Melody in confusion. Her gaze flickered around as if trying to remember where she was or why she had come. Then, as if the fog cleared, she straightened slightly and narrowed her eyes at her daughter, composing her face as she folded her hands in front of her,” Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You’ve been avoiding me since I’ve come here. And I want to know why. I hoped that you would come to live with me for a few days but you’ve been hiding in your apartment. Also, what happened to arranging that meeting with your boyfriend?”
Melody blinked, caught off guard not by the accusation-because deep down she had been expecting it- but by the timing of it, the way her mother always had a knack for choosing the most inconvenient moments. She drew in a breath and crossed her arms in return, more out of instinct of self protection than defiance.
“He’s not here. He had to go out on business for a few days and I knew you’d harangue me for it so I was waiting for him to return before we came to see you.”
Her mother didn’t respond, just kept staring at her like she was trying to read through her. And Melody had to forcefully curb the urge to fidget under her stare. To hide that and get over her own nervousness, she quickly added. “And I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve just… been busy. With work. It’s not personal.”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Not personal?”
Melody looked away, the knot in her stomach tightening. She didn’t want to lie—not entirely. But telling the truth meant opening up parts of herself she wasn’t sure she was ready to share. Not yet. Her mother tended to get overprotective and she had barely escaped her mother’s hold so if she so much as dropped a hint that something had happened, her mother would take over. And on top of that, she was definitely not sharing anything here, in the hallway of her school, with colleagues potentially walking past at any moment.
“I’ll call you later,” she muttered, already turning to escape.
But her mother wasn’t done. “Melody.”
She stopped, sighed and turned to her mother, “I’m not going anywhere, mother. I’ll just go put my things in the locker and then we can go and have something to eat together.” She watched as her mother cast another look at the corridor and then hurriedly walked away, probably to wait for her outside. She sighed, turning to walk towards the staff rooms.
***
Outside, Marianne Thomas looked around carefully. To a casual observer, it might have seemed as though she was simply scanning her surroundings with idle curiosity, while waiting. But in truth, her eyes were darting about frantically, searching for something, or rather someone.
Melanie Collins. She had seen her.
When the girl had stepped out of the classroom alongside a little boy, Marianne had given her a sarcastic smile, because, at first glance, she had mistaken her for Melody. But then the girl had caught her eye, offered a polite, distant smile, and walked away without the slightest flicker of recognition. That was when it hit her.
That hadn’t been Melody. That had been Melanie.
The same Melanie her daughter had mentioned, once or twice, in passing. And now, here she was- real, present, and unknowingly brushing past her like a stranger. That fleeting moment had frozen Marianne to the spot.
Because that was the moment of realization. The reason she had come here for, had just walked past her.
The girl looked so much like her Melody but she could see the differences even if others couldn’t. Melanie’s blonde hair was a shade darker, more muted than Melody’s. Her style of dressing, too, was noticeably different-more reserved and rather structured. Not stiff, but careful, as if she had been shaped or influenced by someone older, someone who believed in restraint and propriety… as if she had been influenced by an older woman.
Marianne’s eyes narrowed slightly as her thoughts spiralled.
Her hands clenched at her sides before she realized it, and she quickly released them with a slow, steady breath. Now wasn’t the time to lose her composure. Not here. Not when she had finally found the one person she had been quietly, obsessively, preparing to see ever since she knew of her from Melody.
She needed to be patient. She needed to know more before proceeding.
Just then, she watched Melody walk out of the building and smiled at her daughter. For now, focusing on Melody was should be enough.