The Grave Nobody Visited

Chapter 2

In the hospital consultation room, the doctor pushed up his glasses, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke, "Mrs. Worthington, your condition is no longer a major issue. If possible, I suggest you return to your workplace. Reconnecting with normal life will be beneficial for your recovery."

Before I could speak, Leander frowned. "No." His tone left no room for negotiation. "In her current state, she is not fit to work."

The doctor was taken aback and glanced at me. I opened my mouth, but in the end, I said nothing.

After leaving the hospital, Leander drove all the way home in silence. Upon entering, he tied on an apron, something he rarely ever did, and said he would make dinner tonight.

I sat at the dining table, watching him clumsily busy himself in the kitchen.

In a daze, I recalled many years ago when he had also claimed he wanted to cook a meal for me. He ended up cutting his hand while chopping vegetables and burning the rice, so we had to order takeout instead. Back then, his face had flushed red as he said, 'Margaux, I will definitely learn how to cook in the future. I'll make meals for you and Gracie every single day.'

Now, he had learned. Unfortunately, only the two of us were left at the table.

When the food was served, I had little appetite and put my utensils down after a couple of bites.

"Leander," I said softly, "I want to move back to our old house."

His hand picking up food paused. "Why do you suddenly want to move back there?"

"That's the home where the three of us lived together." I looked at him. "I miss Gracie."

He remained silent for a moment, then placed a piece of fish into my bowl. "Margaux, your emotions are still unstable right now. After I go to work, leaving you alone in such a large house isn't safe. Once you're feeling a bit better, we can discuss it."

I lowered my head and spoke again, "Then I want to go back to school to teach."

He shook his head once more. "No. You'd have to face so many children every day. What if your negative emotions affect them and something goes wrong? Margaux, I'm not stopping you from going, I'm doing this for your own good."

'It's for my own good again,' I thought. That phrase easily blocked whatever I was going to say next.

I suddenly remembered that while Vanessa was serving her prison sentence, I had briefly returned to a normal life. Back then, I stood at the podium again, teaching the children, grading homework, and attending faculty meetings. During that time, I even felt that I had truly stepped out of the shadow.

Until Vanessa was released from prison. She found my school, crying and begging for my forgiveness.

The children began to whisper among themselves, and my colleagues looked at me with strange eyes. I suffered breakdown after breakdown, taking leave after leave. In the end, I had no choice but to resign and shut myself inside the house.

It was from that point on that Leander began looking after me. He blocked Vanessa for me and shielded me from the world. If I went out, he had to accompany me; wherever I went, I had to inform him first.

Gradually, the names of my friends on my phone all fell silent one by one.

At that time, I still believed he truly cared for me. But now, I was no longer sure.