Hibiscus flowers fall into the sea of people
After three days and three nights of agony, Melissa finally gave birth to a baby boy.
Exhausted and utterly spent, she still longed to hear her husband’s praise. She’d shake her head and tell him it hadn’t hurt.
But what met her was Tyler’s icy voice.
Outside the birthing chamber, he cast a disdainful glance at the infant and ordered his subordinate without hesitation, “Get rid of it. What use is a simpleton’s child? I will not have a fool for a son and heir.”
The man hesitated. “Sir, this is your firstborn. The manor needs an heir…”
Tyler waved a hand, cutting him off. “Years ago, she became this imbecile to save me. I will honor my pledge to keep her for a lifetime—but my children? She has no right to bear them.”
“The heir to this manor must come from an intelligent woman like Barbara. Anything less would only tarnish our family’s name.”
Melissa froze. She shook her head violently, but the dam broke, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
She hadn’t been born a fool. Her brother once told her she’d been a celebrated beauty and wit in the capital.
It was only three years ago, saving her then-fiancé Tyler, that she’d struck her head. When she woke, her mind was that of a child.
She’d feared he would abandon her because of it. But he hadn’t. He married her with great fanfare, a story that once charmed the capital.
She’d asked him, “Does this embarrass you?”
He said no—and she, in her innocence, believed him.
She didn’t understand why he’d changed. The man who once loved her so deeply now looked at her with contempt, even rejecting the child she’d borne him.
She tried to rise, to stop them from harming her baby, but the maidservants held her down.
“I’m not a fool! I’m not! Let me save my child!”
“Madam, my lord said you must rest.”
Weak from the ordeal, how could she fight them? Darkness swamped her vision, and she fainted.
When she woke again, Tyler was stroking her hair gently, his face alight with pleasure. “Barbara has come. She wishes to see you.”
The mere arrival of his distant cousin Barbara could make him smile like that. Even in her diminished state, that smile felt like a blade to Melissa’s eyes.
She seized his hand. “The baby… where is my child?”
Then Barbara entered, cradling a small dog. Her voice was soft, coaxing. “Sister, look. Here is your child.”
Melissa stared, bewildered. She was simple, but she knew she’d given birth to a human, not a puppy.
“No… no… That’s not my child!”
She clutched at Tyler, desperate for him to set things right.
His expression stiffened, but he nodded. “Melissa, this is your child.”
Hope shattered. She looked from Tyler to the puppy in Barbara’s arms. So they thought her a fool they could deceive at will.
She began to thrash, frantic to find her real child. Tyler’s patience snapped.
“Melissa, if you keep this up, I’ll have you confined. Until you learn to behave.”
Despair tore a sob from her. He wanted to lock her away again. Every time she vexed him, he’d shut her in until she yielded, contrite and compliant.
But not this time.
Her struggles only grew wilder. Utterly exasperated, Tyler stood and turned to leave with a dismissive wave. “If she refuses to be obedient,” he told the servants, “do not bring her any food.”
The moment he left, Barbara dropped her act. “You want to know where your child is, sister? I’ll tell you.”
“I mentioned the ginkgo tree in the back garden looked a bit sickly. Brother Tyler ordered it fertilized. They say nothing feeds a tree like fresh blood and bone.”
Melissa’s pupils contracted. She understood. They had buried her child beneath that tree.
She refused to believe Tyler would do this to her.
That night, when all were asleep, she slipped out to the ginkgo tree. She dug and dug, her fingernails splitting, until her hands struck a small, cold form in the earth.
Her child. Tyler had truly buried him here.
Frantically, she wiped the dirt from the tiny body and pressed her ear to its cold cheek. She remembered the strong, healthy cry at birth.
Now, the baby lay motionless, silent.
“Please cry. Just once, for your mother. Please?”
No response ever came. Desolation finally claimed her.
“Aaaah—!”
Her wails brought the household running. Tyler took in her disheveled, dirt-streaked state, and his lip curled in disgust. This was no lady of his manor. His frown deepened.
Seeing him, Melissa grasped at a final straw of hope.
“Husband, I beg you, save our child. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t cry. Please save him. I’ll be good, I promise, just save him…”
Tyler crouched down, his tone deceptively gentle. “Be good, Melissa. The child is dead. You shouldn’t have brought him out here in the middle of the night. It disturbs his rest.”
She shook her head, voice choked. “No. I didn’t bring him. She said… you buried him here. To feed the tree.” Her finger pointed accusingly at Barbara.
Barbara wore an expression of pure innocence. “Sister, what are you saying? How could I say such a thing? I prepared a fine coffin for
For two days, the servants ignored her on Tyler’s orders, offering neither food nor care.
On the third day, exhaustion finally claimed her, and she fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke, Julia was kneeling by the bed. Her maid, who had accompanied her from home, had eyes swollen from tears. Julia had been locked away the day Melissa went into labor and had only just been freed. Emerging to find her young mistress—fresh from childbirth—abandoned to starve and freeze shattered Julia’s heart.
“Hush, Julia… don’t cry…”
Too weak to lift a hand, Melissa still tried to comfort her. For Melissa, Julia was more than a servant; she was family, a companion from childhood. Struggling, she attempted to sit up, to reassure Julia.
A noise at the door interrupted her.
Barbara entered, carrying a small bowl. “You’re awake, Sister. Cousin was worried, so he sent me with medicine.” She moved to feed Melissa.
Instinctively, Melissa recoiled. She remembered: this person was dangerous.
“What medicine?”
Barbara smiled. “Cousin sympathized with you, enduring the pain of childbirth. Drink this, and you’ll never suffer that way again.”
While Melissa didn’t understand, Julia’s eyes widened in horror. Immediately, she threw herself between Melissa and Barbara, an accusing finger pointed. “You’re lying! That’s a sterilizing draught! Such vileness could never come from the General!”
With a dismissive wave, Barbara signaled two stout maidservants, who stepped forward and seized Julia, dragging her out.
“Let me go! Unhand me!”
Julia fought against their hold, but it was useless. In despair, she watched her mistress tremble with fear.
As Julia was taken, Melissa’s fear ignited into protective fury. Weak though she was, she tried to rise. Barbara, however, grabbed her chin, forced it up, and poured the medicine down her throat.
“You fool. You’d only birth more fools. Cousin said your child is useless anyway. So why bother having any?”
The liquid scalded her mouth, bitter and foul. Powerless, she swallowed, the burning bitterness searing her throat.
“Cough… cough…”
As the medicine settled, its effects struck fast. Sweat beaded on Melissa’s brow; her body convulsed uncontrollably with pain.
“Save me, husband… save me…”
Breaking free at last, Julia cried, “I’ll tell the General! He’ll set this right!” She fled the room like a woman possessed, refusing to believe that the man who had once been kind to her mistress could condone such cruelty.
“Preposterous! How dare a mere maid slander a guest of the manor! Is this the behavior your mistress taught you?”
Upon hearing Julia’s frantic report, Tyler flew into a rage. He ordered Melissa brought before him at once.
Melissa had lost consciousness from the pain. Dragged back to awareness, she fluttered her eyes open to see Julia forced to kneel on the floor.
“Husband, save me… it hurts…” She reached a trembling hand toward him, but he coldly swatted it aside. Instead of comfort, she faced an icy interrogation.
“Barbara honors you as her elder sister. Is this how you allow your servant to defame her?”
His words hit her like a blow, stunning her. She had yearned for his rescue, but here she was, trembling in pain, while he chastised her for another’s sake.
In disappointment, her eyes fell. She withdrew her hand, clutching her stomach, hoping to dull the torment.
To Tyler, her silence was defiance. “Answer me. Why would you do this?”
Gritting her teeth, Melissa forced out the words. “I didn’t… Julia spoke the truth. Barbara… she forced the medicine on me…”
A flicker of doubt crossed Tyler’s face. Immediately, he called for a physician to examine Melissa.
