Silence prevailed in the office of the top floor. There was a soft knock on the door when Jonas was
busy checking his e-mail.
He waved his hand without lifting his head. The secretary walked in and handed him a steaming cup of
coffee. She had come to report his schedule for the day.
Jonas was looking exhausted. He closed his eyes and rubbed his throbbing temple.
"Leave these things for a while and arrange a driver for me. I need to go back to the mansion first." He
hadn't gone home for the past few days and his family was upset about it.
"Sure." The secretary grinned. "You're going back to see Miss Mo, aren't you? I'm sure she'll be happy
to see you."
Jonas furrowed his eyebrows as he remembered what had happened the previous day. There were
only three people in the office. How did the secretary know that Melinda wanted him to come home to
discuss something?
"How did you know?" Jonas arched his eyebrows with suspicion.
A shiver ran through the secretary's spine. She was afraid of Jonas's eyes that were shooting daggers
at her. She wondered what she had done that made her boss angry.
"Err... I saw Miss Mo almost faint in the office. So, I thought..." She swallowed loudly. "I thought you
were going to see her today," she said in a trembling voice.
Jonas turned away and rested his head on the chair. "Just arrange a car as soon as possible," he said
solemnly.
The mansion was empty when Jonas returned. Melinda was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and went
to greet the elders of his family. He then waited for Melinda for a long time. After Jonas finished playing
a round of chess with his grandfather, he saw Melinda appear. Her face was pale and expressionless.
She was trudging in the hallway like a zombie.
Nelson felt sorry for her. He advised Jonas to take care of his wife. Jonas nodded and left with Melinda.
Soon, Melinda and Jonas sat in the living room of the second floor. They were not looking like a
married couple, rather like rivals who wanted to defeat each other.
Melinda raked her eyes across Jonas's face. He was the man whom she once fell in love with, but
things had changed. She felt strange to be in the same room with him.
There was an awkward silence as none of them spoke. Jonas was annoyed by the disdainful look on
Melinda's face. He glanced at the document bag in her hand.
"Where were you this morning? What's in your hand?" he asked, breaking the silence.
Melinda clasped the bag tightly and bit her chapped lip. She remained silent.
Jonas had lost his temper. Melinda's silence was killing him. Moreover, his grandfather had been rude
to him for her.
"Don't you know what's in your hand? Why do you have to pretend like you're innocent all the damn
time?" He sneered distastefully. "Are you pretending to be perfect and innocent just to win grandfather's
heart? Well, if that's the case, congratulations! You have made it!"
"No, I'm not..." Melinda trailed off. The indifference in Melinda's tone annoyed Jonas even more. "Of
course, I know what it is."
"What?" Jonas asked. It took a moment for him to realize that she was answering his second question.
Melinda opened the bag, pulled out two papers, and placed them in front of Jonas.
"This is the divorce agreement."
An eerie silence filled the room as if a storm was brewing up, waiting to engulf them. Jonas glared at
Melinda.
But Melinda ignored him and continued to speak,
"I've taken two copies of the divorce agreement and signed both of them. I don't need anything from
you. I will not take a single penny from your Gu family. We don't have children, so we don't have to deal
with the problem of custody and shit. My only hope is..." Melinda looked at Jonas and cleared her
throat. "Since I'm letting you go, why don't you sign the papers as soon as possible?"
Jonas looked at the documents and back at Melinda.
"Let me go?" Jonas asked, pursing his lips. "You got married to me and became Mrs. Gu. Now you say
that you are letting me go? Why didn't you tell this before? Why didn't you tell this before getting
married to me? Stop talking like you're doing me a favor."
Melinda closed her eyes and sighed loudly. She had been awake the entire night and her eyes were
stinging. She thought that Jonas would be glad to leave her and get back to his lover. She didn't know
that getting his consent for divorce would be so hard.
"You were forced to marry me but you don't have to put up with me anymore. I've never failed my duty
as a wife but you were never a good husband. I've been hurt and humiliated by your family. I know that
you were behind all this. You want to get rid of me, don't you? Here I'm, with divorce papers, granting
your wishes. Why are you hesitating now? Or... Have you fallen in love with me?" Melinda scoffed.
Jonas was taken aback by the sudden change in Melinda's attitude. The woman sitting in front of him
seemed like a stranger to him. She was feisty and aggressive. There was not a trace of fear on her
face.
Melinda lost her cool when she saw Jonas's expressionless face.
"I'm too exhausted to talk to you right now. Just sign the damn divorce agreement and we'll go to the
Civil Affairs Bureau to sort things out." She stood up and left the living room.
Jonas stared at the papers that were lying in front of him. His body froze and he couldn't move. He
didn't know what to do. There was a sudden commotion downstairs.
He walked out of the living room and saw Melinda dragging a small suitcase. It was too small to carry
her belongings.
"You disgusting woman. What's in the suitcase? Are you planning to help your poor relatives by giving
our family belongings to them? Jonas is at home. You can explain your cheating behavior to him."
Yulia grabbed the suitcase, and opened it. There were only a couple of books and manuscripts that
Melinda had been working on.
Yulia couldn't find anything to blame her for. Her cheeks had turned red with embarrassment. She
stepped on the manuscripts and tried to search Melinda.
But before she could take another step, Melinda kicked her to the ground. Yulia yelped in pain and
stared at Melinda with wide eyes. Melinda was usually fragile and vulnerable. Yulia couldn't help but
wonder where she got the sudden strength from. Anger rose from the pit of her stomach.
"How dare you hit me?"
Before Yulia could utter another word, Melinda kicked her hard in the stomach. Yulia writhed in pain
and slumped to the ground.
Melinda quickly shoved her things back into her suitcase and looked at Yulia. She grabbed fistfuls of
Yulia's hair and lifted her head, so that she could look into her eyes.
"Who do you think you are? You're just an illegitimate child and I don't give a fuck about what you say
or think. Do you think I'm afraid of you? You're a piece of shit and no one gives a fuck about you. Look,
no one has come to save you. Do you understand your worth?"
Yulia looked around the spacious living room. Melinda was right—no one had come to rescue her.
Melinda pinched Yulia's face. Her fingernails sank into her skin, causing blood to ooze out.
"I have put up with your shit for many years. If you dare to come anywhere near me, I don't know what
I'll do to you. Do you fucking understand?"
Yulia nodded. Plain fear was written all over her face. Yulia meant nothing to the Gu family but she
made a big deal out of herself. She deserved this punishment. Otherwise, she would stab Melinda
behind her back.
Melinda was pleased with herself. She glanced at the second floor for one last time, before she walked
out of the mansion without looking back.
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