Melinda was sitting in the car. Her cold eyes peered through the window. The street was bustling with
traffic and people.
"Mr. Gu is held up with work and has asked me to take you to the mansion," the driver said respectfully
as he looked at Melinda through the rear-view mirror. He knew that she was despised in the Gu family.
Melinda's skin was pale and colorless. She was thin and her bones were sticking out. Her droopy
eyelids had a gentleness to them.
She didn't respond. The driver felt that Melinda was hard to get along with and decided not to interact
with her.
An array of luxury cars were parked in front of the Gu's mansion. The villa was illuminated by bright
lights. Although Nelson was not interested in an ostentatious birthday party, the Gu's mansion was
looking extravagant.
Everyone in A City knew that almost all the members of the Gu family disliked Jonas's wife. All eyes
were on Melinda when she walked in. The crowd was buzzing with rumors about her.
However, Melinda ignored them, walked to Nelson, and smiled at him.
"Good girl! I'm happy that you're here. Where is Jonas? Why didn't you two come together?" Nelson
was fond of Melinda. He liked his granddaughter-in-law more than anyone else. Even his grandchildren
faded in comparison to her.
Nelson was old and couldn't walk without support. So Melinda held his arm carefully and guided him
through the hallway.
"Jonas will arrive soon. Grandpa, please wait for a moment," Melinda said as she shifted her weight
from one foot to another and held him tightly.
"Grandpa, how would she know? My brother doesn't tell her anything," Yulia said maliciously.
"What are you talking about? Melinda is his wife. Who would know Jonas better than she does?"
Nelson complained.
Yulia opened her mouth, but Melinda glared at her. She swallowed her words and turned away. She
remembered how ruthless Melinda had been to her.
Jonas attended the party late in the afternoon. He was wearing a well-fitted gray suit that
complemented his skin tone. His magnetic looks attracted everyone's attention. There was a restless
murmur from the crowd when they saw the woman who was walking hand in hand with Jonas. It was
the famous actress Emily. She was the most popular movie queen in the entertainment circle.
Emily was also wearing a gray dress that clung onto her body perfectly and accentuated her features.
Her flawless, milky skin was dazzling under the lights. The two of them were like a golden couple.
Yulia smirked and looked at Melinda but she was disappointed to see the indifference in her face.
Melinda had completely ignored them. Jonas and Emily seemed to seize everyone's attention except
Melinda's.
The two of them walked to Nelson who greeted them with a sullen face. Nelson cast a cold glance at
Emily and turned away.
Emily flustered with embarrassment as Nelson ignored her. She bowed respectfully and hid behind
Jonas.
"Grandpa!" Emily croaked.
But Nelson cut her off, "I'm not your grandfather." Nelson turned to look at Melinda and patted on her
shoulder comfortingly. "Melinda, let's go and see the guests."
Melinda smiled gratefully and held Nelson's arm. She walked past Jonas without turning to look at him.
Jonas's heart sank at Melinda's reaction. She didn't care about him attending the party with another
woman. Jonas had lost his mind when he found that Melinda was close with Kent. He had intentionally
brought Emily to the party to make her jealous. But Melinda was unaffected by it.
Melinda accompanied Nelson to greet the guests. He had been trying to help her, but it was difficult to
shut the mouths of people who were mocking her. Everyone, but Nelson was aware of how Jonas
treated her.
She excused herself and went to the bathroom to avoid the people who were casting nasty looks at
her.
After wiping her hands with a towel, Melinda walked out of the bathroom. Her lungs constricted when
she saw Emily walk into the bathroom. She stopped and glared at her.
"Miss Bai, I'm sure you're familiar with this mansion. This isn't the guest hall."
The guest hall and the bathroom were not far from each other, but it was not easy for an outsider to find
the bathroom. Melinda glanced at the noisy hall.
Emily was leaning against the wall as she looked at her slender fingers and manicured nails with a
smile on her lips.
"Actually, I've come here even before you have set foot into the mansion. Jonas always liked to secretly
chat with me in the study. He's gotten the sexiest voice and I always asked him read books for me."
Melinda looked at the study. A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Jonas didn't want to live with
her and it had been a long time since he had moved to the study.
"Why are you here then?"
Emily smirked at Melinda and sashayed towards her.
"I heard that you wanted to divorce Jonas." She leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
Melinda sneered with disgust.
"Wow! You are well-informed. I'm sure you also know that your boyfriend hasn't agreed to it."
"I can help you," Emily said in a husky voice that was coated with venom.
Melinda's curious eyes raked across Emily's face. An evil smile crept on her lips.
"Really? How exactly are you going to help me out?"
Emily took a step back and smiled innocently.
"If that's the case..."
Emily trailed off and pushed the vase that smashed on the floor with a loud bang. Everyone in the hall
turned around to see what was going on. Emily took the opportunity and decided to fall on the broken
porcelain and blame Melinda for it.
But before she could execute her plan, Melinda grasped her wrist and pulled her off the ground.
"That's a great idea. Thank you very much," she whispered and fell on the broken porcelain.
Emily's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock. Everything happened in a matter of seconds and
Emily couldn't understand what was going on. She felt a thunderbolt when she saw Melinda on the
ground. The latter was hugging herself, writhing in pain.
People had swarmed around Melinda and were shooting accusatory glances at Emily. Emily's heart
was drumming in her chest and that was when she saw her savior run towards her, breaking through
the crowd.
"Jonas, Jonas, she scared the heck out of me..." Emily said helplessly.
But Jonas pushed her away and looked at Melinda who was lying on a pool of blood. The porcelain
fragments had pierced through her skin and caused the blood to gush out.
"Melinda... My child..." Nelson cried. He was helpless and ordered his butler to call a doctor.
Jonas reached his hand to touch Melinda, but he withdrew it immediately as he was afraid of hurting
her. He thought that the porcelain pieces would sink deeper into her skin. Melinda scowled at him and
turned away. She would rather endure the pain than get help from Jonas.
The party was not over but the commotion outside the bathroom had caused many people to leave.
The family doctor rushed in. He quickly pulled out the porcelain pieces from Melinda's skin with
forceps. There were so many small cuts that the doctor couldn't use anesthesia. So Melinda was left
with no choice but to sustain the pain as the doctor pulled out one piece after the other. The blood had
drained from her face and she was about to pass out.
"Jonas, it wasn't me. She fell down on her own," Emily said anxiously, tugging at the corner of Jonas's
coat. Jonas had never been mad at her, but now, he was looking at her with undisguised contempt.
"I'm not blind. None of us are blind. I saw you push the vase to the ground. Stop lying." Nelson was
seething with rage. He controlled his urge to smack her head with his crutch.
"Grandpa, calm down," Melinda said comfortingly. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Poor girl, you have suffered a lot. It's my fault. It was I who wanted you to get married to my grandson
and live happily with us, but I didn't..." Nelson's voice broke as tears streamed down his face. The guilt
was consuming him. He had always treated Melinda like his own granddaughter.
Jonas's interest was instantly piqued by Nelson's overprotectiveness. But he didn't have the time to
think about it.
Melinda smiled. Her eyes fell on Jonas who was looking at her. She frowned and turned away.
"Grandpa, none of this is your fault, but..." Melinda choked. "I can't do this anymore, Grandpa. This is
too much."
Everyone was surprised to witness her meltdown.
"I don't want to live with him anymore. I'm scared. I was just hurt this time but imagine what would have
happened if one of these pieces was shoved down my throat. Grandpa, please allow me to divorce
him."
Everyone was too shocked to say a word. Melinda crawled towards Jonas and Emily. Just when she
was about to kneel in front of them, Nelson lifted her.
Melinda's body was shaking with sobs.
"Please, please let me go. It's my fault. I shouldn't have married you. Please let me go. Are you not
satisfied after killing my baby? Do you want to kill me as well?"
Everyone gasped in shock. Jonas's body was shaking uncontrollably. He stared at Melinda who had
slumped to the ground. She was hyperventilating.
"Baby?" Nelson looked at Jonas in disbelief. "Jonas, what the hell is going on? What's wrong with the
baby? Is Melinda telling the truth?"
Jonas's jaw tightened and he remained silent. Nelson was so angry that he hit Jonas with his crutch.
"Tell me! Is she telling the truth?"
Jonas pursed his lips and nodded in agreement.
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