After locking herself in the villa for a day, Melinda started feeling antsy and probably needed a change
of scenery. She felt as if everything was closing in on her and her thoughts were being suppressed by
something that she had no control over.
As soon as Jonas got home from work, the scene that greeted him through the window, was Melinda
pacing nervously in the living room, holding an animated conversation with herself as if she was trying
to give herself a pep talk or chastising herself. She looked beautiful wearing a simple long white shirt
and a pair of white slippers, a tight frown permanently plastered on her face.
Her hair stuck to both sides of her temples, probably from the light sweat she had worked up, due to
her nervous pacing. Her fingers looked delicate and beautiful, wrapped around a pen that she would
occasionally nibble whenever she was in deep thought. The scene was quite alluring for Jonas as he
tried to gulp in air feeling as if his lungs were being pressed by a metal band.
'Damn it! How can this girl look so tempting today?'
Completely ignorant of the salacious looks and thoughts that Jonas had been throwing her way,
Melinda briskly turned around and bumped into a wall of flesh. She rubbed her head, and then looked
up in confusion. Her eyes immediately met Jonas's deep set glacial blue eyes that were dancing with
mischief and unrestrained heat, clearly reflecting his naughty thoughts.
"It's you... What are you doing here?"
Clenching the pen in her hand like a shield, Melinda looked at Jonas cautiously. They had been
married for five years and she was familiar with the way he always looked at her with disgust. But the
look in his eyes was different this time. She couldn't pin what had changed, and all she knew was that
he was making her feel weird.
"All of a sudden, I want to bury myself deep inside you."
Jonas grinned crudely, in a playful yet serious manner. Once Melinda heard his words, she
uncontrollably checked out the offensive body part that was being referred to.
She swallowed nervously, and quickly jumped back like a frightened rabbit, and made a sharp turn, as
she instantly changed their topic of discussion. "Grandpa asked us to have dinner with him tonight. I
have to change my clothes first."
Melinda then disappeared in a flash. Hearing her words, Jonas burst into hearty laughter in a deep and
cheerful voice. His attitude also baffled him, since he was having too much fun at Melinda's expense.
Melinda wore a silk dress which hugged her body like a glove, peppering soft sensual kisses on her
body with every step she made. Her hair was braided in classy little buns and then delicately piled in an
intricate up do. She looked very different and slightly maturer than before. Jonas was still looking
dapper in a suit although he hadn't put much effort. They went to the main villa together walking side by
side giving the impression that they were a couple intimately in love. Nelson was patiently waiting for
them.
When they walked in they saw Yulia also sitting at the table. Her mood instantly changed as soon as
she saw Melinda. Melinda pursed her lips as if trying to control her emotions and silently sat at the
farthest position from Yulia.
As Jonas looked at Melinda's careful movements, moving around silently like a caged animal, the cold
and hard corners of his mouth softened.
The meal was a little dull and tense with everyone absorbed in their own thoughts, although Melinda
tried to make sure that everyone was getting along harmoniously. She even went as far as possible to
take care of Yulia, cordially passing anything that she needed, and putting bits of food in her plate
whenever her plate was empty although their relationship was a little awkward.
At the table, Nelson scolded Jonas as usual, complaining that he was busy working too much. He had
even forgotten how to take care of a woman and wasn't giving Melinda the necessary care that she
needed.
Early the next morning, when Melinda sleepily walked into the living room, she was shocked to see
someone sitting in the living room. She rubbed her eyes, thinking that maybe she was still dreaming,
but when she opened her eyes again, he was still there. "Didn't you go to work?"
"I'll be staying home with you today."
Jonas had thought of how pretty and tempting Melinda looked the day before in the living room, and felt
that what Nelson said made sense. He needed to pay more attention to her, so he decided to take a
holiday to keep Melinda company for the day.
"I don't need your company, I am perfectly fine on my own."
Melinda was not trying to act out or play coy, she was actually telling the truth. Now that she had been
spending so much time alone, she had grown accustomed to her own company. If Jonas insisted on
sticking around, she would be very uncomfortable.
Jonas was not amused by her words, his face turned red with suppressed rage. He had taken time off
his busy schedule and spent more time with Melinda, but she didn't even think twice about rejecting his
generous offer.
"I will be staying home today," said Jonas in anger while also sulking.
He sat on the sofa like a king, with his legs crossed elegantly. He had a powerful aura around him, and
although the villa was humongous, Melinda felt her space suddenly shrink and she was getting
suffocated by his mere presence. She felt a sense of depression at the thought of spending a whole
day with him.
"Okay, suit yourself,"
Melinda said in a very cold voice. Silently contemplating Jonas's presence and how she was going to
survive this day, she left in a huff and went back to her room with a pot of tea in her hand. She hadn't
left her room the whole morning and at this rate it seemed like she was going to spend her whole day in
her room.
This kind of behavior made Jonas very unhappy. He had assumed that if he stayed home, Melinda
would be very moved and spend the day with him. She would please him the whole morning, but
unfortunately, his expectations were thwarted and he was made to feel like a pile of useless discarded
paper.
Melinda showed up in the kitchen right on time for lunch. She rummaged through the drawers and
picked a lot of snacks for herself and then she strutted back to her bedroom, turning a blind eye to the
seething man, Jonas, who was on the sofa.
Being ignored the whole morning was very upsetting for Jonas and he was reaching his limit. He
couldn't bear it anymore. He threw daggers at the receding figure giving her a lethal stare. If eyes could
kill, Melinda would have been turned to ashes. The culprit and source of his anger was so oblivious and
continued walking to her room.
No one had ever dared to act with such disrespect towards him. Jonas's pride could not allow him to
confront Melinda about her bad behavior and let her know that he had been offended. Instead he opted
to walk away, slamming the door in his wake.
The banging of the doors of the sports car and the screeching sound it made as rubber met gravel,
made Melinda frown at the disturbance. She peeped through the window and all she saw was the trunk
of the car that was speeding off in a cloud of dust. "What's wrong with him?" muttered Melinda.
As soon as Jonas strode into one of the private rooms in the club alone, a row of wine and all sorts of
hard liquor were placed on the table. The dry-ice smoke and dark neon lights made the room look more
intriguing. Jonas looked especially handsome under such filtered light.
Emily who happened to be entertaining several investors in the club, quickly made up an excuse and
left the room as soon as she heard that Jonas was around. She quickly touched up her make-up and
shimmied into a nice figure hugging dress, before skillfully strutting into the private room where Jonas
often stayed.
There were a lot of empty bottles on the table, a sign that he should have been very drunk, but Jonas's
eyes were clearer and sharper. He had a high alcohol tolerance and could drink a lot, sometimes even
mixing different types of drinks without much effect. Seeing that an intruder had stepped into the room
and recognized the person as Emily, he threw a well-aimed glass at her.
"Jonas, are you okay? Why are you in such a bad mood?"
Emily asked cautiously, ignoring the flying glass that had nearly taken out her eye. She thought that
she knew Jonas well, so she made herself comfortable and poured herself a glass of wine and sternly
informed him, "I'll drink with you."
Jonas just took a cursory glance at Emily, and then continued to sip his drink slowly. It had been long
since they had seen each other. To his surprise, he hadn't even missed her or noticed her absence
from his life. Even now as he was sitting with her, his mind was on another person.
This revelation to the change in his feelings made Jonas frown in dissatisfaction.
"Emily, how can women's feelings be so fake?"
Jonas carelessly thrown words strongly offended Emily and her gentle face soon changed to a crimson
color, clearly indicating her displeasure.
Emily thought that Jonas was talking about her. It never crossed her mind that he could be talking
about Melinda. The genuine curiosity in his eyes gave her a bad feeling.
It's said that when one starts to pay more attention to an individual, then they actually like them a lot.
Following her female intuition, Emily had realized that Jonas always paid a lot of attention on Melinda
and was always trying to take care of her, which was not normal for someone he claimed not to love.
Emily once again felt threatened by Melinda.
The first time she had noticed this abnormal threat was when Nelson had protected Melinda; and the
second time, was when Jonas always talked about her.
"Jonas, you're so wonderful. I need to work harder so that I can gain your trust and gain enough
courage to stand beside you. Please forgive me for leaving you once before, okay?" said Emily, with a
bitter smile on her face.
Emily took a mouthful of wine expecting Jonas to respond to her plea. However, Jonas didn't say
anything but simply looked at Emily under hooded eyes.
Jonas didn't seem to care much about what had happened between him and Emily. With a frown, he
wondered in confusion why his feelings were not acting the way they should. Both of them were
drinking, but each was engrossed in their own thoughts.
When Jonas returned home, it was already midnight. Melinda was woken up by the loud creaking
sound of door opening. When she saw it was him, she turned over and went back to sleep. Looking
how unconcerned Melinda was behaving, Jonas clenched his teeth in anger.
The next day, Jonas received a message from Emily, asking him to have lunch with her. He glanced at
Melinda who was absorbed in eating breakfast and agreed to join her for the lunch.
When Jonas arrived at the company, he asked William to free up his lunch time so that he didn't have
any clashing schedules. When Emily went to Soaring Group to look for him, news spread quickly within
the company before they even left. The place was rife with rumors that they were seeing each other
once again.
"What do you feel like eating today?"
As soon as Emily walked in, Jonas immediately winded up his work and put on his suit coat that was
hanging on the coat hanger beside him. Emily had put a lot of effort and carefully chose her outfit. She
wore a small backless, A-line pink dress that reached right above her knees, showing off her beautiful
legs. She complimented the dress with a pair of sexy, sophisticated, high-end silver three inch heels.
The edges of her short, chestnut curly hair tickled the tips of her ears as they threatened to break free
from the loose bun that was holding them together, professionally done to give the impression that it
had just been put together harp haphazardly.
"Do you like French cuisine? I recently found a nice place, we should go there and try it out," said
Emily. Jonas didn't say anything, he simply followed her lead.
William looked at the two people depart from the office with a sense of foreboding. He knew that it
wouldn't take more than three minutes before he received the proverbial call from the Gu's mansion.
Nelson had eyes and ears all over the company that gave him every single detail of what happened in
the company, especially concerning his grandson.
For the next few days, Emily came up with all kinds of excuses to ask Jonas out and shockingly, he did
not refuse. He went along with her schemes. She booked a romantic dinner for the first night, prepared
a full film screening for the second night and went jewelry shopping accompanied by Jonas for the third
date. The paparazzi and gossip media were on fire with every minute detail of their dates.
Jonas's schedule was quite busy; he was either slaving away at the company or spending more and
more time with Emily, and rarely went back home most of the time. Therefore, he seldom saw or talked
with Melinda. Emily was finally getting more comfortable and bold considering that he wasn't
mentioning Melinda so much anymore.
The phone in the Gu's mansion was instantly connected to William, which was right on time like
clockwork. William was cornered and his fancy excuses no longer worked.
"This stupid boy claims to be too busy to come home and yet he has enough time to hang out with
those nonsensical people."
Nelson was livid with rage and spewing every despicable name he could think of with reference to his
grandson as he leaned on his crutches for support. He had reduced Jonas's workload so that Jonas
could spend more time with Melinda and build their relationship, yet the boy was busy gallivanting
around town with another girl on his arm.
Jonas had been spending a lot of time with Emily, which annoyed Nelson to no end.
The next day, Emily called to make an appointment with Jonas as usual, but William answered the
phone. William gently informed her that Mr. Gu was very busy at that moment and didn't want to be
disturbed by idlers.
Jonas did not complain about the sudden heavy workload. He took it up in stride although he was sure
that Nelson was behind the sudden increase in responsibilities.
Melinda still lived her usual reclusive life like an old person. She lived in her own villa with a very
predictable schedule which included, waking up, writing and reading. She didn't care about what was
happening outside her little world although she had been hearing a few rumors and gossip here and
there.
If it was in the past, she would have been very hurt but now she really wasn't affected much. She
touched her chest and it still felt a little heavy although now the pain was very minimal and much
bearable than before.
Melinda stared at the screen of the computer she was working on. The insert cursor on the computer
screen kept acting up and flickering, and she couldn't type a word. In the end, she gave up and closed
the computer silently.
Jonas had been very busy of late, attending endless meetings and signing mountains of documents
that needed his personal attention. William as his secretary had to keep him company and clock in a lot
of overtime since he was just as busy. He secretly hated Emily arguing that if the woman hadn't
pestered Jonas, demanding so much of his time, Nelson wouldn't have been so furious with his boss,
and wouldn't have increased their workload, pulling William into their mess.
By the time the light in the office was dimmed, it was already twelve o'clock in the night. Jonas
exhausted, rubbed his eyebrows and forced a bitter smile.
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