At this point, Jonas couldn’t care less about the sudden changes in her behavior. He didn’t stop
Melinda from entering the room.
He had eaten nothing since lunch yesterday and had been feeling painful spasms in his stomach. Cold
sweat had broken out along his forehead, and his complexion was pale, making his blue veins
alarmingly prominent against his skin. It wasn’t until he had some breakfast that his situation started to
get better.
Even now his vision was slightly blurry, and he struggled to focus on the piles of paperwork that needed
seeing too. Melinda sat down to collect herself. She closed her eyes and was taking a few deep,
calming breaths when a shadow loomed over her, and she blinked a few times to clear her vision and
gain better focus.
When she opened her eyes she was greeted by Jonas’s handsome face, his dark obsidian eyes full of
intent. Melinda felt her heartbeat pick up pace. A familiar feeling stirred within her, reminding her of the
moment she first met Jonas.
She had been attracted to him at first sight, and the tug at her heartstrings at this very instant was
reminiscent of the bitter past. It felt like a very long time ago.
"You—"
"You—"
They spoke at the same time, then stopped, and looked into each other’s eyes.
They had been silently staring at each other for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, when the
door suddenly clicked. They both jumped, and the spell was broken.
William strode into the room with some papers in hand, and then paused halfway. His gaze went back
and forth between the two, noting the rather awkward atmosphere. He had a nagging feeling he
interrupted something significant.
"Mr. Gu, here’s the information you wanted." William hurriedly placed the documents on a nearby table
before scurrying out of the room.
When they were alone again, Jonas cleared his throat, but neither said anything. They settled down
and dove into the task at hand, joining efforts in investigating the incident.
Soon the sun was setting, and meals and snacks had been had, but they managed zero progress.
When they arrived home, Jonas had a ghastly, exhausted expression on his face.
"How are things going?" Nelson asked as soon as the couple entered the foyer. He had been worried
all day, and with good reason. He had spent his life pouring his heart and soul into Soaring Group.
Jonas gave a weary sigh and ran a hand over his face. "It’s all under investigation still."
Apparently it wasn’t the answer Nelson wanted to hear. "Jonas, I entrusted the company to you, and
this is what you do with it! Financial crisis? Do you even understand how grave this situation is?"
A vein was popping on Nelson’s temple, so Melinda quickly came between them and tried to cajole the
older man. "Grandpa, please calm down. All of this is just a setback caused by many factors. Jonas
never meant for this to happen, and I’m sure he can take care of this matter."
"Yes, I’m sure my brother can handle it." Yulia was standing at the foot of the stairs, and was wearing a
cold expression as she glared at Melinda.
She never did like the woman. But she would always support Jonas, especially since he was the one
putting food on the table.
"I have a lot of questions still unanswered," Jonas finally said in a tired voice. "I’m going to another city
to look into the finances."
Despite his undeniable fatigue, he still had a stubborn and arrogant air about him, and it irked Melinda.
She briefly marveled at how blind love could make a person, wondering how she never noticed all the
red flags in the past.
Assessing the scene that was playing out that instant, she decided it would be better to serve as a
buffer so the arguments would not escalate any further.
"Grandpa, I’ll go with Jonas. I’ll be keeping an eye on him, so you don’t have to worry about anything."
The old man eyed the two. He had been immensely worried about the status of their relationship.
Perhaps this was a good opportunity for them to mend whatever it was that was broken.
He agreed to it without a second thought, but not without cautioning his grandson. "Don’t let me down
Jonas."
Jonas only nodded in acknowledgment of the weight of those words.
They left that very night, which wasn’t an easy arrangement for Melinda. She had led a carefree life in
recent months, and the diligent work that their investigation required had taken a physical toll on her.
The work on this day alone had exhausted her, and she immediately fell asleep on the car ride. Jonas
was with her in the backseat, poring over the documents he brought with him. He was intent on the
papers when he felt a weight fall on his shoulder.
He turned to see the crown of Melinda’s head nestled into the crook of his shoulder. She gently rubbed
her cheek against the fabric of his shirt, as if seeking comfort and relief from great burdens.
His body stiffened involuntarily at this sudden contact, and he slowly set aside the papers he was
holding.
His face tightened into a frown, and his lips formed a thin flat line. For a while he only stared straight
ahead, lost in his thoughts. Then he rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if bracing himself.
Without any further thought he reached out to cradle Melinda’s head and adjust her position so she
was leaning back into the seat as well as against him.
Jonas was so careful about it that he didn’t notice the glances the driver was stealing through the rear-
view mirror, or the small smile that he was sporting.
In all honesty, Jonas was thrown by Melinda’s constant company lately. He was not expecting her to
stand by his side, especially since things had gotten difficult in recent days. He sighed again, closing
his eyes. He would not think too deeply on it. They entered into contract, so it was only natural that they
both upheld their ends of the deal. Beside him Melinda stirred, the motion bringing her face closer to
his cheek. Jonas turned to check on her, and his mouth accidentally landed against her lips. He sat
there, silent and dumbfounded at this development, but made no move to change it. Instead he stared
at her closed eyes, familiarizing himself with the delicate lines of her face.
It was by no means the first time they were this close; neither was it the first time they kissed, but it was
the first time he felt...warm. Warmth was the only word that came to mind.
As if she had felt his intent gaze, Melinda’s eyes suddenly popped open. She took a second to register
what was happening. Then she frantically jumped back in her seat, bumping her head against the roof
of the car in her haste.
"Ah," she rubbed the sore spot on her head, her face flushing with embarrassment.
She was contemplating jumping out of the car and letting the ground swallow her whole when she
heard Jonas chuckle. She stared at him in shock.
He was laughing openly, and his eyes held a mischievous glint. Melinda started to think she might not
have woken up after all.
"Mr. Gu, we are almost at the hotel." The driver’s voice startled them both, and whatever spell there
was in the back seat was broken in an instant.
Melinda sat down properly and ran a hand over her dress. She glanced at Jonas next to her, and saw
that the cool, indifferent mask was back on his face.
It was three o’clock in the morning when they finally arrived at the hotel. Refreshed from her nap in the
car, Melinda was now feeling a little hungry, and she let it show.
If it were up to Jonas alone, he would have dived right into work, but the look on her face made him
rethink. A little detour wouldn’t hurt, surely. So they had a light meal before going over the ledgers that
they came for.
They worked on the records for two whole days, and Melinda kept him company the whole time,
assisting him when necessary. She had told their grandfather that she was tagging along to supervise
him, but in truth she did a lot more than that. Thanks to her, they managed to solve the problem by the
end of the second day.
Since they were spending a lot of time together, Jonas had plenty of opportunities to take a good look
of Melinda. She had lost a considerable amount of weight. She was already slim to begin with, and
she’d only gotten thinner in the past few days. If a strong wind were to blow past them, he had no doubt
she’d be swept away easily. He, on the other hand, had been looking better and growing more
refreshed under her care.
"I’ll be taking the time off tomorrow afternoon," he said over dinner when they finally returned. "Let’s go
shopping."
He was grateful to Melinda for looking out for him, and it pricked his conscience that it took a great deal
out of her to do so. He knew she was fond of shopping, and saw how her eyes would dart to the malls
when they passed by.
"All right then." Melinda was wearing a calm, unaffected expression, but it didn’t escape Jonas how she
had a joyous lilt to her voice.
She didn’t sleep well that night, and she kept telling herself it wasn’t because she was excited to go out
with Jonas. Not at all. In an effort to distract herself from that line of thought, she focused instead on
deciding on the shops to visit on their city excursion.
Despite her resolute denial to herself, she awoke early the next day, and spent most of the morning
rummaging for clothes to wear. Jonas had bought her tons of clothes from when they were pretending
to be a happily married couple, but she seldom wore any of those. Today, for the first time, she was
going to choose among the stash Jonas had gifted her.
She settled on a nude dress, which greatly suited her gentle temperament. It had a unique neckline
that showed off her neck and collarbones, and accentuated the delicate features of her face. She
accessorized with a thin platinum necklace, and wore light make-up.
She looked dainty and pure, which only added to her allure. Melinda had won the genetic lottery, and
she had never required much effort to look attractive even as a little girl.
In fact, this was the first time she spent some effort into dressing up, although she didn’t really need
much. Given her face and her figure, she could give supermodels a run for their money if she wanted
to.
Around noon, Jonas came home to pick her up. The moment he saw her, he stopped in his tracks. She
was breathtaking. Lucky for him, he managed to compose himself before she took notice of his
presence.
They went on their way, shared a meal, and started browsing through the shops. Jonas had made
arrangements beforehand, and Melinda took great pleasure and comfort the entire time. He was being
considerate, to be sure.
Every time Melinda praised an outfit a little bit, Jonas would motion for the salespeople and whip out
his card. They had several shopping bags by the time they were done at the mall.
Eventually Melinda was able to trick him going to the supermarket. Although reluctant at first, Jonas
ended up buying a lot of snacks and treats, which he insisted were for Gavin’s grandson.
All in all they both had a good time, which was different from how things usually played out. Normally
they couldn’t stand to be in each other’s presence, and an hour would not pass without a quarrel
breaking out between them.
Their good mood carried on even when they returned home, and Nelson was most pleased with the
obvious harmony between the young couple.
And it didn’t stop there. Jonas and Melinda’s relationship only got better from that point. So much so
that Melinda took a fancy to baking. The sweet sugary scent of cakes and cookies would wash over
their villa ever so often, giving off a feeling of warmth and a sense of home to the large mansion.
Jonas, for one, had no fondness for sweet things, but he found himself consuming a majority of the
baked goods under Melinda’s eager watch.
"Don’t you think I’m good enough to open a cake shop by now?" she asked one day.
It was such an unprecedented notion that Jonas had to pause his chewing, holding his fork midair, and
glance down at the piece of slightly burnt cake on his plate.
He had the mind to give a flat no, but then he saw Melinda had a bright, expectant smile. He cleared
his throat before saying carefully, "That would be a rather exhausting endeavor."
She wasn’t to be deterred, however. "Well I can just bake in my private kitchen, then. I’ll take orders
and deliver the pastries. A lot of people do it that way these days anyway." "There’s really no need for
that," Jonas interjected, his voice growing sterner in his alarm. "I’m pretty sure the Gu family can still
support you without you having to get into any business at all."
Melinda’s face fell a little, but Jonas refused to relent on this matter. He waited for her to grudgingly
agree before popping another piece of the burnt cake into his mouth.
He studied his wife’s sulky face as he chewed, a secret smile playing on his lips. He never imagined
they would ever be able to carry a conversation without yelling arguments at each other. These days
were full of pleasant surprises indeed.
The people around him noticed as well. Jonas had been looking well and content these past few days,
and his disposition had been significantly lighter and... nicer.
William even felt positive that if he applied for a month-long leave, his boss might approve it.
Emily noticed, too, and she was naturally pissed. She knew the change in Jonas had something to do
with Melinda. She had to do something before he fully fell for that woman’s charm.
Emily began to make frequent visits to Soaring Group. Instead of behaving properly in public, she
would cling to Jonas like a little girl, and would often mention things from their childhood.
"Jonas, won’t you come to the park with me?" she whined one day, her signature pout in place. "You
once promised me that we would ride the Ferris wheel together."
Jonas’s memory being what it was, he couldn’t deny the promise that he did indeed make. That did not
mean he was eager to keep it.
"Emily, you’re no longer just an ordinary person, you know. You need to take care with your
appearances in public. It wouldn’t be good for you to go gallivanting in peopled places like the park. If
you want to ride the Ferris wheel so much, I’ll ask William to make arrangements and install one in your
yard."
Emily’s face froze in displeasure. Jonas hadn’t even looked up from his desk the entire time he said
this. In the past she would have reveled in the fact that a handsome man would spend so much just to
give in to her whims, and she would have definitely showed off to anyone who cared to listen. But now
she wanted Jonas’s company, not the prestige that came with him. "Oh, it’s just a passing thought. You
haven’t spent much time with me lately, are you really so busy?" Emily had great difficulty in
maintaining a sweet smile instead of a sneer, but Jonas didn’t even notice. His eyes were still on the
paperwork on his hands, and the only thing Emily got in response was a curt nod.
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