When Yulia got back to Alan’s place, she saw her belongings all strewn on the floor by the door. Inside,
a middle-aged cleaning lady was constantly swearing as she worked.
Unable to bear any more, Yulia fled that rented apartment, weeping. She rushed back to the Gu's
mansion in panic and desperation.
Naturally, Nelson knew all about the entire debacle. He was lounging on the sofa in the living room
when Yulia returned, and she immediately got down on her knees before him as soon as she entered.
"Grandfather, I’ve been so wrong. Please forgive me. I promise, I’ll listen to you from now on. I won’t
make stupid, childish mistakes anymore."
She wept and wailed on her grandfather’s lap, airing out all her grievances and sorrow.
Nelson only sighed. "You’d better learned your lesson. If it weren’t for Melinda, who knows how long it
would have taken to expose that charlatan. Or how many more women he’d have deceived!"
It was only then that Yulia realized her brother and his wife were also in the room. She shot her
grandfather a confused look. ‘What did he mean by that?’
Nelson was smiling warmly at Melinda, and explained everything, praising her every so often in
between narratives.
"Grandpa, it’s all just a matter of coincidence and good luck." Melinda brushed off the compliments she
was given. It was the truth.
If Jonas hadn’t mentioned that there was something wrong about Alan, she wouldn’t have dwelt on the
matter and discovered the con artist’s schemes.
"Be that as it may, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve done an excellent thing! Citizens of A City have
been commending your actions. You’ve brought honor to the Gu family, and I’m so proud."
Yulia felt small in the face of all the praises Melinda was getting, and she grimaced in displeasure.
Then she recalled the pictures and mail that she had received.
If she put two things together, it was safe to assume that those incriminating pieces of evidence were
from her brother’s wife.
"Still, Grandpa, Yulia was in no fault at all. She was the one cheated on by that bastard." Though her
tone was gentle, Melinda shot a snide look at Jonas when she said the word "bastard".
"Thank you, Melinda," Yulia said quietly. She was, in fact, not feeling grateful at all, but she had to
mask her bitterness and resentment from their grandfather. This much she could manage.
"Oh never mind about that. Just make sure you use your brains in the future." Melinda’s statement was
followed by a heavy silence.
It was a little harsh, but she realized too late, and the atmosphere had become awkward. She felt
ashamed of herself. She had meant to comfort the younger girl, but her words slipped out easily
unchecked.
Yulia took great offense at Melinda’s words, but she reined in her temper. She settled with silence, lest
she said something vile in reply.
"Oh please don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t trying to imply anything mean." Melinda rushed to rectify the
situation, but her words got the better of her yet again. "Women meet a bunch of lying bastards all the
time. You’re actually luckier than I am in that respect."
Her last remark did not escape Jonas’s notice, and he gave his wife a pointed look. At that, Melinda
raised both her hands, deciding to shut up once and for all.
Yulia wasn’t paying attention to them anyway. She hung her head, and her thoughts were filled with
vitriol towards Melinda.
‘She must have done it all on purpose. My reputation is ruined now. She must have planned this from
the start. She’s behind all this! She couldn’t bear to see me living a happy life.’
As Yulia lowered her head awkwardly, her face was covered by her bangs. And her resentment against
Melinda was also obvious. Her reputation was ruined this time.
As a vicious plan formed in her mind, Yulia raised her head and pasted an innocent smile on her face.
"Melinda, thank you, really. Why don’t we go shopping one of these days? I want to buy you something
to express my gratitude. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?"
Since the girl was wearing such an earnest expression, and with her invitation phrased the way it was,
it would be in poor taste if Melinda refused her. She could only nod in agreement.
In truth, Melinda had long known that she would never get along well with Yulia.
The younger woman held malice towards her, so potent it was practically palpable whenever they were
in the same room. Surely all that ill intent couldn’t have just magically disappeared.
If anything, Melinda was certain it only grew more each passing day. Nevertheless, as long as Yulia
didn’t strike first, Melinda wouldn’t do anything either.
In the days that followed, the residents of the Gu's mansion avoided speaking of the matter with Alan.
Yulia settled back in and cleaned up her room.
She also made it a habit to badger Melinda into going to the mall with her. Melinda couldn’t put it off
any longer, and they finally made plans to go one day, after afternoon tea.
Melinda wore a bright pink dress, not quite fuchsia, but not a muted baby shade either. Just enough to
turn people’s heads.
She paired her outfit with simple white flats, and settled for no makeup. She looked youthful and
extremely pretty.
Yulia, on the other hand, wore a black body-hugging, sleeveless top that exposed her midriff, pumps,
and a rather heavy makeup.
When the women stood next to each other, Yulia looked like the older one, in spite of the truth being
otherwise.
When they arrived at Soaring Group’s shopping mall, Yulia made a beeline for the jewelry district,
dragging Melinda behind her. They weren’t the only ones in that mall to shop.
Now that Emily’s drama had finished shooting, she had a considerable amount of time on her hands.
She wanted to maximize her break, so she had asked Jonas to go shopping with her.
"Jonas," she whined as she clung to his arm. "Let’s go to the Cartier Shoppe. I have a party to attend in
a couple of days and I still have no jewelry to wear."
She was wearing an immaculate white dress, and an elaborate "natural look" makeup that consisted of
a lot of products and took a lot of time to apply. Her lips were tinted a bright shade of orange.
And as she was a celebrity, she also wore giant sunglasses that covered a majority of her face, yet did
nothing to conceal her identity.
Add that to the fact that she was walking with a handsome and successful young entrepreneur who had
undoubtedly been many a woman’s dream lover at some point in their lives.
They were recognized by the people the moment they stepped into the mall. Most of the attention fell
solidly on Jonas, though. Despite that, nobody dared to approach them because of the cold, unfeeling
look on his face.
"Jonas, you really should smile often," Emily said, leaning closer against his arm flirtatiously.
Jonas had been looking like a tyrant to most people besides his family, but he was particularly gentle
towards her. She was smug about getting that little special treatment, and she was going to flaunt it.
Meanwhile, Yulia pulled Melinda into the Cartier Shoppe and looked at some watches. She mentioned
how she noticed that the older woman wore nothing on her wrist, and that she wanted to remedy that.
"Why is it suddenly so noisy?" Yulia commented out loud, and then turned towards the entrance. Emily
and Jonas had just entered the shop, like two models walking up to the runway. The entire hallway was
agog.
Melinda turned to see what the fuss was all about as well. She had a mildly curious expression on her
face when she leaned over to look, and her face didn’t even change when she saw her husband with
another girl on his arm.
Yulia was watching her intently, anticipating drama to break out anytime soon. To her disappointment,
Melinda only put down the watch she was looking at.
"I don’t like the watches they have here. Let’s go," she spoke in a very calm tone. Then she headed
towards the doors on the other side of the shop, away from where Jonas and Emily entered.
Yulia didn’t follow immediately as she tried to assess the situation. She looked back towards her
brother and gave them a big wave to catch his attention. Only then did she follow behind Melinda.
Jonas scowled. He had his eyes trained on Melinda. He just barely saw her as she turned to leave, but
he was sure that she’d seen him. How could she ignore him and just leave like that!
"Was that Melinda just now?" Emily had also seen Melinda. How could she not, when Jonas stared so
intently in her direction. All she got in way of response was a curt yes.
Jonas couldn’t manage any more than that because he was so pissed at his wife at that moment. 'This
damn woman, I’m her husband, dammit! How dare she act as if she didn’t know who the devil I am!'
Without a second thought, he shrugged off from Emily’s clutch and strode after the direction of his wife.
"Jonas, where are you going?" Emily all but screeched, and then followed after him as well. She
struggled to match his unrelenting pace, and very soon also struggled to suppress her boiling anger.
Jonas was oblivious to all of it. He had to find his wife and give her a piece of his mind. She was
wearing a pink dress, very eye-catching. Therefore, he spotted her almost immediately.
For her part, Melinda wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. What she was sure of, was that the
picture her husband made with that woman next to him implied intimacy between them.
She would go as far as admitting that she felt a pang in her chest when she saw them, and that was
why she fled the scene. Out of sight, out of mind, as people would say.
Melinda tried to empty her mind as she continued to forge ahead, her steps confident and even. Yulia
was beside her in a moment, looking unbothered at all as she tried to catch up to the older woman,
even in her high heels.
Although she did take a good gasp for air before speaking to Melinda. "Why did you suddenly leave?
Didn’t you see my brother back there?"
"Your brother had a beauty dangling on his arm," Melinda answered with an air of nonchalance. She
flashed Yulia a casual little smile. "I thought it's best not to disturb him."
Yulia’s jaw dropped. Was this the same woman who had once given up everything in the name of love
for her brother? "But... but you’re my brother’s wife. If someone had to leave that scene, it was that
woman, not you!"
She had been looking forward to a confrontation between Melinda and Emily. It had frankly been much
overdue.
Yulia liked neither of the two women, so she didn’t give a damn who would emerge victorious in the
fight. But she wanted there to be a fight.
"That’s totally unnecessary." Melinda gave her a pointed glance as she said this, as if she read what
was going on in the girl’s mind.
Yulia squirmed inside, feeling a little guilty. She looked around for a distraction. It was about time the
people she had made arrangements with arrived.
"Let’s just... let’s go have a look around some of these shops, why don’t we? Let’s lighten up our
moods and forget about what just happened." She made a grab for Melinda’s wrist as she tried to
cajole her.
The older woman deflected Yulia’s hand easily, making a show of reaching to pat her and smooth her
hair. Melinda would prefer to have zero physical contact with this girl.
The slight did not escape Yulia. Not to be deterred, she put on a fake smile. "There are still many shops
up ahead; let’s go and have a look."
Melinda tilted her head in acknowledgment, and led the way. Yulia opted to follow behind to cover up
her embarrassment. And a little distance behind them strode Jonas, who was being quickly followed by
Emily.
If looks could murder people, Melinda would soon be a corpse with multiple stab wounds on her back.
Emily was sporting a homicidal expression that was so unlike anything she’d usually show to other
people.
But this bitch deserved the vicious looks she was serving her. Emily’s feet were hurting trying to keep
up with Jonas, who never took his eyes off the figure of his retreating wife for a second.
"Jonas, where are we going?"
Jonas ignored, ruthlessly keeping his large strides. He didn’t seem to care that she was floundering in
her high heels. She wanted to pull him to a stop, but she couldn’t even get close enough to touch the
sleeve of his shirt.
Up ahead, Melinda was glancing at the shop displays as she walked, and accidentally bumped into a
person. The impact had her taking a few steps back, and a few seconds to collect herself.
"Sorry." She gave the stranger a little bow, and made to walk around him to carry on her way.
Behind her, Yulia saw what just happened. As she recognized the man before them, a cruel smile crept
into her face. It was not unlike the smile of a cat that had swallowed a mouse.
"Hey, what’s wrong with you?" the man yelled at Melinda as he blocked her path. "Why aren’t you
watching where you’re going?"
Taken aback by his reaction, Melinda offered another apology, this time bowing a little lower. She made
to leave again, and again the man blocked her.
The man eyed her up and down, a lascivious glint lacing his gaze. ‘So it turns out the woman I was
paid to tease was actually a beauty. Lucky!’
"Sir," Melinda tried again with a firmer tone. "We were both at fault here, and I have already apologized
to you." She glared at the man, trying to get her intent across.
The man was a little surprised at first, but then he barked out a loud, deprecating laugh. "You’re a hot
piece of ass, aren’t you?"
Now he was being openly obscene, both in his actions and his words. It ticked Melinda off, and she felt
a vicious urge to smash this man’s face in.
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