"Jonas, thank you for believing in me."
Emily was drunk and looked at Jonas with her misty eyes. His cold and stern face showed a hint of
kindness, and they belonged to her, only to her.
Her hand twisted around Jonas’s neck, but he evaded her grasp. He stroked Emily’s hair and said,
"Emily, go back to sleep."
"Okay."
Emily acted like she was a behaved girl. After driving her home, Jonas went straight back to his place.
Emily gave him many subtle hints, but he ignored them. It had become a habit for him to go home
every night, no matter how late.
Feeling annoyed, Melinda went to bed early. After pacing back and forth in front of the bedroom, Jonas
went to the spare bedroom.
The sun’s shadows filtered through the single layer of sheer white curtain. A gust of cold, gentle breeze
blew into the room. Melinda curled up her body and forced open her eyes sleepily.
After adjusting her eyes to the sunlight, Melinda realized that her window was not closed properly at
night. Fortunately, it was only slightly ajar. Apparently, there was no one on the other side of the bed
that night.
'Has Jonas come back yet?'
Melinda felt quite upset but didn’t show it on her face. She washed her face and went downstairs, and
then she saw Jonas eating breakfast alone.
"Were you in the study last night?"
Melinda rotated her shoulders to loosen up its muscles and sat opposite to Jonas. Their servant, Mary
quickly served breakfast to the table. When Melinda picked up the cutlery, Jonas put his down and
smoothly wiped his mouth with the napkin.
"I’m going to the office now,"
Jonas said calmly and stood up. He didn’t answer her question. Glancing down at his unfinished plate,
Melinda thought it was either he only ate a little or was just about to eat.
Feeling a little weird, Melinda didn’t brood over it. She moved back her chair and got up. Mary handed
over Jonas's tie, and she reached out for it, but a slender, steady hand restrained her.
"You go to have breakfast first. I’ll do it myself."
Melinda stood blankly and watched him wear the tie, put on a suit jacket, and carry a briefcase. Then
he left.
"Mrs. Gu, your warm milk is ready."
Hearing Mary’s words, Melinda returned to her senses. A myriad of thoughts gathered into her mind, as
she felt that Jonas deliberately maintained his distance, or perhaps he was alienating himself from her.
"What time did he go downstairs for breakfast this morning?"
"He just got here before you came down. Today’s breakfast may not suit his appetite, so he only took
one bite off the sandwich,"
Mary said. Melinda’s expression became stiffer and stiffer. The breakfast food was the same as usual,
and she refused to believe that reason.
Melinda also lost her appetite.
Lately, Jonas often went out of the house early in the morning and came back late, avoiding Melinda.
Even when they met, he acted extremely indifferent towards her. Melinda was too vulnerable to
discover that he was like this after she telephoned him to tell him that Yulia and Emily were plotting
against her.
What could have happened that she didn’t know?
Meanwhile, Melinda was full of doubts. Knowing that she couldn’t possibly find any answer from Jonas,
she hired someone to investigate him.
Jonas had been spending a lot of quality time with Emily. Furthermore, Melinda had received a piece of
important news about Jonas being cheated.
He still believed Emily’s claims after that day even if there were photos to prove what had occurred.
Wrath filled Melinda’s heart with no apparent reason, and she understood well that it was not the time
to be impulsive. Jonas had lost his trust in her momentarily, and she should find the most direct
evidence to allow Jonas to see the truth.
Emily was like a pure angel in Jonas’s mind, while Melinda considered her like a bitch deep in her
heart.
Anyway, Melinda didn’t want Emily to get particularly close to Jonas. What she needed to do now was
to separate them.
Melinda felt as if her head was about to explode and didn’t know where to begin. At this time, the
people conducting the investigation sent her a video of Emily having a conversation with Yulia.
This recording was undoubtedly the most compelling evidence she had collected. Melinda breathed a
sigh of relief and considered every single thing this time after she had calmed down.
After midnight, the Gu's mansion was still looking bright under the light of the street lamp. Melinda sat
back on the sofa with her head propped up by her hand. Her eyelids drooped, but she was reluctant to
go upstairs and sleep just yet.
She didn’t know what time Jonas would specifically come home, but she was positive that she wouldn’t
be able to catch him the next morning if she did not wait for him tonight.
She didn’t sleep, and the servant wouldn’t risk leaving her alone. There was only one servant, Mary, in
their villa looking after their needs.
"Mrs. Gu, you’d better go to bed first."
Mary could not help but prevent Melinda from staying up late, observing how drained she was but
continued pulling an all-nighter. She had always been taking care of the ex-couple, and she saw the
visible change in the relationship between them.
"Mary, you may go to bed now. I... He’s back." Catching the sound of Jonas’s car pulling up, Melinda
quickly scrambled up to her feet so fast that she almost fell to the floor.
Soon after, the door swung open. Mary left, saying nothing and closed the door behind her.
Seeing that Melinda was still awake, Jonas directly entered the room, took a quick look at her, and
walked towards the spare bedroom without saying hello.
"Stop, Jonas."
Melinda didn’t expect Jonas to treat her with such an aloof attitude after staying up late for him.
Her blatant outcry did not scare Jonas but made herself sober instead.
"What’s up?"
With an indifferent look on Jonas’s face, it seemed that he would feel uncomfortable every time he
talked with Melinda.
"Don’t you think you owe me an explanation for your recent actions?"
As Melinda spoke, she gripped the cellphone with her fingers. She showed him a video that she had
saved, but she wasn’t ready to reveal the first part of the recording. She wanted to explain it to make
Jonas believe her.
"Explanation? Melinda, I have nothing to explain to you."
"Jonas, you... Forget it. Let’s just talk, okay?"
Melinda tried her best to adjust the pace of her emotions and put forward the appeal in a casual tone.
With a stony expression, Jonas looked at her. His lips were thin, and his words were hurtful.
"There’s no need to talk. It’s late. I need to sleep."
Jonas’s uncooperative stance provoked Melinda again.
Her rage was burning, and her breathing became rapid.
"Jonas, you only consider what Emily said, but you don’t want to take my side into account, do you?"
Melinda was unwilling to give up, and her eyes were full of determination.
"What you have to say is nothing more than the truth. I know what’s going on."
Melinda felt infuriated, and he knew it. What he considered as the truth was solely the statements of
Emily, and what Melinda said was all lies and conspiracies.
"Emily deceived to you. What can I do to make you hear me out? Proof? I have one."
Almost trembling, Melinda frantically clicked on the video on her phone, but Jonas knocked the device
down. As her mobile phone landed on the carpet, the glare reflected on the screen made Melinda curl
her lip.
"Enough! Emily has already told me about it. What’s your evidence? All you did was to manufacture lies
and ask someone to create the phony video. I must say, Melinda, you make me feel sick."
His every word felt like a stab through Melinda’s heart. Again, she realized the grim reality. Between
her and Emily, Jonas would always put his faith in Emily.
Even if she had all the evidence, it was no match for Emily’s words.
"Jonas, you are so irrational,"
Melinda spoke slowly, but she said every word with clarity. They were now facing each other, and
Jonas lifted and then dropped his hand.
"Melinda, you’d better not push me to my limits,"
warned Jonas. Because of the ruthlessness in his eyes, Melinda did not doubt that he would hit her
without mercy if she said something resistant.
"Among all the people in the entertainment circle, only a few are innocent. Emily has such an influential
position today, do you think she is as naive as a little girl? You must have forgotten that she rejected
you before you got your right to inherit the family property, haven’t you?"
Melinda didn’t know what Jonas considered the most valuable in his life, but her words undoubtedly
pissed him off.
Their quarrel became louder and more offensive. In the main villa, the light of Nelson’s bedroom was
on, and with Gavin and Mary, they arrived at the couple’s place.
The presence of Nelson, like a fire extinguisher, froze both of them.
"What’s wrong with you two? Why do you quarrel so late?"
Before Mary took off earlier, she had noticed that there was something awry between them. She
overheard them bickering when she first arrived in the yard. She got worried and went to talk to Gavin.
As a result, they took Nelson here and caught them quarreling.
"Grandpa, it’s late. Why are you still awake?"
Smiling reluctantly, Melinda went to his side to assist him. She mentioned nothing about the feud
between them, but Nelson had heard the name of Emily.
"How could I fall asleep with you two arguing like this?
You brat, did you fight with Melinda again because of Emily? I told you she is not a likable person, and I
ordered you to stay away from her. Why didn’t you listen to me?"
Nelson barked. He held the walking stick in his hand, and he attempted to hit Jonas, but Melinda
prevented him.
Nelson had served in the army during his early days. Even if he already aged, his strength was not
weak.
"Emily is not that kind of person. This matter has made her aggrieved to a serious degree,"
Jonas said coldly. Thinking of Emily’s sensibility, he opposed Nelson for being biased.
"From now on, you must cut her off. Do you hear me?"
As soon as Jason heard Nelson’s words, he got furious and became more aggressive, with his chest
heaving as he struggled to control his breathing.
"No way!"
Jonas unveiled his attitude without delay. Melinda smiled bitterly.
"You... Are you trying to piss me off?"
With his fingers shaking, Nelson pointed at Jonas. Noticing something wrong, Melinda saw Nelson
place his hand over his chest.
"Grandpa!"
Melinda screamed in panic and helped Nelson balance himself up. He closed his eyes and collapsed.
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