At the entrance of the operating room, the smell of disinfectant permeated the whole hallway, a
constant reminder that they were in a hospital. Jonas stood in front of the door, straight as a rod as if he
was the designated guard, his face as white as a sheet while his eyes reflected an endless hole of
anguish. Melinda stood against the wall with her eyes closed, embarrassed at the scene that they had
caused and praying hard and hoping that the old man made it through. She wouldn't live with herself if
anything happened to him.
'I hope that everything will be fine,' she thought in a somber mood.
As she looked at the motionless Jonas, all kinds of emotions welled up in her heart. She wanted to say
something, but in the end she held back, figuring this was probably not the right place to have such a
conversation.
Yulia and Queena soon arrived at the hospital, looking serious as if they were expecting the worst.
Queena took a look at the operating room and couldn't see much except for the doctors working like a
well-oiled machine, so she opted to sit at the side and wait. Yulia, who generally had no control over
her emotions, angrily rushed towards Melinda, and raised her hand going straight for Melinda's cheek.
"Yulia, what are you doing?"
cried a shocked Melinda as she used her quick reflexes to stop her. Her hold was stronger than Yulia
had expected, and she couldn't extricate her arm from Melinda's iron grip, looking miserable. She
struggled hard, and it took a while before Melinda let go of her, not wanting to create another scene.
Yulia covered her wrist with her own hand, rubbing gently at her sore wrist. She looked at Melinda with
a somewhat guilty expression, but her mouth bravely contradicted her face. "You are such a wicked
woman. You are the reason my Grandpa has had a heart attack."
The title "wicked woman" almost made Melinda choke with anger. She felt as if she had been hit by a
brick wall and inhaled loudly trying to desperately get air into her lungs. It was true that her grandfather
was ill because of their actions, but it was unfair to also put the blame squarely on her shoulders.
"Yulia, if you and Emily had not worked together to harm me, none of this would have happened, so
you are just as much to blame as I am."
Since the day Melinda made the decision of becoming stronger, and watching out for herself, she was
no longer a pushover and had started to fight back anytime Yulia attacked her. Listening to the two,
Jonas felt his head buzzing.
"Both of you, shut up! If you two want to have a fight, get away from me!"
Jonas's words stopped Yulia in her tracks like water poured over a burning flame. She went mute.
Melinda stood beside him quietly as if she wanted the door to swallow her. The door to the operating
room was suddenly opened diffusing the tension that had built up outside the room, while everyone
tensed up anew. A doctor walked out of the operating room, still in scrubs. Everyone looked at him
expectantly praying that he had good news. The doctor told them that Nelson was all right and all he
needed was to have some rest, so they would hospitalize him for a few days to monitor his recovery.
When Melinda heard the doctor's pronouncement, she was relieved. She noticed that Yulia was still
looking at her with resentment, and decided to quietly sneak out of the hospital since she didn't think
her presence would be appreciated in the ward. Besides no one really considered her as family.
She knew that in the Gu family, no one liked her except Nelson, who was probably dosed with a lot of
drugs, and wouldn't even notice that she was missing.
The fact that Yulia and Emily were monitoring her every move made her very uncomfortable, since they
were invading her privacy. All of a sudden, she made a decision. It really didn't matter whether Jonas
believed her or not, and she would be fine as long as she knew that she hadn't done those things.
The morning sunlight beat down on Melinda's skin as she returned home. She felt like a vampire
encountering the sun for the first time because she had not slept all night. She was exhausted both
physically and mentally, but she forced herself to pack up a few of her things and left the Gu's mansion,
hoping to never come back again.
Since she no longer felt very secure in their mansion, she had rented an apartment of her own and had
it cleaned regularly waiting for an emergency just like today.
Melinda quickly tidied the room, took a bath, and fell asleep soon after lying on the bed.
When Melinda woke up, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Touching her stomach, she heard
it growled as if on cue. She got up and put on the closest clothes she could get her hands on before
going out to look for something to fill her rumbling stomach. Once she was well fed, she bought some
fruits and went to the hospital.
Nelson was in the VIP ward. Jonas had hired a professional caregiver who was on call 24 hours a day.
"Grandpa, I'm sorry for what happened."
Nelson had on a pair of reading glasses which he only used when reading documents or the
newspaper. He put down the newspaper he was reading as soon as Melinda walked in. Melinda put
down the fruit basket, and then stood aside, apologizing to him profusely.
"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault."
Nelson looked weak although his complexion had improved. Melinda walked to him and adjusted the
pillows on his back, trying to put into a more comfortable position.
"It is my fault. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have quarreled with Jonas."
Melinda felt very guilty and appeared forlorn looking at the aftermath of her actions. Nelson sighed.
Although he had spoken up for Melinda, he also had ulterior motives since he really didn't like Emily. A
person like her didn't deserve to be with his grandson.
"All right. Forget about that issue for now. I heard from Gavin that you moved out of the mansion."
Nelson put his glasses aside, since he only needed them when reading, and focused all his attention
on Melinda. She served him a cup of water and then made herself comfortable, sitting on the sofa
beside his bed.
"Yes, Grandpa, It may seem as if I am making up tales, but I assure you that it's not a lie. I would never
intentionally lie to you. Yulia was monitoring my movements since some time ago and I don't know who
she was reporting to about my whereabouts."
The very thought of someone constantly watching her and this information being reported to a stranger,
sent a shiver down her spine. When Nelson noted how scared and distraught she looked, his face
turned beetroot red, trying to control his anger.
"Jonas and I are not suited to live together for now. I think we should live separately and give each
other some space to calm down and think things through, especially our relationship."
Nelson moved closer and patted her on the shoulder, sighing in defeat, "You have suffered a lot. I won't
force you to do anything you don't want to."
Nelson still believed that Melinda had no reason to make up such stories. He also knew a little about
the relationship between her and Jonas and acknowledged that it wasn't working out as he had
expected, so he didn't want to continue pursuing the issue.
"Grandpa, how are you feeling today? Do you think your health is improving?"
Melinda was smart enough not to mention the same issues that had put Nelson in the hospital, so she
instead focused on his health, trying to distract him.
Although Nelson looked fine and the doctor had given him a clean bill of health. The roller coaster of
emotions was very dangerous for a person battling heart disease. He wouldn't have experienced
another attack if Jonas had not angered him.
"I think I'm getting old now. When your grandfather and I joined the army, we were very healthy and
strong,"
Nelson said, with a distant look in his eyes.
"Grandpa, you are so strong and amazing! I am sure that when the enemies you were fighting then
saw you, they would run away in fright."
Her humorous reply made Nelson laugh. So he continued to regale her with stories of his army days
with Melinda's grandfather, Leonard Mo, telling her how they almost died numerous times.
Melinda was attentive although many of the stories may have been more interesting for the older
generation since some of the issues she really couldn't relate to them, but she still concentrated.
"Leonard should have told you all about our escapades."
Nelson was so engrossed in his trip back memory lane that after a long while, he realized that he had
been the only one talking and chattering, and although it was about old people things, Melinda still
listened. He was gratified by Melinda's attitude towards him.
"Well, my Grandpa often repeated something whenever he recounted stories about his past. He always
said that if it weren't for you, I may never have existed."
Melinda blinked rapidly as she tried to remember her grandfather's stories. The two were good
comrades. No matter how bad the situation was, they would never give up on each other, and had
saved each other's lives many times.
They had a friendship that lasted a life-time, and Melinda was deeply moved.
"Oh, Leonard! If your grandfather hadn't saved me, I might have spent the rest of my life on a
wheelchair."
At the thought of the time when he served in the army, Nelson became very emotional. That was the
most precious memory in his life.
"Grandpa, can you tell me more about your past? I want to write them into my novels."
At that moment, a thought flashed through Melinda's mind, so she quickly captured it—she suddenly
wanted to tell more people about the story of the older generation.
For the next few days, Melinda would sneak in to take visit and care of Nelson. They chatted and talked
about the past. Whatever Nelson talked of, she would jot in her notebook and when she forgot to take
the notebook, she would keep in her mind and quickly write it down as soon as she got home.
"Speaking of which, your grandfather and I haven't seen each other in a long time. How is he now?"
Nelson asked. Only then did Melinda realize that she had not contacted her family for a long time. The
last time she talked to them was a long while back.
"I haven't contacted my family in a long time,"
Melinda said sadly. Nelson tried to comfort her although he felt so ashamed that Melinda had suffered
a lot after she married with his grandson. He felt guilty for the kind of mistreatment the granddaughter
of his comrade-in-arms had gone through.
After staying in the hospital for a long time, Melinda thought it was time to leave. She went back home
and included the story she had heard today, trying to connect it to what she had been writing. Then she
sat on the bed, lost in thought.
It had been a long time since she had gone back home. She didn't have much work to do at the Gu's
mansion, but she felt that she was always busy every day so she got used to it as if trying to numb
herself from her problems.
Leaning against the wall, Melinda buried her face in her knees. All of a sudden, she felt tears welling up
in her eyes. She touched her cheek with her fingers in a quick motion, and found that tears had been
pouring down her face without her knowledge.
Due to Jonas's constant distrust, Emily splashing dirty water on her, and Yulia's constant insults, for a
moment, her heart felt heavy as if she was carrying the problems of the whole world. She felt
exhausted from the never ending problems. She really wanted to complain to her grandfather like she
always did when she was little, and then let her grandfather frighten those who bullied her.
Melinda wiped her tears and tried to calm down. After drinking a glass of water, she felt better and her
throat no longer felt as dry as the Sahara desert. Then she picked up her mobile phone and dialed her
grandfather's number.
The phone rang, which made her heart rise in anticipation.
"Melinda, is that you?"
It was her grandmother who answered the phone. Her voice was as kind as ever, and a warm feeling
swept through Melinda in an instant.
"Yes Grandma, it's me."
"You haven't called me in a while, you are such a naughty girl. I feel so sad that we don't talk so often,"
her grandmother, Finny, said, pretending to be angry.
Melinda covered her mouth with her hand trying to stifle a sob and felt very guilty.
"Grandma, I miss you so much."
"You haven't been home almost in ages. Kid, Grandpa and Grandma are getting old and we don't have
much time, so we want to see you often. Your Grandpa is ill and you should visit him when you are
free," she said sounding emotional.
She took a glance at Leonard Mo, who was drinking his tea leisurely and savoring it with his eyes
closed. Although he heard her mentioning him, he was very proud and continued closing his eyes.
"Is Grandpa sick?"
Melinda panicked and blamed herself for not visiting her grandparents for such a long time. She wished
she could grow wings and fly appearing right in front of the two elders.
What Finny said made her very sad. She could not help but think of Nelson, who had not been doing as
well as they had hoped and was instead getting worse.
Yes, maybe it was time to accept that they were getting old.
"Well, he didn't want me to tell you since you are busy."
"Grandma, I'll come and visit today. Ask the servants to clean my room."
Finny told her to be careful on the road with a big smile plastered on her face. She assured her that
everything at home would prepare for her. Melinda hung up and asked the driver of the Gu family to
send her back to her hometown as fast as possible.
Of course, she could not hide the information from Nelson. When Nelson asked why she was in such a
hurry to get home, and learned that it was Leonard Mo who was sick, he was very worried and couldn't
stay in hospital for longer than necessary. He asked Gavin to arrange for his travel as soon as possible
and told Melinda that he would go to the countryside to visit her grandparents with her.
"Grandpa, you still need to be careful and take a break from any straining schedule. How about we go
together next time?"
Gavin contacted Melinda's driver, but also intended to accompany Melinda. She needed someone to
take care of her on the long trip. Melinda tried to dissuade Nelson, but he insisted that he had nothing
else to do, and it was boring to stay in the hospital and he also didn't want to stay at home.
Melinda had no choice but to allow him to go with her. Gavin had to stay behind and make sure that
things at the Gu's mansion were running smoothly, so he could not go with them. He told Melinda to
take good care of Nelson and watched them leave.
Leonard Mo lived in the countryside, and it was three to four hours' ride from the Gu's mansion.
Considering Nelson's health, the driver, drove very slowly, and it was almost time for dinner by the time
they arrived at their destination.
Of course, she could not hide the information from Nelson. When Nelson asked why she was in such a
hurry to get home, and learned that it was Leonard Mo who was sick, he was very worried and couldn't
stay in hospital for longer than necessary. He asked Gavin to arrange for his travel as soon as possible
and told Melinda that he would go to the countryside to visit her grandparents with her.
"Grandpa, you still need to be careful and take a break from any straining schedule. How about we go
together next time?"
Gavin contacted Melinda's driver, but also intended to accompany Melinda. She needed someone to
take care of her on the long trip. Melinda tried to dissuade Nelson, but he insisted that he had nothing
else to do, and it was boring to stay in the hospital and he also didn't want to stay at home.
Melinda had no choice but to allow him to go with her. Gavin had to stay behind and make sure that
things at the Gu's mansion were running smoothly, so he could not go with them. He told Melinda to
take good care of Nelson and watched them leave.
Leonard Mo lived in the countryside, and it was three to four hours' ride from the Gu's mansion.
Considering Nelson's health, the driver, drove very slowly, and it was almost time for dinner by the time
they arrived at their destination.
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