The change was both pleasant and frightening.
Jonas's heart skipped a beat when he saw the uncertainty in Melinda's eyes. He didn't realize that he
had been cruel to her until now. He was ashamed of himself when he saw Melinda's eyes widen with
shock every time he was nice to her.
Melinda was oblivious to what was going on in Jonas's head. He continued to walk, interlacing his
fingers with hers as a mysterious smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Melinda went to the bathroom to change. She splashed cold water to her tired face and quickly brushed
her teeth. She quickly slipped on a comfortable pair of pajamas and walked out. Her gaze flitted to
Jonas. He had unbuttoned his shirt and rolled his sleeves up. His expensive watch was dazzling under
the bright lights, emitting a soft glow on his face.
His eyes were fixed on the laptop. He looked like he was handling an important task.
His usually cold eyes, seemed to be warm and comforting under the pleasant yellow light. Melinda
stopped wiping her hair and continued to gape at Jonas with wide eyes. A drop of water fell on her
forehead, waking her from the trance.
"Why are you here?" Melinda asked, breaking the silence.
"We are a couple. We should be sleeping in the same room, shouldn't we?"
Jonas said, without taking his eyes off the computer screen. Although they were in an agreement
relationship, Melinda cherished every moment with him. She didn't have the heart to break the comfort
zone that they had worked hard to create. Whatever it was that the two of them shared, it was special
to her.
"Have you finished taking a bath?"
Jonas put his laptop aside, stood up, and stretched. Seeing that Melinda was drying her hair, he took
the towel from her hand. Melinda didn't have the time to process what was going on. The golden light
was suddenly blocked as Jonas's white shirt and his chiseled muscles came to view.
She swallowed loudly as a wave of lust washed over her. She bit her lip, resisting her urge to run her
fingers across Jonas's sturdy muscles.
Jonas sat on the bed and held Melinda with one arm and dried her hair with the other. Jonas was
unskilled and had no idea how to dry her hair. He even tugged a few strands of hair from the scalp in
the process.
Melinda's hair ended up looking like a crow's nest but she didn't complain. Jonas got better as he
slowed down the pace and reduced the friction. But his shirt was soaked in water.
"I'm going to take a shower. Grab some clothes for me,"
Jonas said as he walked into the bathroom with a towel. His steps were wobbly and Melinda knew why.
A subtle blush formed in her cheeks.
In the bathroom, Jonas stood under the shower as the jet of water sprayed on his back, gliding against
his flesh. He fisted his hair with his hands as he tried hard to control his raging hormones. He wanted to
pin Melinda against the bed and have steamy, passionate sex but he didn't want to make things
awkward. His heart began to race and his breathing faltered at the thought of Melinda.
He was in the bathroom for almost an hour. Melinda leaned against the bed as she watched the
popular TV series. Her eyelids dilated and she slowly fell asleep with her laptop clumsily resting on her
lap.
"Stop looking at the computer all the time. It's not good for your eyes."
Jonas smiled, flicking his wet hair with a towel. He was standing, wearing nothing but a towel that
effortlessly clung on to his waist.
Melinda had a feeling that Jonas was trying to seduce her.
"I'm sleepy," Melinda mumbled and pulled the quilt to her face. Jonas snickered, hovering above her as
Melinda felt his weight on her waist.
Melinda held the quilt tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. Jonas was making her nervous.
"Is this your new sleeping style? Oh come on, take them off your face, or you'll suffocate to death."
Melinda's skin broke into goosebumps when she heard Jonas's voice.
The smell of his shower gel filled her lungs, making her earlobes turn red.
Melinda remained completely still. Jonas bent forward and pulled the quilt from Melinda's face. He saw
that her face had turned red and her hair was splayed across the pillow. He couldn't help but smile at
how cute she looked.
"Jonas, I'm sleepy," she whined.
Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw him smiling at her. His eyes were gleaming with mischief.
Jonas wondered why he had been unkind to her for all these years. He decided to heed to her request
and make up for the lost times.
"Okay, go to sleep."
Jonas wore the T-shirt that Melinda had kept for him and scooted next to her. His hair was still wet, so
Melinda stood up and dried his hair with a towel.
Jonas's hair was thick and coarse. Melinda was exhausted by the time she finished drying his hair. She
yawned, put the towel aside, and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
Jonas switched off the light. He quickly finished his work and went back to bed with Melinda in his
arms.
Everything seemed new to Jonas. He had never been emotionally intimate with a woman before. He
soon became addicted to his new life. When Jonas opened his eyes in the morning, he saw Melinda
sleeping against his chest. He waited for her to wake up and went down to have breakfast with her.
The servant had already prepared breakfast. Melinda followed a skincare regimen, so it took longer for
her to get ready. Jonas rested his chin on his palm and watched her get dressed.
"Jonas, go downstairs and have breakfast. I'll join you later,"
Melinda said as her cheeks turned red. She was embarrassed to find Jonas gawking at her.
"I can wait."
Melinda rolled her eyes and slathered moisturizer. She packed her things and went to have breakfast
with him. Jonas was constantly bothering Melinda by asking her to put the tie around his neck and sort
things for him.
Melinda thought that he was teasing her for fun but she was surprised by the change in his behavior.
He was kind, understanding, and listened to her without arguing. Everyone in the villa was equally
surprised.
Jonas stayed at home during the weekends. He would finish all the important work that needed
immediate action and go to the main villa to spend time with Nelson. Melinda always sat down to write
in the morning, so she preferred staying in her room.
Melinda was impressed by Jonas's behavior. She didn't know if things were happening for real or if she
was in a beautiful dream.
A sudden thought occurred in her mind when she thought about Jonas. She decided to write a novel
about her and Jonas.
Melinda involuntarily opened a new document on her computer. She pursed her lips and stared at the
screen. She didn't know if she was doing the right thing but decided to go for it anyway.
Melinda was in a daze when she decided on the characters. She blinked at her words as the images
were looking like a renewed version of her and Jonas.
She smiled and was surprised by the result. Melinda had always pictured Jonas as the sweet, caring
guy. She was glad to find that a kind-hearted guy was hidden beneath the tough-guy mask that Jonas
wore all the time. The past few months had made her understand more about him.
Melinda shared a complicated relationship with Jonas. She had to face a lot of problems and was
seldom happy with him. So she decided to write the happy version of her life. She turned her sad
marriage tale into a happy story that she always hoped for.
She drafted the outline and ended the story on a happy note. Melinda's life was far from perfect, and
therefore she felt that at least her story deserved a happy ending. In the imaginary world, Melinda didn't
suffer. Her life was filled with rainbows and sunshine when she got together with the man of her
dreams.
Melinda modified her draft over and over again until she was satisfied. Her eyes turned red as she
began to relive the days that she had tried hard to forget.
A teardrop fell on the keyboard. Melinda wiped her eyes with her hand. A lump formed in Melinda's
throat as she was overwhelmed by the waves of emotions that were simmering in her heart. She saved
the document, closed the computer, and ran out of the bedroom.
Melinda thought that she had made a mistake by writing about her life. The past five years had been a
nightmare and she didn't have the strength to think about the worst phase of her life.
In the following days, Melinda forced herself to endure the pain and continued to write her story. Every
word brought vivid memories that formed a string and choked her as she wrote. She numbed herself
and wrote a new chapter every day.
Melinda began her story during the time she was studying in college. She was an innocent, happy girl,
and Jonas had no hatred towards her. He had no idea that there was a girl who was hopelessly in love
with him.
When she found that she was going to get married to him, she felt as if the entire universe was making
her dream come true. She was so happy and would constantly ask her grandparents if things were
happening for real.
Everything was beautiful in the novel. She had omitted everything about her bitter past and wrote only
about the happy moments she shared with Jonas, even though she knew that he was pretending to be
nice to her.
The novel was close to her heart because it was the story of her life—a life she had always dreamt of.
Melinda wrote every scene meticulously, crafting it to perfection. She wrote the story faster than she
ever had.
Melinda stared at the screen with a blank face as she couldn't summon the strength to post it online.
She saved the document and shut the laptop. She never thought that she would write a story about her
one day.
One day, when Melinda had written 10000 words, she was exhausted and her eyes were burning. She
rubbed her eyes and decided to go to the main villa.
Melinda always wrote for two hours after breakfast, after which, she would go to the main villa to spend
time with Nelson. She would sometimes have lunch in the main villa. Otherwise, she would cook
something simple and eat in her room.
Melinda enjoyed solitude and didn't prefer going out every day to have fun.
Jonas returned home early to take Melinda for a walk and take her out for dinner. But Melinda was not
in her room.
He thought that she would have gone to the main villa to be with Nelson.
Jonas glanced at the computer. Melinda had put a baby pink cover and Jonas couldn't help but smile at
how girly it was.
Before Jonas knew what he was doing, he had already opened the computer. He stared at the screen
that was asking him to enter the password. Jonas thought for a while and entered Melinda's birthday.
But it was wrong.
Jonas knitted his eyebrows and hesitantly typed his birthday. The screen opened as the password was
correct.
Fireworks were exploding in his heart and he couldn't contain the joy.
The screen unlocked to reveal the document Melinda had saved. It was Melinda's story. Jonas's
interest was piqued and he sat down to read the story. He was flattered by Melinda's description of him.
She had portrayed him like he was the best guy in the world.
Jonas was surprised to find the pure, selfless love the heroine had for the hero. He wondered if
Melinda loved him the same way.
That was when it dawned on him. Five years ago, there was a girl who followed him with her gaze.
Was that girl Melinda? Had she been in love with him since then?
A hazy image of the past formed in Jonas's mind. He was eager to seize something, but he couldn't.
He couldn't recollect the scene Melinda had written.
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