"Don't you feel sad?"
Melinda couldn't restrain herself from asking, after sensing that this kind of affection was too tiring and
required a lot of patience. They could not even hold hands in public, and they needed to go somewhere
distant just for sightseeing.
"Sometimes, I feel discouraged. But as long as I can lay my eyes on him, I will feel happy. Sometimes, I
think love is a bizarre thing. Even if you are exhausted, you still want to move on and make a fresh start
while bearing a heavy burden,"
said Nina, looking a little distracted. She had thought of the anguish and hardships that came her way,
which reminded Melinda of her feelings for Jonas.
In the beginning, she had shown unrequited love for him. After five years of misery, she finally
abandoned all her principles for the word "love".
For a moment, both of them were quiet.
When Jonas walked into the ward bringing breakfast food, he got the impression that something was
wrong.
"When did you wake up?"
"I just got up. Did you buy breakfast? What have you ordered?"
Melinda drew back her thoughts and peered curiously at the brown paper bag that Jonas had carried. It
was fresh milk. Jonas considered it since she had diarrhea yesterday, so he denied her from eating
anything that could trigger another upset stomach. He also bought a lot of fresh fruits.
Shortly, Ryan returned to the ward with almost the same food items as that of Jonas. Seeing Ryan,
Nina had turned lively and full of vigor. Melinda looked at them and took a deep breath.
"Melinda, would you like to have an apple?"
Nina beamed and looked at Melinda, while Ryan went to peel the fruit in silence. Hearing the offer,
Melinda took a glance at Jonas and then looked away. Was she expecting that Jonas would cut the
apple for her? Forget it.
She seriously doubted that Jonas had no inkling on how to peel the apple.
"Sure,"
Melinda agreed. Jonas looked at Ryan in embarrassment, and Ryan painted a warm smile on his face.
Melinda hurried to comfort Jonas.
"Jonas, can you feed me later?"
Catching her pleading tone, Jonas had no other choice but to grant her request immediately. Ryan had
peeled two apples. Both of the two patients had one apple each.
Nina was a very spirited girl, and she enjoyed having long conversations with Melinda, who was also
an engaging person. The two women were so thrilled that they neglected the two men.
"So, you're a book writer. I normally like reading non-fiction novels, though I complained about the plots
every time,"
Nina said as she stuck her tongue out. But Melinda didn't mind, because most novels nowadays were
like that.
"All of my stories happened in real life. Some writers may overdo it, but they didn't revise much."
Melinda shared her experience with writing. After thinking for a while, Nina dipped her head in
agreement. She felt that numerous novels were dramatic, but they were practical.
"Melinda, let me tell you my accounts of him,"
Nina said suddenly. Melinda was a little surprised. Usually, people would not tell strangers something
private, but Nina told her directly.
At that moment, she also showed some interest.
It would just be a part of a good story if she didn't know that Ryan was married. But the reality was
always cruel.
"When I found out that he has a wife, I reached a point where I wanted to cut off his dick."
When these words came out of Nina's mouth, she was appalled. Melinda subconsciously looked to the
direction of Ryan. Seeing this, Jonas pulled a long face and blocked her sight.
Realizing what she had done, Melinda smiled shyly, and her face all flushed.
"What happened after that?"
"Then he used his dick to win me over again."
Melinda gagged on her apple after hearing those words. She coughed violently, and her face turned
red. Flustered, Ryan also choked.
Jonas patted her back, and it took a while for her to recover.
"Melinda, you are so naive."
Nina was surprised to see Melinda's face blushing. She pondered since Melinda had gotten hitched for
over five years, she should have been accustomed to such discussions.
"Nothing. Go on," Melinda said after a while.
"Okay," said Nina in a deep voice. She continued recounting her story. Melinda could tell that Nina was
an independent girl from the chain of events.
She had a well-defined character on what to love and what to hate, but she ended up falling for the
wrong person.
They shared the same interests and had a lot to talk about, but Melinda never mentioned her history
with Jonas. In her eyes, her stories were more complicated than that of Nina.
In the evening, since there were plenty of vacant rooms in the hospital, the first thing Jonas did was to
separate the two women. Though unwilling, Melinda agreed when she saw that Jonas hadn't relaxed
well.
Melinda slept a lot during the daytime, so she was a little excited during nightfall. Since Jonas had
brought her laptop from the hotel to alleviate her boredom, she took the computer and began to draft
Nina's story into a novel.
What she said about novels being about life was always true. She based most of her stories on real-life
experiences, so she gave more attention to the details.
Jonas wasn't able to take some time off after taking care of Melinda all day. He was unhappy to see
that Melinda was going to write a novel about Nina and Ryan.
"Are you that gullible to believe her?"
"Jonas, what do you mean by that?"
Melinda stopped what she was doing and looked up to him. She was not pleased at all. She liked Nina
very much, but it was evident that Jonas looked down on her.
"Don't you even consider the likelihood that she is just tricking you? Mellie, be cautious and stay away
from her,"
said Jonas. This was the foremost reason he requested a separate ward for her.
Melinda thought for a while and got what he meant. She couldn't help asking, "Jonas, are you looking
down your nose upon her status or what? You have a lot of intimate female friends. Why haven't you
asked me to steer clear of them before?
Oh, I was mistaken. You did order me to stay away from them, and you even pushed me to... Hmm..."
Jonas suddenly interrupted Melinda with a kiss.
Her words hurt Jonas so much that he didn't want to listen at all.
After the tension died down, Melinda didn't have the strength to yell at Jonas. She just randomly picked
a movie and soon fell asleep, her head resting on Jonas's shoulder.
Looking at her sleepy face, Jonas felt a little guilty thinking of what she had just said, but he could not
reverse what had transpired.
"I'm sorry, Mellie."
He realized that he had made a blunder, and he silently swore never to do it again.
The next day, the doctor dropped by to do a follow-up check-up on Melinda and found nothing serious
but gave her advice to pay attention to her diet. Different eating practices in different countries would
cause stomach discomfort.
To make matters worse, Melinda had a weak stomach.
After checking out for Melinda, they coincided with Nina and Ryan. They sat on the bench in the
hallway and started to converse about their next travel plans.
"Here is my business card. You can contact me after you return home."
Nina took out the small white card from her wallet and handed it to Melinda, who looked a bit surprised
after seeing the company name printed on bold letters.
Because of her status and line of work, Melinda had many contacts in the business scene and
recognized many people. By connecting this group with Nina's surname, she tried guessing Nina's
identity.
Nina winked at Melinda playfully. Melinda put the card away and made fun of her, saying, "I didn't
expect that my new friend is from a family owning such a big company."
Nina's family ran an international company. Although it was not as prominent as Soaring Group, it was
still one of the best companies.
They continued talking some more until Jonas appeared to finish the formalities and left with Melinda.
Thinking of what Jonas had said to her the night before, Melinda glanced around and told Nina that she
would contact her back in China.
Due to health reasons, their trip to Fiji didn't turn out into something relaxing and enjoyable. Melinda
lost her spirit, and it was a total mess. They packed up that night and flew to France the next day.
Jonas had his own house in France, so they skipped the hotel and stayed in his little castle.
Their dinner was Chinese food, which made Melinda very satisfied. To her, the most delightful thing
during travel was to have fun and eat, and the saddest thing was not to taste every local dish. Some
meals were not pleasing to Melinda's palate, especially after she had diarrhea.
Melinda had a good appetite, so she ate two bowls of rice that night.
The mood and scenery were romantic in France. While walking down the cobbled streets holding
hands, both of them could feel the dreamy atmosphere everywhere.
"Do you like it here?"
Seeing that there was always a smile in the corner of Melinda's mouth, Jonas could not help but ask.
Melinda simply nodded. She heard about this place before, but now she felt completely different after
being there in person.
When they arrived in Paris, Jonas took Melinda to see the Eiffel Tower first. Many couples would come
here to take photos and be amazed by its majestic beauty. Feeling the poetic and intimate character of
Paris, Melinda couldn't help following Jonas closely.
Feeding the birds seemed to be a regular spectacle in France. Melinda stood on the square and fed the
pigeons. Staring at many old couples walk hand in hand moved Melinda's heart.
"Jonas, the people here are so affectionate and dreamy,"
said Melinda. Sometimes romance was more of an ambiance, not necessarily between the couple, but
a cultural aspect.
Jonas stroked the back of her head and said nothing. Everyone had this impression of France.
"I'll take you to the Pantheon tomorrow,"
said Jonas. Melinda had a liking for the arts and would love to go to museums and temples rich in
history and culture. France was a country with a high aesthetic base.
The Pantheon was in the Latin Quarter of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine River. Traditionally
thought to have been designed as a temple for Roman gods, the structure's name came from the
Greek words pan, meaning "all," and theos, meaning "gods."
Seventy-two people had made significant contributions to France, and eleven of them were politicians.
The one Melinda liked most was the poet, novelist, and dramatist, Victor Hugo.
The people there called Hugo as the French Shakespeare because he translated the works of William
Shakespeare into French. Hugo's collection of poetry and novels had influenced France and the whole
world.
Melinda couldn't stop herself from recounting one specific period of France when French romance
seemed to flourish.
Hugo's connection with novelist Nottier led him to turn to Romanticism and become the leader in
the Romantic Movement.
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