Melinda finally came back to her senses. Her elbow was bruised and there was a sharp pain on her
head. She looked at Jonas who was glaring at her.
Melinda rubbed her head and fumbled around to find something to support her. Her fingers accidentally
touched the photo frame on the bedside. She squinted her eyes to see what it was. Anger rose from
the pit of her stomach as she slammed it on the floor.
The shattering sound of the frame woke Jonas.
He sat upright on the bed and looked at Melinda. His face became flustered when he realized what he
had done.
"Mellie, I..."
Melinda rubbed her forehead and glanced at the photo frame. She bent down and slowly picked the
fragments of the glass. All the happiness and joy had broken along with the photo frame.
She trailed her fingers across the photo, her vacant eyes stared at the smiling faces. She mercilessly
ripped the photo apart.
Jonas's heart ached. He wanted to stop Melinda but he didn't know what to do.
"Mellie... err... Are you okay?"
Jonas asked worriedly. He was mad at himself for losing control. He fisted his palm into a ball until his
knuckles turned white. He wanted to punch the wall with his bare hands until he broke his bones. Jonas
knelt next to Melinda and whispered soothing words but nothing seemed to work. He didn't know how
to pacify her.
"Wow! Trying to embrace me with the hand you slapped me with. Classic move," Melinda scoffed.
She raked her eyes across the bedroom and saw the mess. Her head began to hurt. Jonas looked like
a little kid who had done some mischief, anticipating the punishment with bated breath.
"I want to rest."
Melinda was exhausted both physically and mentally. She wanted to forget everything and sleep
peacefully.
She trudged towards the bed and hugged herself to sleep.
She had been busy the entire day, managing the book launch. She fell asleep in no time. Her tense
shoulders relaxed and her back rose and fell in rhythm with her breathing.
Jonas walked to the bed and sat next to her. Melinda's hair was splayed across her face, covering the
bruise on her forehead. Jonas's heart sank when he saw the frown on her forehead.
His eyes roamed across Melinda's face as if he was looking at a rare treasure. Jonas's jaw tightened
when his gaze fell on the wound on Melinda's forehead. He slowly lifted the quilt and checked the injury
on her elbow.
The angry red bruise made him hate himself. He quietly left the bedroom to look for the medical kit.
Of course, Jonas had no idea where it was. Thankfully, Mary told him. He returned to the bedroom,
carefully cleaned Melinda's wound, and then sank on the bed.
The guilt was consuming Jonas and he couldn't stop blaming himself. He didn't have the strength to
face her. He stroked the side of her face and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Jonas packed the medical kit and left the villa in a hurry.
He had handled work affairs in advance to attend Melinda's book launch event.
However, things didn't work according to plan.
Everyone at Soaring Group seemed relaxed without Jonas around. They were happily chatting and
laughing. The glass door of the office flew open and Jonas entered. The office fell silent as everyone
froze in shock.
"Boss... You... you're back," William muttered.
Jonas stormed into the office. The employees stared at each other, wondering what Jonas was doing
here.
"What happened to our boss?"
"He seems to be in a bad mood."
"We have to safeguard ourselves from his anger for one more day. All of you be careful and don't do
anything that would piss him off,"
William said helplessly. They had to be careful and avoid making Jonas angry. Otherwise, everyone
would fall prey to his rage.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Just when they were discussing, William's phone blared with the call from the CEO office. The room fell
silent as everyone looked at William pitifully.
William picked up the phone and swallowed loudly.
"Boss," he croaked.
"William, bring all the documents in."
A shiver ran through William's spine when he heard Jonas's cold voice. He didn't know the documents
that Jonas was referring to but he didn't dare to ask him about it.
"Take care."
"Take care." Everyone stepped forward and patted William's shoulder.
William hung up the call and racked his brains to find out the documents that needed immediate
attention. He stacked all the documents that needed to be finished within three days and gave it to
Jonas.
"Are you kidding me? Is this all we have to do?"
Jonas grunted as he looked at the pile of documents before him. William flinched at Jonas's tone. He
couldn't understand what he had done wrong and brought the documents that needed to be handled
the next week.
Jonas's desk was soon overflowing with the files from different departments. The contract passed
through smoothly but its efficiency had declined.
The image of Melinda smashing the photo frame kept flashing in Jonas's mind. He couldn't concentrate
on anything.
He had returned to the company to immerse himself in work but nothing seemed to fill the void in his
heart. William informed the employees that Jonas looked depressed.
Jonas's mind was a mess. He couldn't handle even a day's work as his mind kept wandering to
Melinda.
He was frustrated that he couldn't concentrate on work. "Damn it!" Jonas grunted and shoved the
documents to the floor. William heard the noise and immediately stood up.
The employees looked at each other but no one dared to enter Jonas's room to check if he was okay.
William anxiously walked near the door to see if he needed anything but decided against it.
"William," Jonas bellowed.
Everyone chuckled at William's timid face. William groaned and walked to Jonas's office.
He took a deep breath, knocked on the door, and entered the CEO office.
"Boss."
"Ask someone to tidy it," Jonas said, pointing at the mess on the floor.
He slumped on the chair and closed his eyes. He wanted to abandon work and go back to Melinda but
he was terrified to face her.
William immediately called his assistant to sort the files. The assistant arranged everything and placed
the files and papers on the desk. But Jonas glanced at it and looked away, he wasn't in the mood to
deal with work.
William was worried about Jonas but he didn't want to upset him by asking what had happened. He
decided to call the Gu's mansion and check if something was bothering Jonas.
Jonas was lost in thought and didn't notice the phone vibrating on the desk.
Disappointment settled in the pit of his stomach when he looked at the caller ID. He thought that
Melinda had called him but the call was from an unknown number
"Hello."
Jonas muttered as he picked the call without checking the number.
"Jonas, are you okay?"
Emily asked concernedly. She had received a call from Yulia who informed her about the argument
between Jonas and Melinda. Yulia even told her that she heard the noise of Melinda smashing
something.
"What do you want?" Jonas asked flatly.
"Jonas, are you in a bad mood? Do you want to meet and talk about it? You'll feel better if you share
your feelings with someone,"
Emily said empathetically.
Jonas couldn't comprehend his emotions. He was stressed and his body was limp. He couldn't
understand his feelings for Melinda.
Jonas had failed to understand Melinda in the past and every revelation about her surprised him. He
was sometimes suffocated by his thoughts and feelings. But he knew one thing for sure: Talking with
Emily was a bad idea.
"No, thanks," he mumbled.
Things were already messed up. He didn't want to talk with Emily and intensify Melinda's doubts.
He didn't make a mistake and didn't want to seem like a bad guy before Melinda's eyes.
"All right, you can call me if you need anything, okay?" Emily said compassionately.
Jonas hung up the phone without answering and angrily threw it away. He stood up and walked to the
French window that was festooned with green plants. He glanced at the traffic and sighed.
Jonas involuntarily plucked a leaf. His hollow eyes stared at the thick veins, running across the green
leaf.
After a while, he threw the leaf away. Jonas picked his phone and car keys and left the office. He was
disturbed and staying at the office seemed pointless. He wanted to go home and spend time with
Melinda.
Although he had fought with Melinda, he could find peace only around her—it was torture.
On his way home, Jonas decided what he needed to say to pacify Melinda. He kept telling himself that
he needed to control his emotions.
"Mellie, how's your wound?" Jonas asked as soon as he entered the villa. "Let me apply the ointment
for you."
Melinda was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and her hair was ointment. Jonas couldn't see the wounds.
"Mary, bring a glass of milk at nine. I'm going to my room."
Melinda ignored Jonas and walked to her room. Jonas felt dejected but he wasn't ready to give up. He
followed Melinda to the bedroom but she slammed the door on his face.
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