Jonas had been distracted and restless, which made him inefficient at work. This brought trouble for
William but he didn't dare to tell Jonas that something was wrong. William was worried about the
company. He was struggling hard to make things right.
The last stop for Melinda's promotion was A City's library. Many people from the publishing company
had come to attend the promotion. Melinda's popularity elevated and she managed to win the hearts of
many people.
The final stop was the most exciting place of all, so Melinda had saved the best for the last. People had
lined up in a queue to get Melinda's signed copy of the books and the editors gave the orders in
person. The assistant was happy to see that Melinda had received a lot of gifts from fans.
Melinda's hand became sore as she had been signing for two hours straight. Her right hand became
jelly, so Melinda decided to take a break. She wished that she was ambidextrous; that way, she could
switch between her hands to sign the copies.
"You've lost a lot of weight," the editor said.
"Will you allow me to take rest then?" Melinda asked, touching her hollow cheek.
She decided to start eating healthy, nutritious food after going home. Melinda's editor wasn't as worried
as she used to be. She saw that Melinda was mentally sound and felt that was more important. She
didn't want Melinda to have a mental breakdown as writing was a stressful job.
"You need to rest. Take a break today and remember to protect your hands. You've got to sign ten
thousand copies in a couple of days," the editor said nonchalantly.
Melinda's books became popular on the Internet. The books on online shopping platforms soon ran out
of copies as the demand for her books rose steadily. The publishing house had expedited the printing
of the second batch.
Melinda couldn't help but groan when she heard that she had to sign another bunch of books. She
rubbed her right wrist and thought that she needed to take care of it. Only then would she be able to
sign the copies.
Once the promotion and signing of the books were over, the publishing company arranged a car to
send her home. She didn't inform anyone that she would be coming back and everyone was surprised
by her return.
They were unprepared.
Jonas was in the middle of an important meeting. As soon as he received the news of Melinda's arrival,
he left the meeting halfway to see her. Aron made use of this opportunity to point out Jonas's
inefficiency and unprofessionalism to the shareholders.
Nelson was happy to see Melinda. He was worried that she had lost a lot weight and became tanned.
"It must have been a tiring journey. I'll ask the servant to make your favorite dishes tonight." He smiled.
Nelson's concern made Melinda feel at home. She felt good to be with him after traveling all over the
country. Melinda told Nelson about the trip and all the exciting things she had encountered. After talking
to Nelson, Melinda went to her room to unpack. Although Melinda had taken just two bags with her, she
returned with more bags that were brimming with gifts and goodies from her fans.
Melinda had already informed Gavin to customize a cabinet to hoard the gifts and letters. It took an
hour for her to sort everything.
She took pictures of the gifts and posted on Weibo to express her gratitude to her fans. She posted a
long message thanking her fans for their undying love and support. Melinda also informed them that
she had returned home safe and sound.
Her post started to flood with comments and reposts. The fans' love and respect for Melinda grew
multifold when they saw her protect and cherish the gifts.
When Jonas returned home, he went straight to Melinda's bedroom. He saw her checking her phone
with a faint smile on her lips. His heart skipped a beat and he felt happy to see her smile after a long
time.
He leaned against the doorframe and continued to stare at Melinda. When Melinda looked up, she saw
Jonas looking at her. Their eyes locked and seemed to have a conversation of their own accord.
Jonas cleared his throat. "Mellie."
His voice was soft and tender revealing his feelings for her. He wanted to sweep her into a tight
embrace and tell how his life was empty without her, how much he had missed her, and how his eyes
had been searching for her.
Melinda thought that she would see Jonas only at night. His sudden visit made her weak in her knees.
The vulnerability in his tranquil eyes scared her.
She thought that she had gotten over him and that she would be unaffected by his presence. But she
had overestimated herself. The feelings that she had tried hard to avoid came gushing out the moment
she saw his handsome face.
"Mellie, I missed you so much. I've been thinking about us..."
"I'm going to take a shower." Melinda cut Jonas off before he could complete his words.
She ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and leaned against it. She shut her ears with her hands as
she didn't want to fall for his sweet words again. Melinda looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was
pale and her heart was drumming wildly in her chest.
"Melinda, don't be too naive to believe his words," she whispered.
She warned herself not to look at Jonas's deep eyes. She was afraid that she would be lost in the
endless abyss.
Melinda splashed cold water to her face. She closed her eyes, loving the feel of the water trailing down
her cheeks. When Melinda opened her eyes, she realized that she had forgotten to bring her clothes to
change.
She didn't dare to step out of the bathroom and check if Jonas was outside or not. Melinda knew that
there were bath towels in the cabinet, so she decided to wrap herself in a towel and walk out. They had
seen each other's bodies in the past and it didn't seem like a bad idea.
Melinda's cheeks turned red as the thought of it made her blush.
The dense fumes from the hot water made her drowsy. Melinda was exhausted by the book tour and
the warm water seemed to relax her muscles. She closed her eyes as her body felt light.
Melinda didn't know how long she had been inside the bathroom. Jonas was patiently waiting for her to
return and looked at the gifts Melinda's fans had sent her. He became worried when he realized that
Melinda was inside the bathroom for a long time.
"Mellie, have you finished taking a bath?"
Jonas asked anxiously. But Melinda didn't respond. She had fallen asleep in the bathtub and suddenly
woke up. Her skin broke into goosebumps as the water had turned cold. She slowly opened her eyes
and frowned when she heard Jonas calling her.
Melinda quickly stepped out of the bathtub but she tripped down and hurt her knees. An angry, red
bruise had formed on her tender skin.
She wrapped herself in a towel and limped out of the bathroom. Jonas immediately ran towards
Melinda and held her.
Melinda yelped in shock and wrapped her arms around Jonas's neck. Her face turned red as she was
naked and the only thing covering her body was the thin bath towel.
"What are you doing? Put me down," Melinda said coldly.
She didn't dare to move as she didn't want the towel to slip off from her body. Jonas lifted Melinda in
his arms and carried her to the bed.
"How did you get hurt?"
Jonas asked. He thought that Melinda might have twisted her ankle. He checked her leg and found that
her knees were hurt.
"You change your clothes while I go downstairs to get the medical kit."
Jonas took a brand-new pair of clothes from the closet and placed it on the bed. He had bought the
clothes for Melinda and was waiting for a chance to make her wear them.
Melinda stared at the doorway in shock. She wanted to ask Jonas if he knew where the kit was. But
she remained quiet as she thought that Mary would help him out.
After Melinda changed her clothes, Jonas returned with the medical kit. He carefully applied ointment
on her wound as if she were a fragile doll.
Dinner was usually served at the main villa. But when Jonas informed Nelson that Melinda was hurt,
everyone gathered at the small villa to eat.
"Mellie, you need to eat more. You look weak."
Nelson loaded Melinda's bowl with food. Melinda smiled at the bowl, brimming with food. She ate
everything without complaining.
Nelson was happy to have Melinda back. He felt that Melinda brought life to the villa. Without her,
Nelson had a lonely dinner, staring at Jonas awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
Jonas's phone rang. A frown lined on his forehead when he saw the caller ID.
"Excuse me, I have to answer the phone."
He stood up and went to a corner where no one could hear him. Jonas wanted to hang up the call as
soon as he saw the number but he didn't want to feed Nelson's suspicions.
"Jonas, are you free today? I'm near your company. Do you want to have dinner together?"
Emily's voice was loud enough to reverberate through the receiver. Fortunately, Jonas was far from the
dining table. Otherwise, Nelson and Melinda would have found that it was Emily.
"I'm home. Don't contact me anymore,"
Jonas said coldly. The smile on Emily's face was wiped off instantly. She remembered Yulia telling her
that Melinda had returned.
Emily hated that Jonas became distant the moment Melinda returned. Her hatred for Melinda
intensified.
"Sorry for disturbing you,"
Emily mumbled sadly. Jonas hung up the call immediately.
He was frustrated that he couldn't have dinner at peace. A few minutes later, Jonas's phone rang
again. It was a call from the company. The shareholders were holding an important meeting and they
wanted Jonas to return immediately.
William was left with no choice but to call Jonas. The shareholders took their share of dividends every
month, but they always looked for a chance to create trouble.
William knew that they were calling Jonas on purpose. But he had to call Jonas anyway, as they would
make a fuss if he didn't return.
"Won't you let us have dinner in peace? Just go to the company if you have something to deal with,"
Nelson grunted as he wiped his mouth with a tissue. Melinda's eyes were glued to her food bowl. She
pretended like she didn't hear anything. Yulia ate in silence without uttering a word.
"Grandpa, Mellie, I'm sorry. There's an important meeting at the company and I have to go. Enjoy your
meal."
Jonas grabbed a coat from the clothes rack, slipped it on his shoulders, and went out with the car keys.
The shareholders held the meeting to discuss the company's recent issues.
When Jonas returned to the company, there was no one in the CEO office, except for William. The
meeting was scheduled to commence in ten minutes and Jonas didn't have enough time to read the
papers thoroughly. He roughly skimmed through the documents and got ready.
"Mr. Gu, I think the general manager might cause trouble,"
William said, rubbing his temples as he could do nothing about it. Jonas had been negligent lately. His
carelessness harmed the success and profit of the business.
"Well, if there is nothing else, you can go back home. I will deal with everything."
William was happy to see Jonas back to his old, energetic self. But he didn't know that it was because
of Melinda's return.
The company had been dealing with a new problem of labor strike. The disputes were unsettled and
they couldn't come up with an effective solution. Aron had been rejecting Jonas's proposals on various
pretexts.
The board of directors was attacking Jonas for his inability to solve the problem and make constructive
decisions.
"This is a serious matter and I want the cooperation of the heads. Let me start by listening to your
opinions,"
Jonas said, glancing at the people. The room fell silent as no one could come up with a solution.
"Why do you want to hear our opinions? You have always made decisions on your own, haven't you?
We just have to abide by it without questioning you,"
Aron scoffed. The shareholders nodded in support. After Jonas came to power, their right to speech
and decision-making were gradually taken away.
Although Jonas's decisions were beneficial for the company, it still made people unhappy.
They considered Jonas as a tyrant. Aron's words encouraged the shareholders and they agreed with
him.
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