"Who let this woman in?" Nelson demanded furiously as he stepped into the room. "Nurse! Take this
woman out of this room, and make sure she never enters again!"
His shouts woke Melinda, and she slowly roused to the picture of something that seemed to have come
out of a melodrama.
"What do you have in your hands? How dare you touch Soaring Group’s documents so easily?! Do you
think you’re a part of the company or something?!"
Nelson was still berating Emily, glaring back and forth between the woman and his grandson. He was
clearly disappointed, and beyond furious.
He was still the head of the family, as well as the family business, damn it! This woman had some
nerve to get her hands on such important files; no one outside of the company should have even laid
eyes on those papers.
Jonas was looking on helplessly, but kept his silence. Emily, meanwhile, had a horrified expression,
and the documents shook in the air as her hands trembled nervously. Melinda rose and walked over to
the bed, then calmly took the papers from Emily and placed it on a nearby table. Then she went to
Nelson and helped the old man towards one of the seats.
"Didn’t I tell you it was nothing to worry about?" she chided Nelson softly. "You shouldn’t have come all
this way." The old man only grunted.
A nurse came close and took hold of Emily’s elbow, urging her to stand and walk out the door. The
actress turned to Jonas with a pleading look. "Jonas."
But he was looking at his wife, and nobody was really paying attention to Emily. Well except for the
nurse who was now pulling at her. And Nelson.
"What do you want?" he shouted at her. "Do you want me to call security to get you out of here? You’d
better get out of my sight while I’m still being patient!"
Emily’s face flushed in mortification. She was a celebrity, after all. If they weren’t in the VIP section of
the hospital, there would no doubt be a crowd taking photos or videos right now, immortalizing her
moment of humiliation for the world to see.
Nelson’s reputation reached far and wide, and this hospital was caught among his vast network of
connections. The nurse, along with its many employees, dared not displease him.
As the door closed behind their unwanted visitor, Nelson snorted to express his displeasure. Jonas
noticed, but it was his wife he addressed. "You must be tired after everything that happened. Why don’t
you return with Grandpa and take a good rest? I’ll be all right. The nurses will take care of me."
Melinda opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Nelson interjected. Apparently the old
man was full of energy at the moment.
"Indeed, you must be exhausted. That’s why I had Mary bring some of your necessities here. You’d be
clean and comfortable as you take care of Jonas. It’s far too inconvenient for you to keep going back
and forth, not to mention tiresome as well."
The wily patriarch would never pass up an opportunity to get these two alone so they could spent some
time with each other without interruption, doing things that couples were supposed to do.
There was a knock on the door just as he had finished speaking, and Mary entered carrying a bag that
contained Melinda’s clothes. She also had with her what looked to be a picnic basket, which was filled
with food.
"You often forget the basics whenever you’re busy." Mary smiled as she handed them to Melinda.
"Please take good care of yourself before you take care of Mr. Gu."
"Thank you, Mary." Melinda laughed softly, because the servant wasn’t wrong. Nelson left soon after
that, and with Gavin and Mary with him, the young couple didn’t worry much about their grandfather.
In truth, Melinda was starving, and as soon as they were alone again she propped open one of the food
packages Mary had prepared. There were many of her favorite dishes and snacks, and among them
was a container of shrimps sautéed in butter, which was her favorite.
She plopped on the chair by the hospital bed, and started to merrily chow down her shrimp. Seeing her
blissful face as she chewed, Jonas scoffed and turned his back on her.
"What is it?" Melinda mumbled over a mouthful of food. "Do you want to eat some, too?" Jonas turned
to shoot his wife a look of mock disgust. "Too bad you can’t have any," Melinda taunted, and bit into
another forkful of shrimp.
Jonas wanted to devour something, all right, but it wasn’t the shrimp he wanted to sink his teeth into.
The memory of their episode in the cinema flashed briefly before his eyes, and whatever small fire
burned in his chest quickly dissolved.
He remembered her reaction to his advances. He sighed wearily, and resigned himself to watching
Melinda eat without any consideration to his state.
Jonas was confined in the hospital for three days. Even though he was discharged, the doctor advised
for continuous medication.
Melinda had considerably thinned over this period, because, as expected, she looked after Jonas at the
cost of her own well-being.
Queena greeted them as they arrived at the mansion, and her heart ached when she saw her
daughter-in-law’s gaunt features. She scolded Jonas as they stepped into the living room, telling him
off for not taking proper care of his wife.
"But Mom," Jonas said good-naturedly, "I was the patient." Besides, even though he was bedridden, he
had still taken care of many business matters, and Melinda had assisted him greatly.
In the days that followed, husband and wife would often be cooped up in Jonas's office, poring over
company documents. Pretty soon they were spending most of their time in Soaring Group offices
instead of at home.
Queena was loathing to wear Melinda further in this manner, but her daughter-in-law was undeniably
competent in dealing with the matter.
Additionally, she could see that the relationship between her son and his wife had greatly mellowed out,
and she was sure that spending more time alone with each other had played a big hand in that.
In any case, Melinda’s work was flexible when it came to time and location anyway, so Queena let the
young couple be.
Eventually, though, the older madam grew lonely, and she began to coax Melinda to go out shopping
with her, or dine at restaurants.
This was one of those days, and they were in the living room this time, with Melinda huddled over at
the couch with a couple of the company’s folders.
"Mom," Jonas was telling his mother. "Don’t pester her so much. You’ll find it very difficult to make her
go outdoors in the winter, I’m telling you."
At the couch, Melinda nodded eagerly in agreement. Even now she was swaddled in a makeshift
blanket burrito. All she really wanted to do during winter was sleep all day at home. "Oh, all right,"
Queena huffed. "But she’s better off here than in the office. And you need to come home more often,
too, even if only for dinners! I will have William supervise you."
Queena was sure that if Melinda wasn’t around, Emily would not pass up the opportunity to pounce at
her son, and that last bit of instruction was her way of making sure Emily didn’t get any chances. She
beamed then, quite proud of her quick thinking. Jonas guessed her thoughts so easily, and he
immediately agreed, chuckling softly to himself.
Queena kept on with her mock lamentations. "Oh, goodness. Mellie has been taking good care of you
for such a long time. She deserves a long, languid break. Like, say, a weekend at a hot spring resort in
the mountains." She gave her son a pointed look as she let her words drift off, and Jonas quickly took
the hint. He cleared his throat and masked his own eagerness at the idea.
"All right, all right," he said impatiently as he rolled his eyes. "Is there anything else you wanted, Mom?
Because if there isn’t, then I’d like to go upstairs now and get some rest."
"Is that the tone you should be using when you talk to your Mom? It’s really true what they say, that
sons are never grateful or cute!"
Queena walked over and sat beside Melinda. She threw her hands around the younger woman,
blanket and all, and squeezed. "Having a daughter is so much better."
"Mom," Melinda said as she returned the embrace. "I’ll be your darling child from now on. Forget about
such an ungrateful son." Then she deliberately shot her husband an irritated look.
Jonas laughed heartily at their display, and shook his head as he walked upstairs to their bedroom.
He was mentally going over the plans for the hot spring even as he loosened his tie, and in a matter of
moments, he was firing rapid instructions at William over the phone.
As dawn broke over the weekend, Melinda woke up to a light shake from Jonas. Her busy days and
exhausted nights had done their part in dampening her mood, and she was irritated at having her sleep
disturbed.
Still half-awake, she slapped at Jonas, hitting him square in the face. He froze and stared at his wife
with a stunned expression, and the room grew quiet. Then a shout of incredulous indignation:
"Melinda!"
Melinda pushed his hand away, picked up a pillow, and rolled over. "So noisy," she muttered.
"Hey," Jonas tried again, tapping her back lightly this time. "Aren’t you coming with me outside today?"
"No." Her answer was firm and immediate, even in her half-asleep state. Nothing was more important
than sleep. Melinda tossed in the bed again, this time pulling the covers over her head.
Jonas gritted his teeth. He was fighting the urge to shake and squeeze his wife awake.
In the end, he picked her up, still partially covered by the blankets, and carried her over to the
bathroom. He plopped her on the counter, wet a towel, and rubbed her face.
Melinda huffed at being awakened so rudely, but sullenly gave in to his ministrations.
Then Jonas picked up her toothbrush and applied some toothpaste on it, and when it seemed like he
was even going to brush her teeth, she grabbed it from his grip and ushered him out of the bathroom.
She was dressed and ready to go in a matter of minutes.
The hot spring resort that they were heading to was owned by Soaring Group. They had the option to
get to the establishment by car, but Jonas took his mother’s insistence and chose to hike the trails.
They had barely gone halfway when Melinda clutched at his arm and begged him to stop. She was
hunched over her knees, and her breaths came in gasps.
"I can’t," she panted. She felt like her legs were about to give up beneath her. "I can’t walk anymore."
Her husband, on the other hand, was relaxed and didn’t even seem winded by their trek so far. He
smirked at Melinda, and she took great pains to stand straight and cross her arms, and then narrowed
her eyes at him.
He turned his back to her, bent on one knee, and then reached both arms behind him. "Come on." He
was going to give her a piggy back ride all the way to the top.
Melinda hopped on cheerfully. She wasn’t going to carry on sulking at her own expense. He offered her
convenience, and she was going to take it.
They kept an amicable silence as they continued on their way, and after a while Melinda felt her nose
prickle with an impulse to cry. This moment right here was what she had always wanted.
It was a moment she had fantasized countless times in the past, when she had been hopeful and
constantly yearning for Jonas's affections.
Now that she was living it, however, much had happened between them, and she was no longer that
girl.
A twig snapped, and she was roused from her morose thoughts. She looked around and saw that there
were other people making their way up. Some were on the trail, while others were trudging along the
mountainside.
Melinda took a deep breath, inhaling the faint scent of Jonas's cologne, and felt a degree of peace.
She settled her head on the nook of her husband’s shoulder, closed her eyes, and lulled to sleep by the
rhythmic motion of Jonas’s steady pace.
The next time she woke up, she was staring at the hotel resort’s low ceiling. She blinked twice, and
then turned at the sound of her husband’s voice.
"You were in such a deep sleep. I could have sold you off somewhere and you wouldn’t have woken to
save your life."
"You wouldn’t dare sell me off," Melinda grumbled as she got off the bed. Jonas was in front of a
desktop computer, playing some online game.
It was such a rare sight, and she hurried over to watch but he quickly switched it off. "Let’s go soak in
the hot spring," he said softly, smiling up at her.
Robes and towels had been prepared, and it was obvious to Melinda that Jonas came here a lot. There
was a quality of certainty in his step as he directed her towards the spring pool.
They enjoyed their time together, and let the warm waters soothe away the tensions of the past few
hectic days.
They spent the entire weekend up there, and they returned to the residence with a calm and peaceful
atmosphere between them.
The days went by quickly and without incident. Melinda was starting to settle into the life of a beloved
Gu family member. Yulia still held animosity towards her, of course, and she returned it.
But the younger woman had no choice. In order to keep her position in the household, she needed to
curry the younger madam’s favor. And Melinda let her be.
There was no point in stirring the pot, after all, unless necessary. Her days in the Gu's mansion grew
lazier and lazier, and now she rarely ever went outside.
Until one day, when she received a call from Kent. "Won’t you get out of your humongous mansion and
get a breath of city air?" he joked. He was back in the city.
"I thought you were stationed elsewhere?" Melinda asked, quite happy at this unexpected surprise.
"Did you miss your hometown so much that you’re back so soon?" They had tied up the loose ends on
their project collaboration, and their communication hadn’t been as often as it was in the past.
Their relationship had somewhat evolved, as well, as they worked together. They were more like
brother and sister now.
"As a matter of fact, I’m back due to orders from the top. They’ve reassigned me back here." He
explained that he had been promoted to editor-in-chief of their company’s branch in A city.
Apparently, since he was born and raised here, his superiors deemed him the ideal candidate since he
was well-versed in the locale’s customs and conditions more than anyone else.
It was an opportunity that worked out for the best, so he had readily agreed, and packed up his wife
and their belongings, and now he was back.
"Congratulations! It feels like just the blink of an eye had passed and now you’re editor-in-chief!"
Melinda knew he was more than capable to carry the position.
They chatted a bit more to catch each other up with their own life updates. Before ending the call, they
settled for an appointment to discuss the publishing of their project.
It was a big deal, after all, and in her excitement, Melinda decided to drive to the publishing house that
very day.
It was a rather prominent institution in A City, and when she arrived, she was immediately guided to the
reception room. Kent had no doubt instructed the receptionist and his assistant.
"The chief is still in a meeting, but he will be here soon," the assistant told Melinda. "Can I offer you a
drink, Ms. Mo?"
"Warm water would be fine, thank you."
The assistant gave her a big, enthusiastic smile, and rushed out of the room to get her water.
He was a young man with eager eyes, and as soon as Kent walked in and introduced him, Melinda
knew that the assistant was one of her fans.
"Warm water would be fine, thank you."
The assistant gave her a big, enthusiastic smile, and rushed out of the room to get her water.
He was a young man with eager eyes, and as soon as Kent walked in and introduced him, Melinda
knew that the assistant was one of her fans.
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