Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness

"All in all, I think us women should be more independent," Lina prattled on. "As much as men like the sense reliability that feeds their ego, they’re not as open-minded as they would have us think. When women rely on them too much, they start to treat us as if we were useless. I’m telling you, I have this one colleague..."

Melinda listened in silence as Lina kept talking about marriage. Lina had always been a self-reliant person, with a distinctly strong personality, and she had not once let her romantic adventures cloud her sensibilities.

The way she talked about it, it would seem that her marriage was going along swimmingly.

Without expecting it, Melinda managed to gain some insights from her friend’s one-sided discourse. She began to compare things from her own marriage, finding points here and there on why it all went wrong.

She spent all those five long years in a daze, so easily manipulated, as if she had no mind of her own. 'Moving forward, I must start acting independently, relying on no one but myself,' she swore it in her heart. They talked well into the midnight. It wasn’t until the Mo family sent for someone to take Melinda home that she finally bade her friend goodbye.

The days they spent on the countryside gave joy to Nelson. He wandered around the little hills and the small gardens with Leonard, with Melinda occasionally in tow.

The quiet peace of this rural place paved the way for the strain of the past few days to disappear. Without them noticing, three days had already passed since they came to the countryside.

On the fourth day, while having lunch, Melinda suggested that they returned to the city. Everyone easily agreed, and Leonard promptly disappeared into the cellar. When he emerged, he had a bottle of wine in hand, which he claimed to have made himself.

He insisted on opening it to celebrate the culmination of their retreat, but Melinda put up a fight to protest. At their age they shouldn’t be freely imbibing alcohol anymore.

"You sneaky little girl, you’ve only been back for a few days yet you never miss the chance to bully me." Although Leonard’s tone was whiny and complaining, he had a wide grin on his face.

They settled for tea instead of wine, and the lunch ended in a happy and peaceful note. Melinda and Nelson left soon after that, heading straight back to the Gu's mansion.

In recent days, Jonas’s workload had increased, and he barely had time or room for a proper break. But he received word of his wife and grandfather’s return, and on that day he left his pending paperwork unfinished on his desk and rushed back home.

The desire to apologize to Melinda had been eating at him since his wife left. It was all he could think about in the few moments he wasn’t dealing with his business.

But when they saw each other again for the first time after half a week, Jonas couldn’t muster the right words. He couldn’t say anything. He never managed to attempt a conversation with his wife, and she made no efforts to talk to him either.

Instead, Melinda spent her days looking after Nelson, making sure he was comfortable and was not pushing himself. She didn’t try to hide the fact that she was ignoring her husband, so everyone in the mansion naturally noticed.

Their interaction, or lack thereof, particularly snagged Nelson’s attention. It made him resent his grandson for how terribly he was handling the situation, and so also began to act indifferently towards Jonas.

The matters at home was increasingly aggravating Jonas. It was at this time that Emily began to frequently visit the offices of Soaring Group. She would often bring lunch or snacks for him, and would give calls at the most random hours.

It was the perfect opportunity to cozy up to him, after all. He was vulnerable, and Emily made sure to make Jonas feel her presence all the time.

One day, Melinda was coming out of Nelson’s room after bringing him tea, and she ran into Yulia in the landing by the stairs. They were both aware that Melinda’s return to the Gu family had been a constant source of hatred for Yulia.

"You know, I had hoped a little when you went back to that shabby countryside of yours that you would rightfully choose to stay there," Yulia started. "I should have known you would continue to cling to the Gu family, and for what? Taking care of Grandpa is such a lame excuse. There are a lot of people here who can do that, and we can always hire more if needed. Why don’t you just give back already and run back to where you came from?"

hair behind her ear, bracing herself for the inevitable fight. She had her sleeves rolled up from when she was preparing tea in the kitchen, exposing her creamy white arms, and the band of

in on it. She could tell at a glance that it was of excellent quality, and that it was probably rare. Which meant

see you’ve been splurging the hard-earned money of the

She had an idea this might happen. She crossed her arm over her chest to display her jade-adorned wrist better, all the while

way and that, as though admiring the band, albeit emphatically. "I hear this is quite a

deserve that jade bracelet! Give me that!" She was seething with envy, which was what Melinda aimed for when she purposely provoked her. Yulia suddenly lunged at her, making a grab for her wrist. Melinda side-stepped and avoided the screeching woman, but in doing so lost her own

clutch the bannisters halfway down, just in time to stop her further tumble downwards, which could have

the foyer upon hearing her scream, and were treated to the sight of Melinda clinging for her life, while the young woman stood at the top

you all right?" The maids quickly went up to Melinda

his room as well. He was about to take a nap when he

working in his study located at the side villa. He was so busy that when a servant knocked on

as he recounted what just happened, and Jonas was immediately on his feet, sprinting

gathered in the living room when he arrived, and the servants were shooting Yulia with odd looks. "Explain yourself, Yulia!" Nelson roared, making everyone

tears in her eyes, and she turned to look at Melinda, not quite believing what just happened.

beside Melinda and took her in his arms. She protested at first, and squirmed a little angrily, but he didn’t

like it at all, but the show had to go on. She had no intention to sacrifice herself just to teach Yulia a lesson, but she wouldn’t let go of this opportunity. Luckily, she managed

a bit more as he demanded an explanation before speaking up. "Grandpa, it’s not her

she’s done to you?" Nelson asked incredulously, interrupting Melinda. "I will have

berated her. "Listen carefully. I gave that bracelet to Melinda, it belongs to nobody but her.

victim perfectly. Nelson declared that his granddaughter would be grounded until further notice, and

and she walked into her room in a daze. What was clear to her, though, was the streak of fear that built up in her, a

the servants went back to their tasks. It was only

Jonas asked in a quiet voice. "You didn’t hit your

he eased his hold and looked down at his wife. Melinda was staring straight ahead, seeming to have not heard him. Jonas repeated his questions

said finally, with an air of cold indifference. She wriggled in her seat in an

frown, obviously questioning his actions. To his credit, he quickly understood

just had a fall, you shouldn’t overexert yourself. I’ll take you to your room. The doctor

abrupt motion caught Melinda by surprise, and she instinctively wound

after. He would press on different areas of Melinda’s legs to check her injuries, and every time she would

as he started to put away his instruments. "But your fall may have caused some trauma to your legs,

will prescribe you with a topical medicine for the bruises and some internal

The doctor paused what

could feel the heat of Jonas’s sharp gaze. Every time he pressed on the madam’s joints, all three of them winced: she with pain, her husband with alarm, and himself with an irrational

would be unnecessary since he had ascertained that the injury

got from the fall were bruises and a slight swelling in her ankles, although the doctor was a little

Jonas's demands, and quickly got out of their hair with