Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness novel Chapter 77

After lunch, Melinda had desserts and fruits with Nelson as she continued to play chess with him.

Melinda was bowled over by his enthusiasm. Leonard had taught her to play chess, and therefore, Nelson could decipher the methods and defeat her easily.

"Grandpa, I accept my defeat. We can play some other game next time."

Melinda was bad at chess and didn't stand a chance to defeat Nelson. But she was skillful in playing Go.

She could easily defeat everyone.

"Okay. You have kept me company all this while. I'm sure you'd be tired. Go to your room and rest."

Nelson looked at the chessboard and studied all the possible moves to see if Melinda had a way to escape. However, Melinda shuffled the chess pieces and stared at him. "Grandpa, it's time to take a break."

"You naughty girl! I see what you did there." Nelson chuckled and stood up to leave for his room.

Melinda picked the chess pieces, packed them neatly, and went back to the villa.

Jonas was still immersed in the story. He snapped back to his senses when he heard Mary greet Melinda. He felt guilty for peeking into her laptop without her consent, so he quickly pressed the power button, and closed it.

Melinda opened the door and walked into the bedroom. She frowned when she saw Jonas smiling sheepishly at her.

"When did you come back?"

"Just now. Something is wrong with my computer and I was wondering if I could borrow yours. I need to read a document," Jonas said.

Melinda did not suspect him. He didn't want to tell her that he had been reading her story. He knew that she would be embarrassed.

"Yeah, hold on for a second. My computer is messy. I'll give it to you after closing the tabs and saving my work."

Melinda bit her lip and looked away as she thought about the novel. She didn't want Jonas to read it. "It's okay. I'll go back to the company," Jonas said nonchalantly.

"Okay." Melinda heaved a sigh of relief.

Although Jonas and Melinda had their own plans, they didn't bother each other because of their tacit understanding.

Jonas returned to his company in a daze. His mind was filled with thoughts about the novel Melinda had written.

She had made subtle changes, twisting even the sorrow parts of life into happier ones. Jonas could feel the pain and resentment hidden behind her words. He understood that he had been emotionally abusing her. He was mad at himself for everything he had done in the past.

He had married Melinda with a heavy heart only because his grandfather had forced him to. He didn't know that Melinda had married him because she was in love with him. She had started her life at the Gu's mansion with a lot of hopes and aspirations but he had ruined everything for her.

He had been a ruthless husband but Melinda was always kind to him.

Melinda deserved the best in the world. He should have treated her like a queen but he never cared for her. She had learned to endure all the pain and humiliation.

He was a villain in the eyes of the readers.

Jonas was disturbed. He couldn't concentrate on his work because his mind was whirling with the thoughts of Melinda and how his life had changed after meeting her. He had slowly begun to realize his mistakes.

He wondered if he had gone too far.

When Jonas returned to the Gu's mansion, he remembered that Melinda was fond of the dessert of Chen's pastry shop. He immediately went there to get something for her. Mr. and Mrs. Chen were surprised to see Jonas. They wondered what he was doing here.

Jonas was sitting in the shop for a long time staring at a distance. The couple broke into a cold sweat when they remembered that Holley had a miscarriage in the same place a few days ago.

"Mr. Gu, what would you like to have?"

"No, thank you," Jonas replied tersely.

The couple knitted their eyebrows and exchanged quizzical glances.

"Well, pack one from every variety of cake and pastry,"

Jonas said.

"Err... one from every kind?"

Mrs. Chen's eyes widened with shock. All the cakes and pastries were pre-ordered and she would get into trouble if she gave one from every batch.

"Is there a problem?"

"Mr. Gu, are you looking to buy pastries for Mr. Nelson?" she asked.

"No, it's for my wife."

Mrs. Chen breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Mrs. Gu loves peach blossom shortbread. Darling, go and pack some."

Jonas sat on the chair and waited for the shortbread to arrive. Mrs. Chen also made a cup of flower tea as it would go well with the peach blossom shortbread.

Melinda was surprised to see Jonas bring shortbread from her favorite pastry shop. Jonas felt guilty to even see her face. He wanted to compensate for hurting her and shower her with everything she wanted.

Melinda felt that something was wrong. If Jonas caught her looking at something for the second time, he would make sure to get it for her the next day. All clothes and jewelry in trend would come straight to her. If she didn't pick anything, Jonas would arrange his men to deliver all the clothes of her size in varied colors to the villa.

Two days ago, Melinda told Jonas that she wanted to go for the hot spring and he took her to the resort the very next day. He apologized to her for not creating a hot spring at the Gu's mansion as it was impossible to bring spring water in their location. He also said that he had asked people to find a house where they could fix a hot spring.

Jonas was treating her like a princess and Melinda was overwhelmed by the attention and care.

Jonas was the love of her life and she loved him even if he had hurt her in the past.

She didn't care what others thought of her. She loved him and that was the only thing that mattered. She followed her heart and didn't care about the repercussions.

The wall that Melinda had built over the years, to protect herself, seemed to crumble down slowly. She wasn't conscious or uncomfortable when he openly displayed his affection for her. She felt like she was a teenager again, hopelessly in love with a man.

Jonas spared some time to go shopping with Melinda.

"Let's go to the parking lot." Melinda smiled as she interlaced her fingers with his.

She was used to being around Jonas and soon became a clingy wife. She was reluctant to leave him and Jonas didn't object. He carried all the bags and stepped into the elevator with Melinda.

Melinda followed him as she happily ate her ice cream.

Jonas placed all the bags in the back seat and turned around to look at Melinda. She was happily relishing the ice cream, oblivious to the jam that was smudged on her lips.

"Mellie, does the ice cream taste good?" Jonas asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes..." Jonas stepped forward and closed his lips against hers, swallowing the rest of her words. Melinda dropped the ice cream and wrapped her arms across his neck, drawing little circles.

Jonas deepened the kiss as their tongues danced in rhythm.

He was aroused by Melinda and couldn't control his urges.

"Mellie, let's go home," he growled lustfully.

The two of them remained silent on their way home as the air crackled with sexual tension. As soon as they arrived at the villa, Jonas carried Melinda straight to the bedroom. His expert mouth ravaged Melinda's body as they had hot, passionate sex.

Despite the intense physical activity, Jonas woke up feeling energetic. But Melinda was tired and woke up late with a smile on her face.

The weather was cold and Melinda wore a high-collared shirt. Jonas couldn't take his eyes off her even if she was covered from top to bottom. Nelson was happy to see them bond with each other and there was a drastic improvement in his health.

Emily saw that Jonas and Melinda were getting closer with every passing day. She was annoyed that all her plans had failed. It had been a long time since she had received messages from Yulia. Even if she called, Yulia wouldn't talk and immediately hang up the call.

Emily attended a party a few days ago and found out that Yulia was grounded. Nelson was afraid that she would create problems for Melinda, so he kept her home under constant surveillance.

Emily knew that Yulia was of no use anymore. Therefore, she decided to take matters in her hand.

Jonas had stopped talking to Emily as her plans were brought to light. Emily needed to do something drastic to impress Jonas.

Therefore, she wore a plain white T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She tied her hair into a tight ponytail, applied a mild coat of makeup, and slipped on a pair of white shoes. She was looking like a college student.

Emily was always extravagant but she decided to go for the innocent look to grab Jonas's attention.

She checked herself in the mirror and headed for Soaring Group. She went straight to Jonas's office. But he wasn't there. William politely informed her that Jonas was busy.

"William, is Jonas in a meeting? It's okay. I can wait."

Emily took off her glasses and plopped on the chair.

"Miss Bai, the boss is with his wife. If there's anything important, give me the message. I'll pass it to him. But if you want to wait here, I'll ask the assistant to bring you a cup of tea."

Emily's jaw dropped in shock. She couldn't believe that Jonas ignored his work to spend time with Melinda. She almost crushed her sunglasses as she was seething with rage.

Plain jealousy was written on her face as she stormed off without saying a word.

Emily angrily stopped at the corner of a coffee shop. Jonas and Melinda were sitting by the window. They looked like a happy couple in love. Emily's anger hit its peak when she saw that they were wearing similar outfits. The two of them were laughing at something as Jonas gently wiped the corners of Melinda's mouth.

They were talking about interesting things that happened in the same coffee shop, a couple of years ago when they were in college. They felt that they were destined to be together.

Jonas was surprised by how he had accidentally encountered Melinda at several places.

He was oblivious to the fact that they were Melinda's plans.

Emily walked into the coffee shop and stood in front of the couple, interrupting their conversation. Jonas and Melinda were shocked to see Emily. Melinda glared at her but Emily ignored it and looked at Jonas.

"Jonas, I went to your company but you weren't there. What are you doing here at office hours?" Emily asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Melinda frowned and looked away.

Jonas was equally annoyed. Emily had barged in, ruining their mood. He knew that Melinda hated her.

"What's the matter?"

Jonas snapped.