Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness novel Chapter 118

The art exhibition lasted for three days. Even though it did not garner the interest of professionals, there were still a lot of people who came and visited because of Emily's popularity. The event went pretty well because of her promotion.

On the last day, Emily personally went over there, and the small venue was jam-packed with her fans.

For the occasion, she wore a lemon yellow dress, paired with white block heels. After greeting the people there, Emily went over to the reception room. Queena was already there, sitting with a smile on her face.

Emily promptly sat across from her and reached out for a cup of tea on the coffee table.

"Huge crowd out there. Looks like your works are really popular," she commented.

Today, her lips were painted in a bright red color, making her look elegant and lovely. There was a gentleness in her eyes as she brought the porcelain green cup to her mouth, taking a sip of the warm tea.

As she spoke with Queena, Emily deliberately sat in a rather reserved manner.

"That's only true because you're here," Queena countered lightly. "After I close up the exhibition, you should come back home with me and have dinner. I already told the servants to prepare something special for you."

The success of the exhibit was largely because of Emily's involvement. Because of her support, Queena naturally wanted to make it up to her.

A flash of shrewdness appeared across Emily's eyes. For a second, she appeared hesitant. After thinking for a while, she took a big breath in. "I don't think that's a good idea. From what I know, Melinda doesn't like me very much," she said.

"Nonsense. You are my guest. Besides, since when does the Gu family care about what she wants?"

Queena frowned tightly, the top of her forehead creasing slightly. Carefully, she placed her teacup back on the table. There was an aura of grace about her as she put down the cup without making a single sound.

"Ah, well... I don't want to intrude and disturb you," Emily responded.

"What are you talking about? It would be my pleasure to have you there! If it weren't for you, this exhibition wouldn't have been so successful in the first place. Don't worry about Melinda. She's just enjoying all the benefits this family has to offer and has never done anything in return."

For a brief moment, there was an look of anger on Queena's face. It was apparent that she disapproved of Jonas and Nelson's actions, and that she was deeply upset with Melinda. In her opinion, Emily was a much better person than Melinda was.

"Actually, Melinda is pretty good—"

"All right, let's stop talking about her now," Queena interrupted with a forced smile. "I'm going to head outside to check up on things. Besides, it's almost time to pack everything up."

With that, she stood up and walked out the room. As soon as she opened the door, the excited chatter of Emily's fans greeted her. All of them were waiting to see more of Emily.

There were only a few people here really to appreciate the calligraphy and paintings. Thinking about this, Queena had a strange feeling deep in her heart, but she just shrugged it off.

After everything was sorted out and neatly packed up, Queena took Emily back to the Gu's mansion. As they arrived there, Gavin subtly raised his brow in surprise.

On the other hand, Yulia was very happy to see Emily. She even volunteered to make some juice for them in the kitchen.

"Excuse me. I'll just go upstairs and change," Queena told Emily with a smile. Then, she turned to look at Gavin, saying, "She's my special guest, okay? Please take care of her."

A few minutes later, Queena came back downstairs and got something for them to eat for the time being. There were all kinds of fruits and desserts on the table. Emily quietly sat there as she ate. However, her eyes constantly glanced back at the door and stairway.

"Jonas is still in the company," Queena said, noticing the expectant look in Emily's eyes. "He'll be here when dinner's ready. Have something light to eat first."

"Ah... Thank you," Emily stammered.

Although she wasn't particularly interested in any of the desserts on the table, she still politely went ahead and took a small bite.

"Emily, have you tried the juice? I put some honey in there to make it special!"

Yulia offered, pushing her a glass. Emily took it with a smile. "Wow, this is delicious Yulia! You'll have to tell me how you made this."

Meanwhile, Mary quietly observed how Queena and Yulia acted so welcoming towards Emily. Because of this, she immediately felt worried for Melinda and went over to check up on her.

Melinda was reluctant to leave her bedroom when she had learned that Emily was at the Gu's mansion.

"Mary, please go downstairs and attend to them. I'm fine, really. I just have to revise my draft," Melinda said softly to Mary.

Seeing how concerned Mary was really moved Melinda, but she still was not willing to go downstairs. It was a known fact to her that Queena did not like her, and it was even more difficult since Emily was there as well.

After smiling faintly at Mary, Melinda quickly turned to look back at her work, her fingers steadily clacking across the keyboard as she typed.

Noticing how absorbed she was with her work, Mary said nothing more and went back downstairs. The important thing was that at least Melinda knew what was happening.

In contrast, the atmosphere downstairs was quite lively. The three women were watching a show on the television, and were happily laughing among themselves. From the way things were going, Queena looked like she was having a great time—this was what Emily and Yulia had deliberately planned all along.

It was around this time that Jonas pulled up at the driveway. As soon as he got out of his car, he heard laughter from inside the mansion. Walking in, he was surprised to see Emily there.

"Jonas, you're back!"

Yulia greeted him as soon as she saw Jonas. Hearing this, Queena and Emily turned to look at him as well.

Jonas cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward at how they were all looking at him. Walking up to them, he looked around and frowned slightly. "Where's Mellie?" he asked.

"In her room," Queena answered, almost bitterly, "she hasn't come out even though she knows that we have a guest right now."

Then, she looked at Jonas, as if she was asking him to do something about her.

"I'm sure Melinda has her reasons. She might not be feeling well,"

Emily interjected politely. It had just the effect she was looking for—Queena felt even more upset over Melinda and more empathetic towards Emily.

After all, Emily was invited here as her guest. Naturally she wanted her family to come and entertain Emily as well.

"I doubt that's true. Even I don't see her all day sometimes. If she was only as sensible as you are, Aunt Queena wouldn't have to feel like this towards her!"

Yulia whispered to Emily. However, she made sure that it was loud enough for Queena to hear. The two were definitely working hard to earn Queena's favor for Emily over Melinda.

With this, Queena really couldn't help but compare Melinda and Emily in her heart.

"I'll go upstairs to check up on her,"

Jonas said, casting a quick sidelong glance at Yulia. There was a slightly menacing look in his eye that made Yulia shrink back in her seat instinctively.

Meanwhile, Emily just nodded and forced a smile.

As soon as Jonas turned around to leave, Queena let out a helpless sigh.

"I'm sorry for all of this, Emily. There's always so much trouble here. As you can see, you're the most sensible person in this place right now."

Meanwhile, Jonas was walking upstairs, loosening the tie around his neck. As he slowly walked to the bedroom door, he could hear Melinda quietly typing on her keyboard.

Every time she managed to type a new sentence, she would instantly erase it and start from the beginning. The voices of the three women downstairs were loud enough for her to hear indistinctly, and so it was difficult for her to put her focus on her work.

Jonas had walked inside the bedroom quietly, and had been looking over her shoulder for a while now. "What are you writing?"

Jonas asked with a smile. Melinda let out a startled gasp and turned around to look at him. After seeing that it was only him, she let out a relieved breath and shut the document immediately.

"It's nothing."

Opening her browser, she tried to look for something else to busy herself with. Coincidentally, she saw a post about Emily's movie, making her even more upset.

"You've been writing for a whole afternoon. Maybe it's time to get some rest. Mom's back home now. Why don't you come downstairs and have a chat with her?"

Jonas suggested as he took off his suit jacket. Seeing this, Melinda stood up and went to the closet to get him a fresh set of clothes.

Intentionally, she brought him a beige knitted shirt paired with black slacks. It matched the beige sweater she was wearing, and made them look like they were in couple's clothing.

Thinking of how Emily would react when she saw them wearing similar clothes, Melinda felt a bit better. On the other hand, Jonas didn't think about it too much and put the clothes on without a word.

Afterwards, they went downstairs together. The three people in the living room had been chatting nonstop since they got there. There was a constant smile on Queena's face, and Yulia was more than happy to make sure that the atmosphere was light and joyful.

"Oh, good. You've finally decided to come out,"

Queena said indifferently. The atmosphere suddenly turned cold with Melinda's arrival. At this time, Yulia and Emily stopped talking and laughing, watching quietly in the sidelines.

It was obvious how much Queena disliked Melinda as she raised her head and looked at her provocatively.

"She is just busy doing something," Jonas defended.

"Even busier than Emily, a famous movie star? What could she have possibly been so busy with?"

At this point, Queena's tone was getting angrier and angrier.

"Aunt Queena, Melinda is a writer. Her art is a lot more complicated and wonderful than mine," Emily chimed in.

It was hard to tell whether Emily's words were actual praise or filled with sarcasm. Nevertheless, Melinda grew even more uncomfortable, and could do nothing but stand by quietly.

No matter what she did, Melinda seemed to be all alone. No matter what these people said or did, they were never able to understand what she was going through.

"Even so, I don't think it's necessary for her to stay in her room every day. Besides, many artists go out from time to time to look for inspiration,"

Yulia said, pouting. When she saw Jonas turned his eyes to her again, she immediately covered her mouth with her hand. She was really afraid of displeasing her brother.

"I'm sorry. Maybe this wasn't the best time for me to come here,"

Emily muttered, a sad regretful smile on her face. Seeing this, Queena felt even more upset and stood up from her seat, staring at Melinda. On the other hand, Jonas stood in front of Melinda protectively.

"Mom, isn't it time for dinner yet?"

Jonas asked, suddenly changing the topic. Caught off guard, the words Queena was supposed to say got caught in her mouth. Meanwhile, Melinda stood quietly aside and looked at Jonas in confusion.

"Let's go out for a walk," he whispered in Melinda's ear. "Being inside all day long isn't good for you, you know?"

The sudden voice beside her made her blush faintly. Seeing her rosy cheeks, Jonas smiled down dotingly at her.