Chapter 9 Indulgence

"Why don't you want to arrange someone else? Should I not look after you?"

Yulia's face had turned red with rage. Melinda treated her like a servant, and now she was helping a servant to defeat her. What else was she capable of doing?

"You are doing all this only to win grandfather's heart. Moreover, you said that yourself. They're your words, not mine. I'm still young and I can take care of myself. I'd rather die, than get help from you." Melinda's words annoyed Yulia and she was shaking with fury. She couldn't suppress her anger anymore.

"Shame on you, Melinda!" Yulia bellowed.

She quickly shut her mouth when she realized what she had done. Her good reputation that she had worked hard to build would crumble in an instant, if her grandfather found out that she had fought with Melinda. Yulia felt that Melinda had provoked her on purpose.

Melinda glanced at Yulia who was staring at her with undisguised hatred.

"Well, that's your problem. I'm not ashamed of myself. Don't you dare yell at me again! I'm not a cripple. I can take care of myself," Melinda said.

Yulia glared at her before she turned her heels and walked away. She didn't want to argue with her anymore.

Melinda had a peaceful stay at the Gu's mansion as Yulia was in her limits. It had been a couple of days since she had seen Jonas. Although Melinda was a bit disappointed, she was more determined than ever to divorce him.

It was dinner time. Melinda had been staying in the room all day, so she decided to go down for dinner. Nelson was there and he praised Yulia for taking care of Melinda.

"Grandpa, I'm sorry for making you worry about me." Melinda smiled apologetically. In the entire Gu family, it was only Nelson who genuinely cared for her.

"Silly girl, we're family and you're like my granddaughter. You don't have to apologize for anything," Nelson said, as if his words had a hidden meaning. Melinda was smart enough to grasp it, so she just smiled without uttering a word.

Jonas was a stubborn man. He wouldn't change his mind easily even if Nelson tried to restrain him.

No one dared to say anything about Melinda as Nelson was around. But Jonas refused to come back and have dinner with his family. Nelson lamented about it for a long time and finally went back to his room after dinner.

"You know what? I admire you for having the courage to stay back after what has happened. You've somehow managed to stop my brother from coming home. He has gone shopping with Emily,"

Since Nelson had gone back to his room, Yulia tried provoking her. But Melinda shrugged casually and looked at her. "So, you agree that your brother is a cheater?"

"My brother and Emily are meant to be together. You are the shameless bitch that has come to ruin his life.

You and my brother have been married for five years. Have you guys ever gone shopping together? No, because my brother fucking hates you. Even the wedding ring was customized by my grandfather. Melinda, you are just a pathetic woman. So stop sassing around," Yulia said, smirking at her. She was trying to provoke her but Melinda was unfazed by her hurtful words.

If Yulia had said the same thing a couple of years ago, Melinda would have been heartbroken. But now, she had made up her mind to divorce Jonas. She didn't care about what Jonas did or who he was with.

"Look, I don't care about what your brother is up to. Whether you like me or not, I'm still your sister-in-law and you've gotten no choice but to respect me. Moreover, everyone knows that you're the illegitimate child and no one gives a shit about what you say. Yulia, I've warned you to stay away from me. Stop embarrassing yourself." Melinda patted Yulia's head and went upstairs.

Despite Melinda's calm tone, Yulia couldn't help but shudder at her words.

Yulia's eyes followed Melinda as she walked to her room. Once Melinda was out of sight, Yulia cursed her under her breath. She couldn't stand her.

But Melinda had underestimated Yulia. She had thought that Yulia wouldn't do anything about it.

Not long after Melinda went upstairs, there was a tumultuous uproar from the hall downstairs. Melinda frowned. She quickly slipped her coat on her shoulders and went down.

Many people had gathered in the hall. Almost all the servants were present. Yulia was standing in the middle of the crowd as her fiery eyes stared at one of the servants.

"Tell me, where did you hide my bracelet? Do you know how expensive it is?" Yulia roared. Melinda knitted her eyebrows and stepped forward to see who she was talking to. It was the nanny. She was shaking her head fiercely as tears streamed down her face.

"What happened?" Melinda asked but no one answered her.

Melinda had no authority in the family, so her presence made no difference.

But the butler walked up to her and said, "Miss Yulia's bracelet was lost. She says that the nanny has taken it."

"Is there any evidence to prove that the nanny has taken her bracelet?" Melinda asked. The butler shook his head. Although there was no evidence to support Yulia's statement, the servants wouldn't dare to speak against her. Moreover, Jonas wasn't home and Yulia had used his absence to her favor.

"Grandpa has gone to bed. You can ask Gavin to search for the bracelet later." Melinda was worried th

at Nelson would be disturbed by the commotion.

"You don't have to pretend like you care. I know that the nanny works for you. If I don't deal with her now, you'll send her off tomorrow. How will I find my bracelet?" Yulia muttered.

The servants knew that Melinda and Yulia's never ending fight, so they weren't surprised to see them glare at each other.

"Mrs. Gu, I didn't take it," the nanny said. Melinda had always been kind to her and the nanny felt guilty as Melinda had to listen to Yulia's accusations because of her.

"If you didn't take it, then did my bracelet just disappear? No one has walked into my room other than you."

Yulia was stating the fact. She and the nanny had been taking care of Melinda and the nanny had walked into her room many times.

"Gavin, what happened?" Jonas asked as he walked in. Melinda frowned when she heard his voice and went back to her room.

The servants quickly dispersed when they saw Jonas. Yulia explained everything to him as she exaggerated the parts that made it seem like Melinda was behind all of this.

"Gavin, investigate this matter and see where her bracelet is," Jonas instructed.

Yulia remained quiet as she cast a nasty look at the nanny.

The nanny was tired of the repeated humiliation and despised Yulia.

Jonas rubbed his eyebrows. He had been leaving home early and returning late to avoid Melinda. His work was draining all his energy and Emily had been testing his patience. She had become clingy and whiny, which annoyed Jonas. His life was completely messed up.

Although Jonas liked Emily and hated Melinda for marrying him for his wealth, he couldn't sign the divorce papers.

He was irritated by the expectant look on Melinda's face. He wasn't ready to divorce her yet.

The bustling hall finally became silent. The crystal chandelier was emitting a soft glow on Jonas's face, which made him look mysterious.

Jonas slumped on the sofa but quickly jumped up when he felt something hard poke his back. He knitted his eyebrows and looked at the crook of the sofa. He saw something shiny.

He bent forward and took a close look at it. It was a bracelet.

Jonas rolled his eyes, picked the bracelet, and went to Yulia's room. The room was empty as Yulia had gone partying. She was depressed and needed some distraction.

Jonas placed the bracelet on Yulia's dressing table and walked out.

The next day, the butler began to search for the bracelet everywhere. When he went to Yulia's room he found a bracelet lying on the dressing table.

Yulia gritted her teeth. The vein on her forehead popped out.

"You fucking scumbag! You've secretly put the bracelet back on my dresser, haven't you?" Yulia asked, pointing her finger at the nanny.

The nanny was glad to have escaped from the blame, but she was shocked to see Yulia accusing her again.

"Miss Yulia, I neither took your bracelet nor secretly placed it back on your dresser." The nanny had lost her patience this time.

Melinda blew out a loud breath. She thought that Yulia would put an end to this matter after finding the bracelet, but she was going in circles. Yulia didn't want others to think that she had accused an innocent woman. Therefore, she tried to plot a scene and blame everything on the nanny.

"Bitch, stop lying. Was it your idea or has someone asked you to do it?" Yulia asked

Everyone turned to look at Melinda who was leaning against the wall with a small smile on her face.

Melinda's nonchalance enraged Yulia. The nanny was sick of Yulia's behavior. She had put up with all the humiliation only because Melinda had been kind to her. But she wasn't ready to endure her torture anymore. So she quickly stepped forward and pushed Yulia away.

Everyone gasped in shock. They were stunned to see the change in the nanny's attitude. The nanny slapped Yulia until she was satisfied.

Melinda's face broke into a happy grin as she watched the nanny beat Melinda. She didn't try stopping her. She couldn't help but feel proud of the nanny.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You are just the illegitimate daughter of the Gu family. I don't have to listen to you anymore. I won't serve you anymore because I fucking quit," the nanny growled in anger and stormed out of the hall.

Melinda smiled at the nanny and secretly gave her a thumbs up.

Yulia was seething with rage. She turned her head to look at Melinda. "You are responsible for all this. It was you who instigated her to steal my bracelet and now you've ordered her to beat me up. What else are you going to do? You fucking bitch!"

Yulia always became furious when someone called her the daughter of the mistress or an illegitimate child.

She threw a string of expletives at Melinda. Everyone was staring at her with shock but she didn't care. Her mind was clouded with rage and she wanted to hurt Melinda.

"Stop it, Yulia. She didn't steal your bracelet. It was in the sofa and I put it back on your dresser last night," Jonas snapped. It was weekend and Jonas wanted to get a good rest. But Yulia had created a scene early in the morning and woken him up.

"Jonas..." Yulia trailed off as her cheeks flustered with embarrassment. She didn't know what to say.

'Ugh, you're incredibly stupid!'

Melinda rolled her eyes and went back to her room.