Chapter 17 It Was Over

"Since you have moved all your stuff here, do you plan to rent that house?" Kent asked. He was surprised to hear that Melinda wanted to rent an apartment when she had a home of her own.

"No, that's alright, I'll just leave it there for the time being."

Jonas knew the address to that house, so she wanted to change her living quarters and find a new place. Though, at the back of her mind, she was aware that there wasn't anywhere under the sun where she could hide from Jonas, if he wanted to find her.

"I have been too much trouble for you of late. I need to make it up to you. When I settle down, I'll treat you to a meal," Melinda stated while grateful.

Kent had always stood by her and always been there for her, when she needed support. However, there were some feelings that were cropping up and she didn't think she wanted to reciprocate them.

Melinda felt more comfortable living alone. She needed to be independent and to learn not to rely on others. Soon her life would be back to normal.

Nelson returned back to the Gu's mansion a week later. As soon as he arrived, he summoned Jonas to come home immediately.

"What is this that I have been hearing? If you don't give me an explanation today, I will..." Nelson reprimanded Jonas while still holding onto his crutch, but he was interrupted by the incessant ringing of a phone. Jonas was literally saved by the bell, but he instantly had a deep frown and his face became stiff when he saw the name of the caller.

"It's Mellie, answer it and put her on speaker phone."

Nelson had sharp eyes. Immediately he saw that it was Melinda who was calling. He ordered Jonas to put her on loud speaker so he could hear their conversation. He knew something was up but no one was telling him the truth. Jonas had no choice but to do as the old man ordered.

"Wow. So this phone actually works, my call has finally gone through this time and been picked." Melinda's surprised voice rang through the room. Hearing her statement, Nelson glared at Jonas, expressing his obvious disappointment at his grandson's behavior.

Jonas's eyes turned cold. He even wished he could use his cold voice to freeze Melinda.

"Why are you looking for me?"

"Jonas, what exactly do you want me to do to make you sign the divorce papers? What on earth do you want? Even Emily wants you to give me the divorce, right? Besides, the law will still grant the divorce as long as we have lived apart for more than two years," Melinda said, sounding agitated.

Meanwhile, Nelson's eyes seemed to grow bigger and widen with every sentence she said. They were as big as saucers filled with shock and anger. "I will not let you two get a divorce, neither are you going to live separately!"

"Grandpa?" cried Melinda in shock at the old man's declaration.

"Mellie, don't be afraid, I will help you and deal with my grandson accordingly!"

Nelson was always gentle and kind to Melinda, but he wasn't as gentle and loving to his own grandson, Jonas. He nearly never showed him any form of affection.

The phone was soon hung up before Melinda could react. At the Gu's mansion, the two looked at each other coldly.

"You don't need to go to work tomorrow. You have to sort this mess you have created with Melinda, to begin with, organize for a date with her. There must only be two of you in your marriage and make sure that you take her home tomorrow night after your date. It's not proper for a couple to live separately," ordered Nelson.

Yulia, who had been listening in on their conversation clenched her teeth in anger. She didn't understand why Nelson protected Melinda this much.

Queena didn't like Melinda, but she couldn't refute the sense in Nelson's words. Even though Jonas was unwilling to do the things Nelson demanded, he still nodded, "I got it."

"Jon, everything I do is always for your own good. I hope you can understand that." Since Jonas wasn't resisting his advice or acting tough, Nelson softened his tone and patted Jonas on the shoulder, a sign of good faith as he sighed.

Melinda was still confused. Before she could figure out what was going on, she received a call from Nelson. He wanted to see her tomorrow. She couldn't refuse since he didn't even give her time to argue before disconnecting the call.

Following the address given by Nelson, Jonas arrived at the community and received a lot of furtive glances from strangers who were mainly middle-aged women. It was an ordinary community, so they were not used to celebrities and the rich and famous coming to the place, especially one as handsome as Jonas.

The middle-aged women stopped dancing and began to talk about Jonas.

Such open disregard for his privacy made Jonas upset and his face turned colder.

When Melinda opened the door, Jonas's cold face like a stone statue greeted her, which made her very unhappy.

"Why do you live in a such a despicable place?" Jonas looked around and was not impressed by what he saw. He concluded that the ceiling was low considering he was relatively tall, and the inside was too narrow for his frame.

"Mr. Gu, I didn't invite you here, did I?"

Leaning against the fridge, Melinda said coldly while looking at Jonas. She took a bottle of drink out of the fridge and threw it to Jonas, not caring whether he would catch it or not, secretly hoping that it would hit his cold face.

Jonas had never seen her like this before. This new side of hers made him very intrigued, as if he had opened the door to a new world, but then he immediately changed his mind and pulled a long face. 'This must be a new strategy she is using,' he thought.

"Let's go."

"What? Where are we going?"

"On a date." Hearing him spit those words with venom through his gritted teeth, Melinda opened her eyes wide and wanted to burst into laughter, regardless of her image.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Jonas asked seeming disinterested in the whole thing. Thinking of Nelson's speech and his tone last night coupled with Jonas's accusation, she almost could make a guess on what had happened.

However, the thought of a date between the two of them disgusted her to the core. She could not imagine how it would go. In the end, the so-called date turned into a venting session for Jonas to express how unhappy he was with the whole situation as he drove them around the whole day. Melinda, on the other hand, simply tuned off his grumpy face and concentrated on enjoying the beautiful scenery of A City.

That day, the communication between them was zero except at the beginning when they were bick

ering.

When it was time for dinner, Jonas drove directly back to the Gu's mansion. The two of them walked into the main house following each other in a single file. Seeing that they had arrived together, Nelson was very happy. He greeted Melinda with great concern while berating Jonas as usual.

"That was very daring of you to move out before, now look at you coming back so soon." When Queena saw that her son was being scolded by Nelson, her cheeks turned red; her blood boiled with anger, and she couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks towards Melinda.

Melinda had been used to this kind of overt insults and cold attitudes for years. She smiled lightly and clenched her fists trying to hold her temper in check.

Every self-respecting had a limit to how much insults they could take. Being humiliated like this regularly, Melinda always got angry, but she would hold back and try not to give them any reaction.

"Didn't you say that you would break up with my son? Now you are threatening my son using his grandfather. Shame on you Melinda!" Queena said sarcastically.

Nelson gave her a warning look trying to come to Melinda's rescue. He just wanted to comfort her. However, he saw that Melinda had a serious and stubborn look on her face.

"Mrs. Gu, I don't have time to waste badgering your son. I have already signed a divorce agreement and given it to your son. But your son hasn't signed it yet. You better persuade him to sign it as soon as possible rather than blaming me for his hard headiness."

Melinda looked domineering, which was not her usual demeanor. It was as if she had gone through a metamorphosis and she was a totally different person.

Queena was very angry when she heard Melinda's words. Jonas was her pride and joy, and now Melinda was disparaging him. She had obviously grown too big for her own shoes.

"Do you think my son would hold onto a narrow-minded woman who is from a poor family like you? Don't flatter yourself."

"Mrs. Gu, were you brought up to be so aggressive? Well, I'm too narrow-minded to understand your behavior," Melinda stated cheek in tongue. She hated it when people spoke ill of her family. There was nothing wrong with her family just because they were poor.

"Come on, stop arguing. You two should get along well with each other. You must be tired after playing all day. Let's go and have dinner before it gets cold."

Seeing the two of them going at each other and cursing each other, Nelson hurried to stop them. He was also a little irritated, wondering whatever happened to this family that they all acted like such barbarians.

But it was destined that no one would have dinner at that time. Queena left in a huff and went straight back to her room, while Jonas also followed his mother's example and left for his bedroom. Being aware of the strange atmosphere in the room, Yulia slipped away faster than anyone else.

"Grandpa, I'm sorry. I..." Melinda stuttered apologetically, not sure what to say since she didn't really regret her outburst and the outcome. Nelson sighed, and then comforted her, "It's all right. Let's eat. You are the only one here with me anyway."

Melinda had no appetite, but she still ate some food with Nelson before retreating back to their shared room. When she went back, she saw Jonas's clothes on the bed and heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.

Looking at the room, she was a little surprised to find that it seemed familiar and also strange at the same time. She hesitated, not sure how to tackle their looming sleeping arrangement while still standing at the door. At last, she took a deep breath and walked in. At the same time, Jonas also stepped out of the bathroom.

"Have you finished giving Grandpa your honey coated words?"

A mocking smile emerged at the corner of Jonas's mouth. Hearing this statement, Melinda snapped back as she glared at him, her eyes burning with anger. "What do you mean, Jonas?"

"What do I mean? Isn't it interesting to threaten me using Grandpa?"

Jonas casually leaned against the bed. From outside the scene looked romantic, but the tense atmosphere emphasized by the cold aura emanating from him was a total disconnect from what was expected of such a scene.

"Jonas, I came back with you because I don't want Grandpa to be sad. If you don't like it, I can leave right now," stated an angry Melinda.

She realized that she had made a big mistake to indulge them and come back today. But if she didn't come back, Nelson would be very disappointed. She didn't know how she ended up in such a dilemma.

"Leave? So that you can get an opportunity to tell Grandpa that I gave you the cold shoulder?"

Jonas was deeply convinced that Melinda always had ulterior motives. His thoughts were reinforced by the way Nelson always stood up for Melinda.

"Jonas, why do you always assume that my actions are always malicious?" Looking at the man she had fallen in love with for five years, she felt like she was now looking at a stranger.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not Grandpa," Jonas said coldly, but he tried to hide the fact that she had affected him for a moment, making him doubt his long-standing attitude.

She felt as if she was losing her marbles and would soon go crazy. She didn't want to quarrel with Jonas anymore. She did the only thing she thought would get her out of the messy situation—she took out another divorce agreement from her bag and signed for both of them.

"I don't need your trust. If you are a man, hurry up and sign these papers. It won't take you more than a few seconds." She stared at Jonas right in the eye. She was shocked that she could maintain the staring match with Jonas without backing down and cowering away.

"Jonas, what are you waiting for?"

Melinda asked, since Jonas made no indication of moving at all.

"I just want to see to make sure that you haven't inserted a new trap in the conditions for the divorce," Jonas suddenly said with a cold smile.

Melinda's heart had already been hardened by his constant accusations; however, this was a new blow. She couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Jonas looked through it casually and signed his name without hesitation. There were two copies of the divorce agreement. Picking up one of them, Melinda leaned against the wall and slid to the ground as she lost all strength on her legs, not believing her eyes. Finally, it was over.

She would use this divorce agreement to bury the darkest five years of her life although Melinda had tried to hold onto her love for Jonas stubbornly.