Chapter 29 Destruction

The Gu's mansion lit up brightly as evening fell. The bustling servants seemed to indicate that this was a luxurious family.

Nelson sat alone on the sofa, with his head slightly drooping. He looked at the direction of the front door, as if waiting for Melinda to return.

"Oh dear."

Sighing, Nelson stood up and reached for his crutch, and left. He didn’t know what to expect, but when he came to this old age, he became very childish.

It seemed strange that Jonas returned home today instead of staying over at the company.

Although he didn’t like Melinda, since they used to be a couple living together, Jonas experienced a strange feeling when he stepped inside their bedroom. He just couldn’t explain what it was.

The next morning, when Jonas showed up at the table, he nearly triggered another world war. Nelson, upon seeing him, grew furious.

Queena perceived a headache coming. Her son and her father-in-law seldom agreed on anything, particularly about Melinda.

"Grandpa, I don’t understand why you stick up for that woman. She had an affair with another man while still married to my brother. Now that they have divorced, isn’t it great?"

Yulia said with a dissatisfied air. The more Nelson thought well of Melinda, the further hatred Yulia harbored against her.

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

This time, the two of them were on the same side. Nelson was always defending Melinda. As for Jonas, he thought it was a matter of dignity as a man. Yesterday in the coffee shop, he realized that this matter was a misunderstanding.

Yulia felt very aggrieved. She thought at least to deal with the matter related to Melinda, Jonas would help her.

Nelson gave Jonas a sidelong glance, and somehow the atmosphere around the table was more harmonious.

Nelson liked Melinda a lot. As the wife of Jonas, she should have a lot of valuables. However, she seldom used those things and just stored them all in the bedroom.

After the meal, Yulia sneaked inside Melinda’s room. When she walked into the space where Melinda used to stay, she saw a lot of things she wanted. She took away all the unopened items and destroyed the rest.

She tore, in particular, Melinda’s clothes, making them almost look like rags.

Jonas forgot his watch in the bedroom so he had to go back and get it, and simultaneously saw the scene. He frowned and his eyes turned cold with anger.

Yulia hesitated for a moment and instantly tuck something behind her back, as if she was hiding something.

"Jonas."

"What are you doing here?"

Staring at the mess on the floor, he figured out once and for all what was wrong. Melinda’s belongings were fewer than before, and now he could see the reason.

The walked-in closet had been left open with a few clothes left.

"Melinda doesn’t need these old garments. I can tear them apart and ask the servants to turn them into a mop,"

Yulia said through clenched teeth. 'How could she possess all these things? She’s a nobody, she doesn’t deserve anything at all!' she thought.

To disgrace Melinda, she brazenly destroyed all personal items associated with her.

"That’s enough. Don’t make grandpa unhappy."

"Jonas, are you siding with her?"

Yulia didn’t think so. She presumed maybe she got it wrong, or perhaps Jonas was just joking and she didn’t get it because he delivered it so straight. Her eyes widened, and Jonas, who still wore an icy face, silently replied that he wasn’t teasing.

"Yulia, I don’t want to repeat myself."

Jonas had always been a man of dignity and calm determination. Now he stood there quietly in a black suit, looking more despotic than he actually was.

Although Yulia was an illegitimate daughter, the Gu family had a reputable status, so she boasted of many things that other people couldn’t have. She had been living a very lavish lifestyle all her life.

She was someone who didn’t know how to earn money, and only learned how to be extravagant. Most times, she showed off her incompetence, and Jonas found it distasteful.

"These things belonged to Melinda, so despite everything, she alone could sort those out. Use them as a mop? You sound ridiculous."

"Jonas, please be man enough. Melinda betrayed your trust and cheated on you, but you still make excuses for her. You must be insane."

Yulia seemed to have a shameless disregard for her actions just now. She suspected that there was something wrong with her brother, so she spoke what was in her mind and heart.

"Yulia, have I let you live too comfortably these days?"

Every word Yulia said crushed the sense of dignity in Jonas, something that he valued most. This was a mere disagreement created by someone on purpose, but got regarded as true.

There was no change in his expression, but the coldness in his eyes was enough to make Yulia shiver. She recalled what she had spoken, and her face turned pale in an instant.

‘Damn it!’ She forgot that the person standing before her was her brother, a diabolic man.

"Yulia, know your place. Do nothing that makes little sense. And don’t overstep my boundaries. In my eyes, you know I have no affection in this family."

Jonas was not fierce, but his words terrified Yulia. Everyone could tell that he was a man who thought that on

e’s best interests were of utmost importance.

Family devotion, especially hers, was a broad comedy to Jonas.

Yulia didn’t dare to contradict him. She was so humiliated that she fled the room in a hurry. A sneer lifted the corners of Jonas’s mouth, and he then walked in the bedroom, but didn’t find his watch.

Yulia had ruined his costly wristwatch. She thought it belonged to Melinda.

Nelson used to stroll around the garden after dinner, and the old butler, Gavin, accompanied him. Back then, they used to chat and laugh, but now they were notably silent.

After Melinda went away, Nelson felt enraged, then became disappointed and followed by feelings of guilt, which led to depression. He differed totally from the previous old, naughty man.

Jonas pulled his car over near the parterre. A hint of suspicion flashed through Nelson’s eyes when he saw it.

"Mr. Jonas is still here?"

"He came back again. He must have forgotten something," somebody inside the greenhouse answered. The car immediately lit up and they heard the car beep after its doors unlocked. Jonas appeared holding a bunch of keys jangled together.

Jonas recognized the drastic change in his grandfather, but there was nothing he could do about it. Both of them, who were stubborn and close-minded, could not change their mindsets or behaviors with ease.

"When are you going to take back my granddaughter-in-law?"

Nelson asked. In recent days, they got along well with each other. Nelson thought that if he conceded to Jonas this time, maybe his grandson would apologize too.

But things couldn’t be the same as he expected.

"I will take her back."

Jonas conveyed a vague answer. Anyone could be his 'granddaughter-in-law' now that the two had broken up. Although Nelson acted incredulous about the legal separation, they carried out the divorce.

"You know I’m talking about Mellie. Stop twisting my words around."

Now annoyed, Nelson suddenly felt winded. He had cared for Jonas since he was a tiny kid, and he understood exactly what was in Jonas’s mind now.

Jonas had been avoiding the question, but he also knew that this was not the proper way to disregard this issue, so he went home. This time, however, he preferred to go back to the company straight away.

"Grandpa, you know what I mean. I have parted from Melinda. We’ve already signed the divorce agreement. If you don’t believe me, I’ll call your private lawyer and let him look at it for you."

According to the law, the court would distribute marital property equally in a divorce proceeding, and Melinda took off with nothing. It reduced the proceedings to a great extent, which also caused the legal separation to take effect quickly.

Nelson may be old, but he was still sensible. He recognized it was true, but he was not ready to give up.

"Grandpa, I have divorced her. She has no reason to come back. She has no more responsibilities to carry out."

In Jonas’s viewpoint, his relationship with Melinda was solely about power and obligation.

"If you didn’t go far, she would still notice me."

Melinda had always devoted her time and attention to him. The reason she hadn’t shown up for so long was because of Jonas, and it was the complete truth.

If Melinda needed a fresh start, she had to keep herself away from many people including Jonas, the guy who always brought her pain, as well as Nelson who had always cared for her.

Since she left by this time, if she had further communication with Nelson, Jonas would even suspect that she was after the money.

"Grandpa, if she really loves you, she will come to see you regardless of the circumstances."

Nelson flew into a rage, but he sensed he couldn’t win this argument. His grandson was his source of pride, but he was also giving him anxiety.

"Jonas, you need to realize that you represent the image of Soaring Group, which is not appropriate for too much scandal. Settle down, find a dutiful wife, and steer clear of the previous girls you screwed up with. So, your wife must be Melinda."

Resisting the anger in his heart, Nelson intended to have a sincere, frank, and intimate talk with Jonas. He hoped that this could persuade him to reconsider from the perspective of the company’s interests.

The awareness that Jonas prioritized the people’s interests, foremost, had stretched out to Nelson. There was no other way, so he thought of such a clumsy reason.

"Jonas, I didn’t care how you acted in the past, but it’s different now. Look at the significant impact all those gossip about you has had on our Soaring Group. It never happened when Melinda was here,"

Nelson said rationally with an emotional appeal. In reality, such was not the case. The PR department could quickly release a piece of false information that Jonas and Melinda loved each other to prevent the media from reporting the unpleasant news.

Now that they had split, Melinda hadn’t appeared in public for a long time. With what Jonas had done over the past few years, everyone assumed that Melinda would lose her prestige.

Jonas didn’t answer back, as if he was considering what Nelson had said. Nelson’s face lit up in joy and he thought that his approach worked. His somber expression finally melted into a slow smile.