Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness novel Chapter 42

Silence prevailed in the room. No one dared to utter a word. Melinda closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm down. She picked up the crutch from the floor and handed it to Nelson.

"Grandpa, let's eat."

Melinda smiled and served the food. Nelson smiled sadly and reluctantly took a bite of the food. Melinda wasn't bothered that Jonas had left her to see Emily.

Her nonchalance surprised everyone in the room. Melinda was behaving as if Jonas was a stranger to her.

Queena was shocked by her reaction. Melinda always felt dejected when Jonas ignored her and left to see another woman.

Queena had thought that Melinda and Jonas were getting along well but she was wrong. Nothing had changed.

"Mellie, I'm sorry."

Nelson felt that Melinda was pretending to be okay when she was hurting inside. He wouldn't have felt bad if she had thrown a tantrum at everyone for the way Jonas treated her. But she restrained her emotions and kept everything to herself. She tolerated everything without complaining.

"Grandpa, I'm fine." Melinda smiled reassuringly.

Melinda and Jonas were pretending to get along well only for personal gains. They weren't living their lives like a married couple, so it didn't matter to her about what Jonas did or who he was with.

Nelson's heart was heavy and he had lost his appetite. He was just playing with his food without eating. Queena was conscious of her health, so she hardly ate anything. Yulia couldn't eat in front of Melinda. She nibbled on her food awkwardly. But Melinda was ravenous. She gobbled the food, devouring the taste, and even finished half a bowl of soup.

When Melinda stood up to leave for her room, Nelson called, "Mellie, come to my study after dinner. We haven't seen each other in a long time and there are a lot of things that I need to talk to you about." Nelson smiled and went to his study.

Melinda felt bad to see Nelson losing his mind over her relationship with Jonas. He was old and needed to live in peace rather than worrying about them.

The sweet scent of sandal wafted in Nelson's study. The walls were covered with paintings that Jonas had drawn when he was young.

His desk was filled with articles and photo frames that Melinda had gifted him. Nelson cleared the desk with his trembling hands and plopped on the chair. He wore his reading glasses that made his eyes look bigger.

Melinda felt that Nelson was getting old. Although he was mentally strong, his body didn't seem to cooperate.

"Come here, Mellie." Nelson smiled at Melinda who was leaning against the doorframe.

She nodded and walked in as Nelson pulled out an old photo album from the drawer.

Nelson fondly caressed the album and opened it. Melinda saw the picture of a chubby baby, blowing bubbles.

He had plump cheeks, rosy lips, and was incredibly cute.

"That is Jonas," Nelson said, trailing his fingers across the photograph. "This picture was taken when he was little. He was an adorable baby."

Nelson smiled fondly as his thoughts flitted to the good old days when Jonas was a happy kid. Although Melinda had guessed who it was, she was surprised to see the pictures.

The photo album was a record of Jonas's childhood. His pictures were arranged in chronological order. Melinda realized that Jonas's smile had gradually faded as he grew up.

She saw a girl who was with Jonas in almost all the pictures. The girl was cute and Jonas seemed to smile when she was with him. Melinda recognized the familiar face at once.

"Is this Emily?" Melinda asked when she saw a picture of Jonas and Emily in their teens.

Emily's face had not changed one bit, except that she looked childish and innocent in the pictures.

"Yeah. You know how Jonas is, don't you? Only a few people understand him and want to be friends with him. Jonas had a lonely childhood. Even I was busy managing the company and didn't have the time to look after him. But Emily was always with him. She was his best friend and never left him alone," Nelson said.

Although Nelson was never like Emily, he was grateful to her for being with his grandson at all times. Otherwise, Jonas would have been engulfed by loneliness.

Jonas and Emily grew up together. He was always grumpy and rude to everyone including Nelson but smiled when Emily was around. Being with her made him happy.

"Mellie, no one can replace you. You're the perfect match for Jonas. Emily..."

Nelson paused and blew out a loud breath. Melinda saw agitation in his deep eyes. She felt that there were a lot of things that she didn't know.

"Since Emily had an accident, Jonas has gone to see his friend for old times' sake, and I hope you'll understand that. Please don't give up on my grandson. Only you have the right to be his wife, I promise."

Melinda could see the fear in Nelson's eyes. She knew that he was afraid of losing her. But neither Melinda nor Jonas could understand why he always considered Melinda as his granddaughter-in-law. He couldn't accept anyone else. Perhaps it was because of the friendship the two families shared. But Melinda felt that there something she didn't know.

"Grandpa, I'm not angry. I understand him. You need to stop worrying about us," Melinda said, smiling reassuringly.

She knew that Jonas loved Emily and it was normal for him to panic. She could understand Jonas because she had been liking him too. She had been crazy about Jonas and would worry even if he caught a cold.