Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness novel Chapter 57

When Yulia got back to Alan’s place, she saw her belongings all strewn on the floor by the door. Inside, a middle-aged cleaning lady was constantly swearing as she worked.

Unable to bear any more, Yulia fled that rented apartment, weeping. She rushed back to the Gu's mansion in panic and desperation.

Naturally, Nelson knew all about the entire debacle. He was lounging on the sofa in the living room when Yulia returned, and she immediately got down on her knees before him as soon as she entered.

"Grandfather, I’ve been so wrong. Please forgive me. I promise, I’ll listen to you from now on. I won’t make stupid, childish mistakes anymore."

She wept and wailed on her grandfather’s lap, airing out all her grievances and sorrow.

Nelson only sighed. "You’d better learned your lesson. If it weren’t for Melinda, who knows how long it would have taken to expose that charlatan. Or how many more women he’d have deceived!"

It was only then that Yulia realized her brother and his wife were also in the room. She shot her grandfather a confused look. ‘What did he mean by that?’

Nelson was smiling warmly at Melinda, and explained everything, praising her every so often in between narratives.

"Grandpa, it’s all just a matter of coincidence and good luck." Melinda brushed off the compliments she was given. It was the truth.

If Jonas hadn’t mentioned that there was something wrong about Alan, she wouldn’t have dwelt on the matter and discovered the con artist’s schemes.

"Be that as it may, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve done an excellent thing! Citizens of A City have been commending your actions. You’ve brought honor to the Gu family, and I’m so proud."

Yulia felt small in the face of all the praises Melinda was getting, and she grimaced in displeasure. Then she recalled the pictures and mail that she had received.

If she put two things together, it was safe to assume that those incriminating pieces of evidence were from her brother’s wife.

"Still, Grandpa, Yulia was in no fault at all. She was the one cheated on by that bastard." Though her tone was gentle, Melinda shot a snide look at Jonas when she said the word "bastard".

"Thank you, Melinda," Yulia said quietly. She was, in fact, not feeling grateful at all, but she had to mask her bitterness and resentment from their grandfather. This much she could manage.

"Oh never mind about that. Just make sure you use your brains in the future." Melinda’s statement was followed by a heavy silence.

It was a little harsh, but she realized too late, and the atmosphere had become awkward. She felt ashamed of herself. She had meant to comfort the younger girl, but her words slipped out easily unchecked.

Yulia took great offense at Melinda’s words, but she reined in her temper. She settled with silence, lest she said something vile in reply.

"Oh please don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t trying to imply anything mean." Melinda rushed to rectify the situation, but her words got the better of her yet again. "Women meet a bunch of lying bastards all the time. You’re actually luckier than I am in that respect."

Her last remark did not escape Jonas’s notice, and he gave his wife a pointed look. At that, Melinda raised both her hands, deciding to shut up once and for all.

Yulia wasn’t paying attention to them anyway. She hung her head, and her thoughts were filled with vitriol towards Melinda.

‘She must have done it all on purpose. My reputation is ruined now. She must have planned this from the start. She’s behind all this! She couldn’t bear to see me living a happy life.’

As Yulia lowered her head awkwardly, her face was covered by her bangs. And her resentment against Melinda was also obvious. Her reputation was ruined this time.

As a vicious plan formed in her mind, Yulia raised her head and pasted an innocent smile on her face. "Melinda, thank you, really. Why don’t we go shopping one of these days? I want to buy you something to express my gratitude. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?"

Since the girl was wearing such an earnest expression, and with her invitation phrased the way it was, it would be in poor taste if Melinda refused her. She could only nod in agreement.

In truth, Melinda had long known that she would never get along well with Yulia.

The younger woman held malice towards her, so potent it was practically palpable whenever they were in the same room. Surely all that ill intent couldn’t have just magically disappeared.

If anything, Melinda was certain it only grew more each passing day. Nevertheless, as long as Yulia didn’t strike first, Melinda wouldn’t do anything either.

In the days that followed, the residents of the Gu's mansion avoided speaking of the matter with Alan. Yulia settled back in and cleaned up her room.

She also made it a habit to badger Melinda into going to the mall with her. Melinda couldn’t put it off any longer, and they finally made plans to go one day, after afternoon tea.

Melinda wore a bright pink dress, not quite fuchsia, but not a muted baby shade either. Just enough to turn people’s heads.

She paired her outfit with simple white flats, and settled for no makeup. She looked youthful and extremely pretty.

Yulia, on the other hand, wore a black body-hugging, sleeveless top that exposed her midriff, pumps, and a rather heavy makeup.

When the women stood next to each other, Yulia looked like the older one, in spite of the truth being otherwise.

When they arrived at Soaring Group’s shopping mall, Yulia made a beeline for the jewelry district, dragging Melinda behind her. They weren’t the only ones in that mall to shop.

Now that Emily’s drama had finished shooting, she had a considerable amount of time on her hands. She wanted to maximize her break, so she had asked Jonas to go shopping with her.

"Jonas," she whined as she clung to his arm. "Let’s go to the Cartier Shoppe. I have a party to attend in a couple of days and I still have no jewelry to wear."

She was wearing an immaculate white dress, and an elaborate "natural look" makeup that consisted of a lot of products and took a lot of time to apply. Her lips were tinted a bright shade of orange.

And as she was a celebrity, she also wore giant sunglasses that covered a majority of her face, yet did nothing to conceal her identity.

Add that to the fact that she was walking with a handsome and successful young entrepreneur who had undoubtedly been many a woman’s dream lover at some point in their lives.

They were recognized by the people the moment they stepped into the mall. Most of the attention fell solidly on Jonas, though. Despite that, nobody dared to approach them because of the cold, unfeeling look on his face.