Yulia was in her bedroom. The large French windows were open, making the pink curtains billow in the cool breeze. Her silver mobile phone shone in the night almost as brilliantly as her diamond earrings.
"Why did you give up the chance of being the spokesperson? Without this opportunity, you'll have one less excuse to approach my brother."
There was a trace of dissatisfaction in her voice. She grabbed the fluttering gauze curtain with one hand. For a moment, Yulia imagined this to be Melinda. How she wished she could tear it apart into pieces.
"I have my reasons why I did what I did."
Thinking of the way Jonas looked at her today, Emily knew that she did the right thing. If she made Jonas get into a serious fight with Nelson and failed to get the spokesman, it would be a huge loss.
After all, Yulia was raised in the ivory tower, and she was only capable to connive at naive little tricks. Sometimes, the best way to move forward was to take a step back.
"But Emily... We are partners!"
"I know. Don't worry, I have a plan, and it involves you telling me everything that Melinda does at home. You have to do this. Otherwise it won't work."
Emily looked at the photo frame beside her which held a falsified photo of her and Jonas. There was a look in Emily's eyes that was inherently possessive.
It was as if she was in a raging battle, and the promised reward was Jonas.
"You want me to spy on Melinda?"
Yulia asked incredulously, covering her mouth as she looked vigilantly out the window. "I don't even live in the same villa with her," she continued in a lower voice, feeling annoyed in her heart.
"I just want you to keep an eye on her. Even if you don't live together, can't you figure out a way? On the right balcony at the third floor of the main villa, you can see their villa from there."
From the way she spoke, it was obvious that Emily knew the Gu's mansion better than Yulia. Although it was quite surprising, Yulia didn't seem to think too much about it. She then unwittingly went to the room, and sure enough found that what Emily had said was true.
"Actually, you don't have to keep an eye on Melinda all the time," Emily said a bit excitedly. She heard over the phone how Yulia went out to the balcony, and was feeling thrilled that her plans were starting to take form. "I just want you to inform me right away whenever she goes out."
"Got it," Yulia said quietly.
After hanging up the phone, Yulia stood out on the balcony for a long time, waiting for something to happen. With binoculars, she could even see everything that was going on in the living room.
Moments later, Jonas showed up in the courtyard. Yulia quickly ducked down and then left carefully, feeling a bit guilty.
Melinda was reading a book in the bedroom. Her glasses rested daintily on the bridge of her nose. It was as if she was in her own cozy, peaceful bubble.
Just then, Jonas entered.
"Why are you so late today?" Melinda put down the book in her hand and asked casually. Jonas started unbuttoning his shirt and flung it on the bed. Seeing this, she grabbed it and threw it into the washing basket.
"There's a lot of work at the company," he answered with a tired sigh.
Nodding, Melinda was familiar about the matter regarding the spokesperson. She knew she'd better not to ask too much about it as it would displease Jonas.
The next day, it was a rare sunny afternoon in A City. Melinda made an appointment to have tea with her editor. For their meeting, she decided to wear a plain white T-shirt, a nude gauze skirt, and a pair of thin shoes. The makeup she was wearing was light and fresh. As for her hair, she just let it naturally fall down over her shoulders.
She looked so gorgeous and elegant that Yulia couldn't help but stare at her in awe. How could it be possible that she was wearing such simple clothes and yet still looked great?
"Melinda! Are you going out?" Yulia asked as she hurriedly walked towards her.
"Yes, I have an appointment with a friend," she replied promptly.
"Well, I was just about to go out, but my driver has gone to rest today. Can you wait for me for a minute and give me a ride?" asked Yulia.
However, Melinda slightly furrowed her brows when she heard this. Just a while ago, she saw Yulia's driver outside.
"Hurry up then," Melinda said, shrugging it off. "I have to be there in fifteen minutes. I still have dinner with Jonas later." If she ended up being late for tea with her editor, she might not make it in time for her dinner with Jonas. They had made plans the other day to eat together tonight.
"Thank you, Melinda. I'll just go get my makeup and my handbag." As soon as Yulia said this, she went back to her bedroom quickly, told Emily about Melinda's plans, and then went out with her bag in her hand.
"So, I'm going to go the coffee shop downtown. Where are you going?" Melinda asked Yulia as she started the car.
"Actually, I'm going there as well!"
"Oh," Melinda said in surprise. "Okay then."
When they were halfway there, Yulia said that she forgot something very important at home. With a disgruntled sigh, Melinda turned around and headed back to the villa. It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when they finally got to the coffee shop.
Yulia got down and walked up to a table. From the looks of it, she really was going to meet someone there.
"I'm sorry. I had to deal with something on my way here. I'll treat you to dinner later,"
Melinda said helplessly as she sat down with her editor. The editor was actually a good tempered person and wasn't too upset that Melinda was late. "No worries. I accept your apology."
"Thank you so much,"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness