"Don't you feel sad?"
Melinda couldn't restrain herself from asking, after sensing that this kind of affection was too tiring and required a lot of patience. They could not even hold hands in public, and they needed to go somewhere distant just for sightseeing.
"Sometimes, I feel discouraged. But as long as I can lay my eyes on him, I will feel happy. Sometimes, I think love is a bizarre thing. Even if you are exhausted, you still want to move on and make a fresh start while bearing a heavy burden,"
said Nina, looking a little distracted. She had thought of the anguish and hardships that came her way, which reminded Melinda of her feelings for Jonas.
In the beginning, she had shown unrequited love for him. After five years of misery, she finally abandoned all her principles for the word "love".
For a moment, both of them were quiet.
When Jonas walked into the ward bringing breakfast food, he got the impression that something was wrong.
"When did you wake up?"
"I just got up. Did you buy breakfast? What have you ordered?"
Melinda drew back her thoughts and peered curiously at the brown paper bag that Jonas had carried. It was fresh milk. Jonas considered it since she had diarrhea yesterday, so he denied her from eating anything that could trigger another upset stomach. He also bought a lot of fresh fruits.
Shortly, Ryan returned to the ward with almost the same food items as that of Jonas. Seeing Ryan, Nina had turned lively and full of vigor. Melinda looked at them and took a deep breath.
"Melinda, would you like to have an apple?"
Nina beamed and looked at Melinda, while Ryan went to peel the fruit in silence. Hearing the offer, Melinda took a glance at Jonas and then looked away. Was she expecting that Jonas would cut the apple for her? Forget it.
She seriously doubted that Jonas had no inkling on how to peel the apple.
"Sure,"
Melinda agreed. Jonas looked at Ryan in embarrassment, and Ryan painted a warm smile on his face. Melinda hurried to comfort Jonas.
"Jonas, can you feed me later?"
Catching her pleading tone, Jonas had no other choice but to grant her request immediately. Ryan had peeled two apples. Both of the two patients had one apple each.
Nina was a very spirited girl, and she enjoyed having long conversations with Melinda, who was also an engaging person. The two women were so thrilled that they neglected the two men.
"So, you're a book writer. I normally like reading non-fiction novels, though I complained about the plots every time,"
Nina said as she stuck her tongue out. But Melinda didn't mind, because most novels nowadays were like that.
"All of my stories happened in real life. Some writers may overdo it, but they didn't revise much."
Melinda shared her experience with writing. After thinking for a while, Nina dipped her head in agreement. She felt that numerous novels were dramatic, but they were practical.
"Melinda, let me tell you my accounts of him,"
Nina said suddenly. Melinda was a little surprised. Usually, people would not tell strangers something private, but Nina told her directly.
At that moment, she also showed some interest.
It would just be a part of a good story if she didn't know that Ryan was married. But the reality was always cruel.
"When I found out that he has a wife, I reached a point where I wanted to cut off his dick."
When these words came out of Nina's mouth, she was appalled. Melinda subconsciously looked to the direction of Ryan. Seeing this, Jonas pulled a long face and blocked her sight.
Realizing what she had done, Melinda smiled shyly, and her face all flushed.
"What happened after that?"
"Then he used his dick to win me over again."
Melinda gagged on her apple after hearing those words. She coughed violently, and her face turned red. Flustered, Ryan also choked.
Jonas patted her back, and it took a while for her to recover.
"Melinda, you are so naive."
Nina was surprised to see Melinda's face blushing. She pondered since Melinda had gotten hitched for over five years, she should have been accustomed to such discussions.
"Nothing. Go on," Melinda said after a while.
"Okay," said Nina in a deep voice. She continued recounting her story. Melinda could tell that Nina was an independent girl from the chain of events.
She had a well-defined character on what to love and what to hate, but she ended up falling for the wrong person.
They shared the same interests and had a lot to talk about, but Melinda never mentioned her history with Jonas. In her eyes, her stories were more complicated than that of Nina.
In the evening, since there were plenty of vacant rooms in the hospital, the first thing Jonas did was to separate the two women. Though unwilling, Melinda agreed when she saw that Jonas hadn't relaxed well.
Melinda slept a lot during the daytime, so she was a little excited during nightfall. Since Jonas had brought her laptop from the hotel to alleviate her boredom, she took the computer and began to draft Nina's story into a novel.
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