Light music was playing in the quiet coffee shop.
Melinda was distracted as she rhythmically tapped the white porcelain cup with her spoon. She was looking down into her cup, which made it impossible to know what was in her mind. She was lost in deep thought. However, the man sitting opposite her was an open book. He wore his emotions on his sleeves and his eyes reflected the intense heartache he was feeling.
"Is there any news yet?"
Melinda pressed her temples with her fingertips as she rubbed them gently, trying to release the pressure that was building up. She shook her head tiredly, trying to put her thoughts into perspective.
"Not yet. I can't seem to tell what he is thinking. I thought I knew what he wanted but now I am not too sure." She thought Jonas would agree to let her go as soon as she mentioned divorce, but since the day she left the Gu family, she hadn't heard from him.
She guessed that maybe his sweetheart had returned and so they had been busy catching up, causing him to have no time for trivial things like a divorce.
Kent looked at her and noticed that she had lost a lot of weight. She was quite thin and fragile as if the wind would just carry her off. His frown deepened in annoyance when he realized that she seemed to still be trapped in love.
"You have left the Gu family now, if he really cared about you, it would be impossible for him to ignore you for too long, and he would get back to you in time. Just be careful so that this time you don't get trapped again."
Melinda knew that he must have misunderstood her intentions, but she really couldn't blame him. Previously she used to be obsessed with Jonas. Even she couldn't believe that she had reached a point where she just stopped loving him. Her heart had become cold like frozen icicles towards Jonas.
She smiled helplessly as she stated, "You are overthinking. How can I still miss him after everything he has put me through? I was just preoccupied with what I should do in the future. I can't rely on you for the rest of my life, I have to learn to be independent. If I had known that the cost of living in general and specifically rent charges would be so high, I wouldn't have pretended to be noble and left with nothing. I should have asked for what rightfully belonged to me from the Gu family."
Kent was amused to see how she was pretending to be a cunning woman for his sake. He looked at her black eyes which reminded him of the issue at hand, and became serious once again as he held her hands gently.
"You know, I don't mind taking care of you forever."
Looking at his serious face, Melinda froze and pulled out her hand unnaturally. Her tone was soft but firm.
"I know how kind you are. But, I wouldn't live with myself if I took advantage of you like that. It's not fair to you." Kent was such a good person that she felt she was not worthy of his love. He deserved a better woman who would treat him well and would not embarrass him, instead of her who was living in squalor at the moment and came with a lot of baggage including a divorce.
However, Kent seemed not to care about her refusal at all. He lovingly pinched Melinda's nose which had turned a little red from the embarrassment that she was feeling.
"Don't be stressed. I offered to take care of you voluntarily and at no time have you ever been a burden to me."
Melinda lowered her head in embarrassment, and dared not to look into his eyes as she felt tears fill her eyes.
But her unnatural and jerky movement was considered shyness by others, although it was probably a defense mechanism.
"Hey, isn't that Miss Mo?"
A harsh female voice broke the silence of the serene coffee shop. Melinda raised her head to have a look at who was causing such a fracas. Holley walked in wearing a tight black skirt and tightly holding Jonas's arm as if he was about to get away from her. Jonas cast a glance at Kent, and then his eyes were purely focused on Melinda.
"Miss Mo, I didn't expect that you would act so fast and come to this place as soon as you heard that Jonas would be having a cup of coffee with me," Holley mocked, and then dramatically turned and threw a menacing glance at Kent as if she had just noticed his presence next to Melinda. "Wait a minute. Who is this gentleman you are gallivanting with? Miss Mo, is it that you can't bear loneliness..."
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