My Ex-husband Comes Back

A myriad of luxurious cars weaved in through the hotel gates as seamlessly as a shuffled deck of cards. A dazzling array of celebrities, socialites and those among the most powerful and influential people of A City had gathered here today to celebrate and honor the prestigious 30th anniversary of Soaring Group.

Soon after, a Volkswagen Phaeton, with a sleek metallic paint finish, stopped at the hotel driveway and the bellhop stepped forward to open the door.

Melinda Mo sprang out of the car, clearly in a hurry to go somewhere. In fact, Melinda Mo was rushing to get to a banquet that she almost missed, not because it was her own fault but because she didn't receive the invitation until much later.

"Where is Jonas?" she asked anxiously.

"Mr. Gu is already here. He is in the banquet hall right now."

Gently lifting the hemline of her red dress, Melinda Mo sped to the banquet hall. She was already very late. The banquet hall was a grand space, to say the least. The walls were covered with a shimmering gold paper and in the middle of the ceiling above the carved oak table was a candelabra. The polished silver cutlery was heavy to the hand and shone brightly in the early evening light. At each place stood a tall empty wine glass and there were beautifully folded napkins to match the runner. The room was invaded by beautiful women, showing off their spectacular jewelries and dashing young men, laughing and chatting about business and politics.

Melinda Mo caught sight of the man in the crowd at first glance. He looked so cold, and yet there was something very appealing about the impassiveness on his handsome face. Although he was surrounded by a crowd, he didn't seem perturbed at all.

Melinda Mo smiled faintly, not looking to attract any unnecessary attention to her presence. All she wanted to do was slide through the crowd unnoticed and take her side next to Jonas Gu, but soon the smile on her face froze.

Wrapped around Jonas Gu' arm, was a voluptuous, dark-haired bombshell who intimately whispering words into his ears every now and then. No one could tell what she said to him but it seemed to soften his cold, hard expression.

As if stuck underwater, everything around Melinda Mo slowed down and warbled, her heart falling silent almost immediately. In a quick and nervous motion, she gathered herself and hid in a corner. As if things weren't bad enough, the slippery snake that was grinding her body up against Jonas Gu was wearing the same red dress as hers.

She stomped the floor in anger, realizing that the members of the Gu family wouldn't pass on such a good opportunity to humiliate her in public. Of all the people in the world, why did Jonas Gu have to pick Holley Huang, a woman whose greatest achievement in life was to become one of the most famous socialite divas of A City? And most of all, why did they have to wear the same dress today? It wouldn't surprise Melinda Mo if tomorrow she were to become the laughingstock of the entire city for having the same taste in fashion as a slutty model.

She ran into the ladies' room at first chance and locked the door behind her. As she stared at her own reflection on the mirror, the desperation on her face, she felt frustrating and heartbreaking at the same time. She tore off the shoulder strap of her dress and a bit of her skirt at the bottom that mopped the floor everywhere she went. Luckily, the interior linings of the dress were so delicate and minuscule that the changes would go unnoticed to the naked eye.

After a while, Melinda Mo walked out of the ladies' room, in a long, strapless dress and a pair of black silk gloves. Her lustrous black hair was loosely tied up and the combination of red and black colors added to the fine elegance that oozed out of her.

"Melinda? What are you doing here? Why aren't you with Jonas?"

Melinda Mo immediately recognized the voice without even facing the speaker as it had just the right amount of upper class timbre to belong to the one and only Yulia Gu, Jonas Gu's young sister.

Melinda Mo forced a smile on her lips as she gave Yulia Gu a gentle nod. She noticed Jonas Gu looking closely at them before he walked away as if she was a stranger.

Yulia Gu approached Melinda Mo, raising her chin in an arrogant manner.

"Jonas, aren't you going to say hello to Melinda?"

The female partner of Jonas Gu who was a married man was a small model, so outsiders knew it clearly that Melinda Mo had no status at all. Looking at Melinda Mo's face, they were full of sympathy.

Nevertheless, Melinda Mo didn't allow any of it to sadden her. Even the sight of her husband and his lover together did not manage to bring her down. However, no one could tell what she was plotting behind that unwavering smile on her face.

"Never mind. Besides, it's better for someone like him to be seen with someone like Miss Huang on these occasions." With just a few words Melinda Mo reduced Holley Huang's entire character and personality into something that befitted trash.

Yulia Gu snickered bitterly, but just as she noticed Melinda Mo's dress she abruptly burst into laughter, pointing at the lose thread on her waist.

"Oh sweet Melinda, where did you buy this dress? Did my family not give you enough money to shop at a decent place? You're such a simpleton!"

Yulia Gu said sarcastically. Most people knew that Melinda Mo had come from humble beginnings and that her family wasn't very well off, which led people to think that she had married into the Gu family by foul means. The only people who found Yulia Gu's hateful words were unsurprisingly a group of rich people who covered their mouths to stifle their snide laughter.

Melinda Mo turned her eyes away without saying a word, and remained indifferent. She had suffered more humiliation than this from the Gu family over the years. Compared to that, this was going to be a walk in the park.

"Enough!" screamed Jonas Gu. Perhaps he was afraid that Yulia Gu would say something shameful so he stopped her immediately. "Don't cross the line."

With a displeased look on Yulia Gu's face, she cast a disdainful glance at Melinda Mo and pushed her aside.

Melinda would have been utterly devastated, if not for her unyielding mental strength and fortitude. When she noticed the loose thread dangling from her dress, she felt so embarrassed that she couldn't even speak.

At first, Melinda thought that perhaps Jonas wasn't aware of Yulia's behavior, but now the arrogance in Yulia's voice was suggesting that she wouldn't have the guts to do anything if it weren't for Jonas' acquiescence.

Melinda slowly raised her head and smiled faintly at Jonas.

"I'm going to get some rest," she said, turning around to leave and not waiting for Jonas' response. Besides, she didn't want to shed another tear for this man, at least, not in front of him.

She tried to spit out the sadness inside her chest, but it was like a fishbone stuck inside her throat. Looking back at the days she had spent with the Gu family over the years, Melinda smiled bitterly.

Indeed, without Jonas' approval, who would have the courage to humiliate the daughter-in-law of the Gu family?

Melinda found herself a corner seat in the lounge where she avoided making eye contact. As such, in her attempt to hide from others, Melinda failed to notice that Holley Huang was sitting beside her.

"Miss Mo, it's nice to see you here." Holley Huang smiled and raised her glass at her.

Melinda didn't seem troubled by the way Holley Huang addressed her. Instead, curtly lifting the corners of her lips into a smile, she said, "Your reputation precedes you, Miss Huang."

Holley raised an eyebrow at Melinda's comment. She didn't expect to find such eloquence from a woman she had just insulted.

"No matter how famous I am, I can never compare myself to the fabulous Miss Mo. If people notice how indifferent you are to seeing your husband with other women, they might think that you are only interested in the Gu family's wealth."

"And what of you, Miss Huang? Dangling around a married man, dancing to his every word. Are you willing to be his mistress because you love him, or because you love the Gu family's money?" Melinda sneered and thought, 'Did she think that I was going to let her talk down to me just because I let Yulia off so easily?'

Holley's face darkened almost instantly.

"Miss Mo, that's quite low, even for someone like you. Then again, such crass behavior is to be expected from someone who does not understand what dignity means."

"I would advise you to choose your next words very wisely. Don't forget that I am still legally married to Jonas. Besides, even if we do split up one day, what makes you think you have the chance to be his wife?" A wry smile emerged on the corners of Melinda's mouth. She had shared the same bed with Jonas for several years, which was why she knew that there was someone else in his heart. However, that person was neither her, nor Holley.

All Melinda wanted was some quiet time to herself, but unfortunately, she was deprived of that luxury by Holley. Having run out of patience, she stood up and walked over to a stout, middle-aged man not too far away. Melinda smiled at the man, nudging him with her elbow as she whispered something into his ears and cast a short and meaningful glance at Holley.

Not knowing what agreement they had reached, Holley noticed the man flashing a devious smirk on his face before he started to approach Holley.

Holley's eyes shot up in bewilderment as she didn't know what to do. This man had been her sugar daddy and she couldn't afford to get on his bad side at any cost. When he came over and grabbed her by the waist, Melinda sneered at her and shook her head.

Melinda did not have time breathe even after she got rid of Holley as someone grabbed her wrist from behind and pulled her into an embrace. As she looked up and locked eyes with Jonas, she could see the resentment he carried for her in his deep eyes.

Any other person would think that they were very close, judging by how they were holding each other, but the truth was far from it.

"You are such a conniving person. I have no doubt that you must have tricked my grandfather in the past."

Melinda bit her lip and her face turned pale. She seemed exhausted and clearly uninterested to get into an argument with Jonas. Besides, it wouldn't lead to anything good anyway. In Jonas' eyes, she would always be the woman who tricked her way into marrying him. If it weren't for her, he would have been married to someone he actually loved.

"Are we going to do this again? What's the point? It's not like you're ever going to change your mind about me!"

"Why don't you give it another shot? Go on!" Jonas' voice was faint, low and magnetic. Although, she had lowered her eyes to the floor, she couldn't avoid feeling captivated by him.

Why did she still feel like that? Had she not suffered enough humiliation at the hands of the Gu family? Why did she have feelings for a husband who never treated her with love?

Had it been in the past, Melinda would have openly declared, "Because, I love you from the bottom of my heart. I love you so much that I could give my life for even just a hint of your love."

However, after five years of nothing but coldness, she didn't know if she still had enough love inside her heart to give to him.

Looking coldly at her silence and hesitation, Jonas' face darkened in anger. He grabbed Melinda by the wrist and dragged her towards Holley, disregarding her soft painful whimpers.

He pulled Holley away from the stout, middle-aged man and pushed Melinda into his arms without hesitation. The look of disdain in his eyes broke Melinda's heart to pieces.

"Mr. Wang, Holley is one of my distinguished guests. I hope that you can leave her to me. It would be my good wife's pleasure to entertain you in her place."

Holley was in daze, wondering whether she was dreaming. Everything happened so quickly that she hardly had the chance to figure out what was going on. As she stared at Jonas with clear eyes, she couldn't help feeling elated.

Meanwhile, Melinda didn't even look up at Jonas, her face partially concealed by her long hair.

Deep down in her heart, Melinda was more distraught than she looked on the surface. She wanted to cry out loud and ask Jonas what she had done to deserve this. By tomorrow morning, the whole world would be laughing at her misfortune on every newspaper and entertainment magazine. Even her dearest parents, who had done nothing but devote their lives to honest work would be dragged through the mud because of her.

Melinda's face was stuck in an incredulous expression as she helplessly watched Jonas leave the party with Holley. It took Melinda some time to shake herself out of her numbness. In fact, she wasn't worried about Mr. Wang as seemed like a sensible enough man to not make a pass at the lady of the Gu family.

When Melinda came to that sudden realization, tears burst forth from her eyes and drenched her cheeks. She looked up and smiled at Mr. Wang, eyes failing to conceal her indignation.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel too good, Mr. Wang. Tell me, what can I do for you?" Melinda wiped the tears on her face and smiled decently, not coquettishly.

As soon as the words left her lips, the atmosphere in the banquet hall froze.

Melinda tried to keep a fake smile, knowing well that Jonas wasn't really forcing her to entertain Mr. Wang. After all, that would only disgrace the Gu family name. He was just trying to humiliate her. Although he had succeeded in doing so many times over the past, this time she wasn't going to let him win.

The smile on Mr. Wang's face froze at the thought of having to ask indecent favors from the lady of the Gu family.

"Melinda, what the hell are you doing?" Yulia couldn't help stepping forward. She glared at Melinda and thought, 'How dare she say that in public?'

Melinda deliberately ignored Yulia.

"Where are your manners? Don't forget that I'm your sister-in-law!" Then she walked out with Mr. Wang's arm around her, looking happy and satisfied. "Mr. Wang, can we talk more on the way?"

"Melinda, you shameless woman! Aren't you afraid that my brother is going to find out about this?" What a shame it would be for the entire Gu family!

Melinda turned around in surprise and glanced at the Yulia, who was angry from embarrassment.

"What? Didn't you hear him earlier? Your brother is the one who asked me to entertain Mr. Wang!"

The only thing Yulia could do now was to watch the man leave with Melinda. Ashamed, she wanted to bury her head in the ground. She cursed at the woman, who had turned the Gu family into a laughingstock, and informed her men of the news.

As for Melinda, she didn't come back home that night.

When Melinda returned to the Gu's mansion in the cold of the morning, she noticed Jonas sitting on the sofa like a stone-cold statue, quietly watching her go upstairs. They never spoke of what transpired the night before.

It was almost as if the incident at the banquet had never happened. Everything seemed normal, accept Yulia would deliberately ignore her every time they'd see each other. However, Melinda didn't care about it as much because God had given her bigger problems at the moment.

Melinda found out that she was pregnant.

She only found out that she was pregnant on the night of the banquet when she made an excuse to get rid of Mr. Wang and went to a hospital for a check-up. When she came to learn the truth, Melinda went back to the Gu's mansion on foot, as if the sky had collapsed on her head and the end of the world had come.

Melinda didn't even know whether she would be able to keep the baby or not. Lately, she had been taking a lot of medicines because of the abdominal pain. Sadly, there wasn't a single person in the entire mansion that she could talk to about this. She desperately wanted to talk to her parents, but every time the call would go through she would either hang up or avoid mentioning her pregnancy at all.

Nevertheless, she couldn't keep ignoring this baby. Despite her best efforts to have a discussion with him, Jonas gave her no chance as he hadn't returned to the Gu's mansion in many days. Whatever reasons Jonas might have had for not coming back home, Yulia deduced that it must have had something to do with Melinda, even though she didn't know what it was exactly.

One day, when Melinda saw the beautiful face of a woman on an LED screen on top of a building, she came up with a rather ridiculous idea.

Melinda felt wronged by Yulia's baseless accusations as it wasn't her fault that Jonas refused to come home, it was the fault of the person on the LED screen.

Standing hesitantly at the door of the company, Melinda clutched at her abdomen, feeling a slight tinge of pain. With a vacuum flask in her hand, she finally strode in.

When the receptionist politely stopped her at the front desk, Melinda was not angry. However, tiny beads of cold sweat began to seep in from her forehead because of the pain and she leaned against the wall with great difficulty.

Melinda lowered her head, deliberately averting the curious eyes of the employees around her. She wasn't certain whether she had seen it right, but it seemed as though their eyes conveyed sympathy and pity towards her.

"Miss Mo, Mr. Gu is waiting for you in the office."

When the receptionist called her "Miss Mo", Melinda didn't show any signs of anger. However, she could see it clearly in their eyes. Even after all these years, the people around Jonas never once accepted her as "Mrs. Gu".

Melinda pushed the door open, but she was stunned before she even entered the office. She had only been inside his office a few times, mainly because she knew that Jonas didn't like to be disturbed at work. Jonas was casually going over some documents behind the desk, oblivious to the fact that his wife had just walked in.

And snuggled next to him was the beautiful woman Melinda had been dreading to see. The woman looked at Melinda with a playful glint in her eyes.

A startled gasp escaped Melinda's mouth, but she quickly took a deep breath and closed the door behind her, isolating the outside world from this office. The atmosphere inside the room was tense and noiseless. She walked over to the desk slowly, staring at the woman blankly.

Melinda had seen that woman's face countless times on the television. However, in person, she looked more enchanting and attractive. The subtleties and nuances of her movements and the way she smiled attracted people's attention towards her. A few years ago when Melinda and Jonas got married, she would often appear in Melinda's nightmares, threatening to come back and take away the marriage that did not belong to Melinda.

However, when that day finally came, Melinda felt strangely relieved. The painful scene that she had been dreading for years turned out to be not as bad as she thought it would.

"Mrs. Gu, why are you staring at me like that?" Her voice was as sweet as honey with a spicy hint of sarcasm in her words.

Melinda, who looked more charming than usual, had a surprised look on her face and she smiled faintly, slowly placing the vacuum flask on the desk.

"Miss Bai, you look more beautiful in person than you do on TV. Please don't be offended. I can't keep my eyes off you."

"What do you want?" asked Jonas. Sitting next to the beautiful woman, Jonas cast a cold glance at the uninvited guest.

Melinda understood why he didn't want her there, but she didn't take it to heart.

"Nanny made some soup for you so she asked me to bring it to you."

Melinda used to love making soup, but she stopped making them when she found out that Jonas never even had a spoonful of the food she'd cooked. The nanny hated to see the couple like this, so she made an excuse for her to bring the soup to him.

A sudden pang of pain hit her chest, and she held onto it trying to ease the pain. Unfortunately, the nanny had failed to realize that as long as Melinda had any involvement in anything, Jonas would avoid being associated with it at all cost.

Jonas deliberately averted his eyes and focused his attention towards the papers in his hand.

"I see. Anything else?"

Melinda understood that he was indirectly telling her to leave. She sighed helplessly, thinking that perhaps he wanted her to leave because he didn't want her presence to bother the woman he loved.

"I have something important to tell you. Please, come home tonight." Melinda practically begged him, but she was disappointed to see that Jonas didn't even soften his stance.

Jonas squinted his eyes at her and said, "I'll see what I can do."

"No, you promised me that you would have dinner with me tonight," said Emily Bai, gesturing meaningfully at Jonas with her eyes, as she tugged at his arm like a spoiled child.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Gu. Jonas and I have an appointment tonight." However, Emily Bai did not look sorry at all.

Jonas looked at Emily Bai affectionately and gave her a gentle pat on the head to calm her down.

Looking pale like a piece of paper, Melinda staggered backwards and smiled at the two people stiffly.

"Oh, I see. However, what I am going to tell you tonight is really important. It will only take up an hour at most. I won't bother you again. I should leave now." Without waiting for Jonas' response, she quickly scampered out the door. Melinda didn't want to wait around and listen to him reject her all over again. Furthermore, she was afraid of losing her sanity.

Suddenly, the pain in her lower abdomen became harder to bear, causing her to fall down on her knees. She gritted her teeth, stifling the dizziness and to stop herself from collapsing right then and there. Refusing help from Jonas's secretary, she finally stood up on her own and walked out of there. The sympathetic eyes on her back made her feel harsh and heavy. It wasn't until that moment when she finally asked herself if she would be willing to spend the rest of her life like this.

That night, she waited for him in the master bedroom for hours. She stood on the balcony in her pajamas, staring blankly at the gate of the Gu's mansion. The cold night took away the heat from her body, until her body became stiff and her face became numb. Finally at dawn, she saw the photos of her husband and his lover on the newspapers, entering a hotel together last night.

The dawn star glared at her over the horizon. It was freezing cold outside, but she couldn't feel anything at all. When she turned around and was about to go back to the bedroom, she realized that her stiff feet had no strength at all, causing her to fall to the ground with a loud thump. Suddenly, as she looked down she noticed a trail of blood running down her legs.

However, Melinda didn't panic, instead she remained terribly calm. She quietly took off her nightdress and wiped the floor clean. After she threw her dirty dress in the washing machine, she secretly took a taxi to the hospital in the morning to avoid being seen by anyone.