SWNOVELS Chapter 5 Rebirth
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..."
Holley thought that she had finally identified a secret that Melinda had been trying to hide. So she theatrically covered her mouth,
pretending to be surprised at her new discovery, but in reality, her eyes were filled with glee. She was already picturing the
expulsion of Melinda from their social group.
Looking at Holley's expression and how immaturely she was behaving, Melinda knew that Jonas must have concealed the news
of their divorce from the public. The corner of her mouth twitched in amusement at how much Holley was wasting her acting
skills on them.
"Wow, this is very strange. It seems that you are so charming that Mr. Gu is willing to leave his true love for you, so that he can
accompany you for coffee."
Holley puffed out her chest proudly. The irony in Melinda's tone flew right past her head and Holley assumed it was a
compliment. She was aware that a skunk named Emily had been sniffing around Jonas and trying to make everyone notice her
presence. Holley had thought that Jonas would lose interest in her now that he had a new catch, and ignore her after the
banquet that night. However, she was pleasantly surprised when Jonas sent someone to contact her. So she thought that Emily
was not a big shot as she had earlier claimed.
Even if she didn't understand what Melinda meant, Jonas perfectly understood the dig Melinda took at Holley. His eyes tuned
cold when he spotted the interaction between Melinda and Kent, looking as if they were very close to each other.
"You seem to be in a good mood. I was wondering why you seemed to be so impatient. It turns out that you have already found
yourself a replacement boyfriend. What? Are you happy since someone will accept such a shameless woman like you?"
"Jonas Gu, watch your mouth!" Kent's hands slammed against the table as he stood up. He then grabbed Jonas by the collar
and glared at him.
Melinda rushed to hold on to Kent's fist to prevent him from committing professional suicide. She tried her best to separate them.
The Gu family was a big family in A City. Even though Kent's family was also famous in the city, and he had worked hard and
made a name for himself, she didn't want him to get into trouble.
"Well, you have made it very clear that no one can compare and is good enough for you. You have already had enough of
looking at my boring face for the last five years. So, Mr. Gu, please be generous and send the divorce agreement to me as soon
as possible."
Jonas's eyes were filled with unfathomable coldness, while Melinda looked at him straight in the eye without flinching. She didn't
want to show any sign of weakness.
"You have grown thinner," Jonas suddenly said.
Melinda sneered.
"If Mr. Gu can be kind enough to act more efficiently to expedite the process and give me a reply as soon as possible, I promise I
can get fat in a week."
Jonas fixed his eyes on the woman in front of him, who was full of spikes. She looked at him while guarded, without the previous
feelings of love and adoration which were ever present in her eyes. This new look was strange to him and made him upset.
He always hated to see her face and eyes and found her annoying. He should be happy that he was now free once she
disappeared from his presence.
He looked away lightly and smiled.
"Don't get me wrong. I have been busy recently and the divorce agreement totally escaped my mind. I just hope you can keep
your words."
"Kent. Why are you still standing there?" Jonas had left with Holley, but Kent was still lost in thought as he watched them leave in
a huff.
Jonas had suddenly appeared at the coffee shop and although it seemed like a pure coincidence, Kent thought otherwise. He
suspected that Jonas had deliberately made an appearance here because Melinda was here.
He sat back and looked at Melinda's gentle face. She seemed not to be impressed by what had just happened. He could not
help but feel at ease and a bit encouraged by her response to the whole provocation.
Thinking about the undisguised anger in Jonas's eyes which only men could understand when Jonas looked at him just now, he
sneered in his heart. Such kind of a person would sooner or later suffer what he had planted, but what he met was not someone
else, but Melinda who looked soft but would never look back.