Chapter 125 A True Devil


    Leo was smiling the entire time he walked behind Melinda to the entrance of the hotel. Especially when


    he noted how she held her head high and kept her back straight even after the fun little confrontation


    they had back there.


    They stopped near the doors, and Melinda stood on her toes to see through the tall ss windows if


    there were any taxis entering the driveway.


    "This is a rather difficult location to hail cabs, Melinda," Leo said as he watched her strain her neck.


    "Let me drive you home."


    She turned to smile at him. "I would really appreciate that, thank you."


    In all honesty he was expecting her to say no, given the fictitious scandal her inws seemed to be


    concocting. Which was why he was pleasantly surprised at her ready response.


    Still, she had lost the glow she was wearing earlier in the evening, when they were just enjoying each


    other’spany and conversation. He couldn’t help saying a regretful, "Sorry."


    "You don’t need to apologize for anything," she replied, looking up at him. He saw the sincerity in her


    eyes, as well as a stroke of inner strength. "It was all my fault."


    Well, not really. But Leo wouldn’t have been dragged into the issue if it weren’t for her. Melinda knew


    that Emily despised her—the sentiment was rather mutual.


    And she knew that no matter what she did, or who she was with, or what the circumstances were, the


    actress would always devise something to put Melinda on the spot and humiliate her.


    Leo took on a pensive look. "Madam Gu was a lot different from what I have heard of her." Queena had


    made a name for herself during her prime.


    She was a contemporary of his father’s, and from what Leo had gathered, Queena had always been a


    woman of strength and an embodiment of ss. She had amassed significant aplishments that


    helped catapult the Gu family to its currently high position among the ranks of conglomerates.


    And yet tonight, the woman herself contradicted her own legend. She seemed like a force to be


    reckoned with, true, but not in the way that heroines were usually painted.


    She balked before Leo, after all, and her actions were all tactless andcked the grace befitting her


    social standing.


    Melinda knew exactly what Leo meant, and only she said, "She is just heavily influenced by Emily."


    There was a bitter taste in her mouth as she spoke the words. She had looked up to her mother-inw.


    She never expected that such an intelligent woman would be so easily manipted by someone so


    petty and greedy as Emily.


    Was the actress really that good? Or maybe it was because Queena was ageing. Nheless,


    Melinda decided she would no longer put up with their bullying.


    Leo sensed the turmoil that was going on in his friend’s mind. He tapped her shoulder to get her


    attention. "I’ll go fetch my car from the parking lot. Wait for me here. It’s too windy outside the building."


    He would have offered his coat to her, but a piece of gossip was birthed just a few moments ago, just


    around the corner where they now stood, and he saw no reason to nurture the rumor.


    Instead he gave her shoulder a little squeeze, smiled at her, and went to get his car.


    Queena was still ring at the direction of Melinda’s exit, her eyes disying a myriad of intense


    emotions.


    "Aunt Queena," Emily said as she came up at the older woman’s elbow, handing her a ss of water


    she got from one of the waiters. "Please don’t worry about it anymore. It was all my fault; I offended Mr.


    Liu. Thank you foring to my defense."


    Queena turned to look at her, just in time to see the repentant expression y at the actress'' face. "Oh,


    look at you. Emily, it is you who have been wronged, yet here you are apologizing andforting me.


    None of it is your fault! It was all because of Melinda. I shouldn’t have brought her to social events; she


    does nothing but bring disgrace to the Gu family! Oh, I feel so tired."


    Emily got the hint; Queena wanted to leave the scene. "Then you must retire now, Aunt Queena. Let


    me walk you to the entrance."


    "There’s no need for that. You have to wrap up things here. Don’t worry about me. We’ll catch upter."


    Yulia had already called their driver, and their car was waiting at the entrance when they got there.


    The valet opened the door for the women, and as soon as the car door shut, the driver turned in his


    seat. "Where is the younger Mrs. Gu?" He was, after all, responsible for the welfare of all three women


    while they were outside the Gu''s mansion.


    "Someone else is taking her home," Queena snapped impatiently. "Just drive." She slouched on her


    seat and rubbed her forehead. This entire day was exhausting.


    The driver dared not inquire further, and immediately eased the car out of the driveway and headed for


    the mansion.


    Yulia was a bit on the edge of her seat herself, and she kept casting nervous nces at the other


    woman. "Aunt Queena, don’t be angry anymore."


    Her tone was cautious. While she was a little wary, she wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to get on


    Queena’s good side.


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    And she had just the perfect timing, it seemed, because the older woman proceeded to give voice to


    her grievances against her daughter-inw.


    "That girl has some gall! Who does she think she is anyway? She’s just a girl from a lowborn, ordinary


    family. She was nobody before she married into the Gu family!


    How dare she act so high and mighty in public? Shecks proper manners! All she has is that sharp


    tongue of hers."


    The driver struggled not to nce at the backseat on the rear view mirror, and pretended not to hear


    anything. He knew his ce.


    In matters like this, it would be better for someone like him to fade into the background and turn a blind


    eye. He concentrated on driving.


    Melinda took a bath upon her return in order to calm herself. If it were up to her, she would have retired


    for the night after she emerged from the bathroom, but she remembered that Nelson, who had returned


    from his trip, had gone out for a walk and wasn’t back yet.


    She changed into her pajamas and went downstairs to wait for the old man’s safe arrival. She barely


    got to the final steps of the stairs when the front door opened to admit Queena and Yulia inside.


    As soon as Queena caught sight of her daughter-inw, her fury surged back into the surface, and her


    eyes shot murderous looks at Melinda.


    "I’m surprised to see you back so soon. I would have expected you to stay longer with your dear


    charming schoolmate." She put emphasis on thest three words, ring at Melinda with malice.


    Melinda made a subtle roll of her eye and answered calmly, "I did say I was tired; of course I went


    straight home. It was hard to get a taxi at the hotel so Leo kindly drove me here."


    She might have let herself be demeaned all these years, but she’d be damned if she let these people


    insult her friends as well. She had a mind to meet Queena’s vehemence word for word, but decided to


    handle the situation with grace.


    After all, the first one to lose their temper was the first one to lose the argument.


    Queena scoffed loudly. "We are not short in cars and chauffeurs. There’s no reason for anyone else to


    drive us anywhere we went."


    "That’s true, Mom, but I think we all know that if I shared the ride back home with you, it would only


    bring you much difort." Something within Melinda had finally snapped, and she no longer felt the


    need to hold back her punches.


    The respect she had for her mother-inw had dissolved into thin air. She had suffered much in the


    hands of the Gu family, and had endured ill treatment for so long without raising a hand or her voice.


    Perhaps they had all gotten used to it. They had no idea that Melinda was a true devil before she had


    married Jonas. She was a force of nature, too.


    Queena looked down her nose on her and sniffed. "Well, it seems like you know your ce well. I


    commend you for recognizing your faults. It’s only natural for me to be ufortable to share a space


    with someone who has done something sordid."


    She taunted Melinda further, not knowing that the younger woman was taking no insult and feeling no


    humiliation. If anything, her attacks only spurned Melinda on to fight back. And she did.


    Their second confrontation for the night gained some audience as well, this time the servants of the


    mansion. Instead of lingering and spectating, though, they scurried to get themselves out of harm’s way


    in case the argument between their mistresses escted.


    But even in the garden, the women’s raised voices could be heard, and Nelson did not miss them as he


    walked up to the French windows that stood between the living room and the garden path.


    He came into the scene just as Melinda finished yelling a retort at Queena. "Silence, all of you!" he


    shouted.


    Everyone in the room turned to the family patriarch in shock. The sound of his crutches thudding


    against the floor rang out into the spacious room as he strode over to the women.


    Queena’s face was twisted in fury, and she was flushed from the neck up. She didn’t look at all like a


    madam of any respectable family from high society. She looked like a farmer’s wife picking a fight with


    street vendors at the market.


    Melinda, on the other hand, looked cool and rtively collected. She had a stoic expression, although


    there was no mistaking the fire that burned in her eyes. "Grandpa," she said, acknowledging his


    presence, albeit a little coldly.


    "Dad, you’re just in time," Queena blurted out, her voice still a register higher than normal. "This girl is


    shameless! For years I’ve devoted myself to this family, and it took only a single night for this ungrateful


    wench to embarrass me in public and tarnish the Gu family name!"


    As a matter of fact, when Nelson returned to the mansion earlier today, Gavin had reported to him and


    kept him abreast with all that had been going on in the residence.


    He also knew about the charity party that Emily had held, and that the three women of the Gu family


    had been there.


    He had suspected that something would happen again; he was not naive to the dynamics between


    Melinda and the three other women.


    He frowned at his daughter-inw, taking in her angry stance. She looked a little wild, to be honest.


    Then she turned to his grandson’s wife.


    Melinda had said nothing to defend herself, and even now she was only looking coldly at Queena. Her


    defiant demeanor reminded Nelson of Leonard.


    He limped over to a nearby chair and sat himself down before replying to Queena. "I understand you


    attended a charity event this evening. How, exactly, did Melinda bring shame to your reputation?"


    Before she could answer, there was a rustle as Gavin entered with a tray of tea for Nelson. Melinda


    gestured for him to stop. "Bring some warm honey water for Grandpa’s tea."


    The butler bowed and went back to the kitchen, and only four people were left in the room. A heavy


    silence descended on them.


    Nelson looked back and forth between Melinda and Queena, waiting for an answer to his question.


    Yulia shrank back against the wall, trying to make her presence as little as possible.


    "Dad," Queena all but screamed. "Is it not shameless for a guest to insult the hostess of the event she


    was invited to? Not only her but she let her acquaintance humiliate the hostess as well! And Emily has


    been nothing but kind to Melinda, even after being insulted by this insolent girl!"


    "I know very well how Emily Bai treats Mellie," Nelson said in a ruthlessly cold voice, making sure there


    was no room for misunderstanding what he meant with his words. "And I know damn well how Melinda


    responds. Every time."


    Emily was a sly and scheming woman. First she tried to seduce Jonas, and when that didn’t work she


    plotted to turn him against his own wife.


    And now the evil girl had sunk her ws into Queena. They were fools, mother and son.


    "Dad, you seem to be prejudiced against Emily!" Queena used her father-inw incredulously.


    "No, it is you who are prejudiced. And blinded! Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened this


    evening. Tell me every detail."


    Queenaunched into an incoherent narration, which was riddled with countless angry bursts of rants


    and usations. Nelson finally held up a hand to stop her incessant screeching. He looked at her with


    tant disappointment, and Queena choked on her own voice.


    The old man then turned to Melinda, and asked her to recount the events. Queena’s head jerked to her


    direction. She looked at the younger woman with fear in her eyes.


    Nelson seemed to be tipping his favors towards Melinda; if she decided to embellish the story and


    make Emily or Queena look bad, it would cause a great deal of trouble.


    Melinda understood the streak of despair that shed on Queena’s face, and she couldn’t help but


    smirk. Nelson had asked her to exin, and Melinda did so with precise rity and calm.


    It wasn’t such a hard thing to do, really. All she had to say was the truth, after all.


    As Queena listened to her actions being spoken out loud, icy dread poured over her body. Her behavior


    was utterly ridiculous, and sounded nothing like her at all!


    Yet she had really done those things, and had spoken those words. She had brought this all upon


    herself.


    Nelson sat quietly as he listened, hanging on Melinda’s every word. He was sullen and angry at first,


    but was feeling very gratified and a little gleeful when they got to the part where Melinda fought back.


    ''Finally!’


    Gavin was back with his tray just as Melinda finished her narrative, and Nelson took his sweet time


    stirring his cup of tea. "All right. So that’s what happened."


    He took a sip of his tea and was pleased at the gentle sweetness that coated his tongue. Honey water.


    He sighed in pleasure. Melinda really was a gem of a girl.


    He waved her off, telling her to rest, and when Melinda took the stairs, Yulia quickly followed suit. When


    they were alone, Nelson looked at his daughter-inw hanging her head in shame.


    He let her stew in the pot she lighted herself for a few more moments as he sipped his tea. When he


    finished his cup, he set it back down on the tray and rose from his seat.


    "Why do you go out of your way to speak for Emily? Do you think so little of the Gu family name that


    you wouldpromise your own reputation to cover for some other girl? Is it really Mellie who


    disgraced the family name? It was Mellie who was disgraced. And here you are lowering yourself for


    the sake of another woman who tried to seduce your married son. You are a fool."


    Queena stood there in horrified silence, pale and shaking.