Chapter 126 A Secret


    Nelson always had a bad temper, but in all these years, not once had he been cruel to Queena. She


    had never seen him like this before.


    Queena broke into a cold sweat and her heart raced frantically.


    "I didn''t mean that… We were mere guests and that''s how people would behave if they saw us


    denigrating the hostess."


    Queena''s mind was foggy. She saw Nelson shaking his head in disapproval.


    She realized that her reason wasme and it would never convince anyone.


    Although it seemed reasonable in her head, when the words spilled out of her mouth, Queena realized


    that she had done a grave mistake.


    Her experience was nothingpared to what Nelson had gone through.


    "What do you mean by denigrating the hostess? Melinda did nothing!"


    Nelson scoffed. He was in fact, proud of Melinda''s actions. He had always been concerned that she


    endured all the torture and bullying.


    Nelson was d to see that she had changed and finally stood up for herself. The way Queena med


    Melinda for safeguarding herself irked Nelson.


    "Don''t be stupid enough to believe that Emily is good. She is evil. Only a few people in the


    entertainment circle are innocent and she''s definitely not one of them."


    The soldiers of the old generations despised actresses. They appreciated talent but were intolerant to


    calctive people like Emily, who would go to any extent to have what they wanted.


    "Dad, Emily is a sweet girl."


    Queena wasn''t ready to give up. She defended Emily because she was incredibly grateful for her


    timely favors. Queena felt that Emily always wished the best for her.


    She had fallen for Emily''s ttery and failed to see the truth behind the facade.


    "Cut the crap! I don''t care if Emily is sweet or not. All I care about is the happiness of my


    granddaughter-inw, Mellie. I cannot see you treat her like this."


    Nelson was seething with rage. He wanted to smack Queena with his walking stick but she was his


    daughter-inw, so he suppressed his anger.


    Queena shuddered. The intensity of Nelson''s anger frightened her. The warm yellow light cast long


    shadows, making him look scarier. She didn''t know how to make things right. She wiped the sweat that


    trickled down her forehead and looked at him helplessly.


    "The Gu family doesn''t encourage hypocrites. If you want to be a part of this family, better follow the


    rules. I won''t always be patient enough to forgive you. I may be old but I still make the decisions in this


    family."


    Queena''s heart broke as every word was like a tight p on her face. She knew that if she annoyed


    him again, she wouldn''t have the chance to exin herself.


    She understood that his opinion of Emily could never be changed.


    Queena had nowhere else to go. The Gu family was her pride and they were all she had. She decided


    that she needed to stop bullying Melinda for protecting Emily. Otherwise, she would lose her ce in


    the family.


    The pool of tears on Queena''s eyes streaked down her cheeks. Her usual majestic demeanor was long


    gone. She looked dejected and her hair that was coiled to perfection was disheveled. She looked


    vulnerable.


    She slumped to the floor and stared at the wall. Nelson nced at her and didn''t have the heart to


    reprimand her anymore. He sighed and went upstairs.


    Queena hugged her knees and looked at the vast hall. She felt lonely and all her emotions that were


    simmering in her heart gushed out. She let out a piercing cry that reverberated across the hall.


    Melinda was reading a book upstairs. Queena''s cry caught her attention. She nced at the door and


    continued to read her book. But she felt agitated and couldn''t calm down.


    "Mellie, are you asleep?"


    She heard Nelson''s muffled voice through the door. Melinda could sense the anxiety in his voice and


    immediately opened the door.


    "Grandpa, what can I do for you?"


    Melinda asked concernedly. She wanted to ask what was going on but controlled her curiosity when


    she saw his tired face.


    "What happened to you today was unfair."


    Nelson smiled apologetically and patted her shoulder. Although he didn''t apologize to Melinda, Melinda


    could see that he was sorry for her.


    "No." Melinda shook her head and smiled.


    "I''m proud of you, and from now on, I want you to protect yourself. You''ve had enough already and you


    didn''t have to put up with anyone''s taunts anymore. Don''t let anyone put you down, do you


    understand?"


    "Yes, I do."


    Melinda smiled and helped him sit on the sofa.


    Melinda was a changed woman. She would neither let anyone speak a word against her nor would she


    do anything to embarrass her grandfather. She had been gullible in the past but now she understood


    what life was. Melinda had only worried about her fate but didn''t realize that Nelson stood by her, like a


    pir, at all times. He always had her back and saved her from troubles.


    He had even fought with his own grandson for her.


    "I want you to get along well with Queena. She hasn''t understood you yet but there will be a time when


    she will see you for who you are. Don''t worry if she is rude to you. She is not in charge of the Gu


    family,"


    Nelson said intently.


    "Yes, Grandpa."


    Melinda had nothing against Queena. But it was Queena who blindly supported Emily and rejected her.


    There wasn''t much Melinda could do to make Queena understand her.


    Even if Melinda managed to mend their rtionship, she knew that Emily woulde up with a n to


    destroy everything.


    "Err... one more thing," Nelson said, rubbing his eyebrows. "Don''t mock Queena for having an


    illegitimate son when she was young. That was the reason why Jonas''s father had problems with her.


    She has had a hard time. Hope you''ll understand."


    Melinda''s eyes widened. She never expected the Gu family to have a deep, dark secret. Was there


    anything else she didn''t know?


    Melinda didn''t know much about Jonas''s father. She always felt that Queena and her husband had a


    strained rtionship but she never thought that this would have been the reason behind their problems.


    Perhaps there were other dark secrets that she didn''t know.


    Melinda couldn''t stop thinking about Queena''s illegitimate child. Who was he and what was he doing


    now? Does Jonas know about his half-brother? Nelson''s words continued to ring in Melinda''s ears and


    her mind was swarming with all kinds of questions.


    "All right, it''ste. I''m going to bed and you..."


    Nelson looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself. Melinda felt that he wanted to


    bridge the gap between her and Queena. He wanted them to bond.


    "Grandpa, let me help you back to your room."


    Nelson didn''t refuse. They walked in silence. The entire vi was quiet except for Queena''s muffled


    sobs.


    Once Nelson went back to his room, Melinda went downstairs. Queena''s cries grew louder as Melinda


    got closer.


    Queena was immersed in her thoughts and didn''t notice Melinda.


    "Stop crying. Here, wipe your face,"


    Melinda said, giving her a bunch of tissues. Queena stopped crying and sniffed loudly.


    A wave of shame washed over Queena and she hoped that she could vanish into thin air. Queena was


    always proud and felt ashamed that Melinda had seen her when she was in her worst state.


    Queena red at her and turned away. Melinda sighed but didn''t give up. She remembered what


    Nelson said and felt that Queena must have gone through a lot of problems.


    "Mom, don''t worry about what Grandpa said. You know he always speaks his mind. His anger will


    vanish in no time. He scolds you only because he cares for you."


    Melinda was bad atforting people and didn''t know how to make her feel better.


    Melinda''s words annoyed Queena. She always despised Melinda and didn''t want to listen to her. She


    couldn''t believe that Melinda was trying tofort her. Queena felt that Melinda was here tough at


    her downfall.


    Queena slowly stood up. She had been sitting for too long, so her feet gave away as they had be


    numb. Melinda ran forward and held her.


    Queena instantly shoved her against the wall. Melinda''s wrist became red and swollen, her eyes


    prickled with tears.


    "Don''te anywhere close to me. It makes me sick,"


    Queena grumbled. Her voice was raspy after all the crying. Melinda flinched at Queena''s tone. Her


    hatred for Melinda was evident in her eyes.


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    Melinda was devastated. She didn''t know what she had done to make Queena feel sick and disgusted.


    Melinda closed her eyes and took a deep breath topose herself. The problem seemed never-


    ending and she didn''t know how to make things better.


    "I know that you hate me and feel like I''m not good enough for Jonas,"


    Melinda said, rubbing her hand to alleviate the pain. Queena lifted her head and looked at Melinda.


    "But love is magical. It doesn''t see if a person is good enough or not. It just happens and we don''t know


    why we fall in love with someone."


    Melinda blew a loud breath and continued, "We cannot force people to fall in love just because they


    belong to the same family background. That doesn''t mean they are right for each other."


    Queena''s eyes widened. She peered at her with suspicion. She felt that Melinda knew something.


    "Grandpa is a caring person. He must have been annoyed but I''m sure he''lle to you once he


    calms down."


    Nelson valued love above everything else. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have thought about his rtionship


    with Leonard. He was always protective of Melinda because he knew that she was genuine and


    respected people''s feelings, unlike Queena who considered love as a child''s y.


    Nelson reprimanded Queena because she treated Melinda badly, but more than that, he was intolerant


    to Queena''s behavior. He was tired of cleaning her mess and couldn''t see her being arrogant and


    selfish anymore.


    "Please don''t be sad. Although Grandpa yelled at you, he only wishes for harmony and peace within


    the family."


    Melinda walked to Queena and continued to rub her injured wrist. Queena gradually calmed down.


    She had cried her heart out and her body was still trembling. Queena always felt that she had a good


    life but she was all alone now. There was a void in her heart.


    "No one is around, so you don''t have to pretend that you care. Go back to your room," Queena said


    coldly.


    She couldn''t believe that Melinda was helping her out. She favored Emily over Melinda and continued


    to support her.


    Melinda didn''t bother exining herself. Although Queena knew that Melinda was right, she wasn''t


    ready to ept it.


    Queena calmed down and realized that there was truth in Melinda''s words.


    Queena was staring at the wall, lost in thought. Melinda saw that she was hyperventting, so she went


    to the kitchen and poured a ss of honey water. She plopped next to Queena and gave it to


    her.