Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness

"How about next time? I’ll take you to your favorite restaurant then." Despite his words, Jonas's tone sounded noncommittal, and it irked Emily.

She pasted a smile on her face and tried to temper her simmering anger. "I’m sorry. I realize I must have taken too much of your time lately. Please go ahead and deal with whatever you need to deal with. I can handle myself."

Jonas could see that her smile was a little forced, and he felt a small pang of guilt. It soon disappeared in a flash, however, and he hurried out of the room.

Emily walked to the window and watched as his car zoomed out of the garage and disappeared in the hot sun.

"Miss Bai, are we continuing with your practice?" It was the coach, who had been in the room for a few moments now. When he first entered, he had found Miss Bai all by herself. He had looked around, confused and unsure what to do, and finally broke the silence when it seemed like his client had no plans to play any more billiards that day.

"No, I’m feeling rather unwell. Maybe next time." Emily had a hard, cold expression on her face, and she didn’t bother to look at the coach as she addressed him.

The poor man briefly wondered at the stark contrast between the image of this actress onscreen and the way she was acting in person. Oh well, she did say she wasn’t feeling well; perhaps that was all there was to it.

"Understood, Miss Bai. Next time you come here, please look for me." With that, the coach left the room, and thought nothing more of his encounter with Emily.

Jonas drove home at full speed, and his tires screeched on the mansion’s driveway as he stepped on the brakes. He got out of the car in a hurry and stalked into his wife’s villa.

Melinda was lounging on the couch watching a show, and she glanced at him only briefly as he entered the living room. He paused in the act of taking off his coat. ‘That’s it? Not even a greeting?’

He rushed back home eager to see his wife; it never occurred to him that she might not share his excitement at finally being together. A heavy lump of disappointment lodged at his throat, but he swallowed it down.

"What are you watching?" he asked casually as he plopped beside her on the couch. The moment he came close, though, Melinda’s face wrinkled into a frown.

She turned to give him a look, sniffed once, and then pushed him away with force. "Get away from me."

He could only gape at her in confusion. He could see the anger flashing in her eyes, but could find no explanation to it. He had done nothing but sit next to her, and he was sure there was nothing wrong with that.

Seeing his puzzled face, Melinda correctly assumed that her husband thought himself without fault whatsoever. It only served to fuel her anger even further.

She knew that scent. It was so overpowering that it made a mark in her memory. Besides, it was associated with one of the top candidates as the bane of her existence, so of course she would know that scent anywhere.

It was Emily’s perfume.

Even after pushing her husband away, with several feet separating them, the cloying scent of the other woman permeated the space.

"You were with Emily today," Melinda stated with conviction. She wasn’t asking him anything; she was citing facts out loud. "And you have been with her these past few days."

A flicker of surprise rose in Jonas's eyes, but he didn’t seem much bothered by what she said. In his mind, he remained innocent—he had done nothing wrong with Emily after all.

to know such things. He felt a ridiculous tingle of excitement at the prospect. He would consider

a sudden, smug smile as he replied to her in a calm manner. "Yes, I have been talking to

did not escape Melinda, and she immediately assumed it was because he was talking about

lash out at Jonas, she was very

was enjoying being the sudden object of all her attention. But then her face changed, and while

the things you promised?" She rose from the sofa as she asked him, and in spite of her soft, homey clothes, she looked every bit as ruthless as a goddess of war. She crossed her arms

a word. After a beat of silence, she flashed him a mocking smirk. "Well it

of this man, to declare such professions and make promises that

forget anything when he obviously remembered much from his sweet, joyful childhood with

and I would just chat, nothing more. I’m not doing her any favors either." He sounded a little helpless and unsure, but Melinda was beyond angry now, and she was done excusing him for

was at a loss. He always found himself caught between countless contradicting opinions when it came to Emily. He could see that

you sure she’s going to stop at that? Besides, you said you would cut all ties between you, and yet you still keep

too loudly. Her mouth felt dry after her tirade, and she swallowed a couple of times to ease the rough feeling in her

this, Jonas walked over to a small side table and poured her a glass of water. He handed it to her and she accepted it

felt a little better after that, but as she looked at her empty glass, she realized she accepted something her husband offered even though she was

staring at the glass in her hands. Mary had noticed the raised voices, and immediately approached the living room to stop the couple from fighting. When she arrived at the doorway, however, it didn’t seem like Jonas and Melinda were

a deep breath. "I think what you’re misunderstanding is how you

breach this talk with his wife, but in recent days, as he met with Emily, he found her to be simple and

if he were being truthful, he would have admitted that there was a part of him that refused to accept that his childhood playmate

question, Melinda felt utterly defeated. That was the last straw. She

glass in her hands against Jonas's head in hopes that he might wake up from the

mocking tone. "In fact, what I have in abundance at the moment is clarity. And one

have doubted Emily in the past, but the past few days proved to him that his previous judgment about her was

scandal, over and over, and would praise Melinda. On the other hand, when Emily was brought up between husband and wife,

scales in his heart were tipped against his wife. He could not let her know that,

you wrong before, but she’s not that person anymore. She’s changed. Besides, the company was in trouble, and this time around she was the

word. If they dragged

herself. "Are you saying that it’s my fault I wasn’t

hear her voice rising towards the end of her last question, and her rage was bubbling on the surface once again. If he managed to push the right buttons, she knew she would lose

me. If I just cast her aside in spite of that, wouldn’t that be in

as he said the words that he had just acknowledged Emily’s insignificance in the big picture. But it was true that Emily somehow saved him from a pinch, and he knew he had to repay that favor one way

acting in extremely bad form. It must have always been me acting irrationally,

glaring at him and breathing heavily. Jonas, on

walked over to the side table to put

eyes shut and let all the fight in her go. She was

he knew that despite its simplicity, that one question was loaded with heavy and complex emotions. Emotions