Chapter 8

As noon approached, Melina found herself starving, so she pouted and ate what was meant for breakfast as lunch. As she finished the food, she felt a lot better. Upon walking into the yard, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. It was just weeding and working the soil, so it was a piece of cake for her. The yard was lovely and spacious but just a bit overgrown with weeds. As someone who grew up in the mountains, she treated everything else as weeds aside from the colorful flowers and crops. Weeds could harm the crops, so they should be removed. So, Melina pulled out all the grass in the yard and even took the time to clean up the area. She knew Andrew was deliberately making things hard for her, but she wasn't afraid. Wallace had mentioned that Andrew had a bad temper. As his wife, Melina thought it wouldn't hurt for her to be more patient with him. After working for several hours, Melina called Dorothy for directions and eventually found the nearby market. The market was in District 8. They said that the old people living nearby had insisted on keeping it around. Carrying the groceries, Melina looked at how little money she had left in her wallet and realized she needed a job. Melina had to buy groceries and cook for Andrew, but the cost of living in Cyntia was high. On top of that, he came across as someone who'd been raised in comfort, so there was no way he could endure hardship like she could. So she was simply short of money. In her mind, since she stayed in his house and used his things, it was fair for her to buy the groceries and do the cooking. They were married, so they should share the household expenses. In truth, she even felt like she was getting the better end of the bargain. After earning some money from her job, she'd treat him to nicer meals. Thinking about this, Melina walked up to a fish stall and earnestly asked, "Are you hiring a fishmonger here, mister?" The fish vendor raised his head and looked at Melina with surprise. "Yes, that's right." "Do you think I'd be a good fit?" "Don't be silly, miss. A young lady like you would be too scared to handle a fish." Ten minutes later, the fish vendor watched as Melina skillfully cut a cod into perfect slices with quick and clean motions. He was utterly speechless. "I can slice it thinner if you'd prefer, mister." "This is good enough, but the pay here isn't much. Are you alright with four thousand dollars a month?" "Sure. I'd be happy with that." "Great. See you here next Monday." With a cheerful smile, Melina said goodbye to the fish vendor. The job had short working hours and was close to home. It would get in the way of Melina taking care of Andrew. After returning to the villa, Melina joyfully prepared dinner and then waited for Andrew to come back home to eat together. She ended up waiting for ages. It was getting dark, and the food had gone cold. But he still wasn't back. She couldn't help but eat some bread to fill her stomach. Then, she walked out of the house and sat on a chair in the yard. She waited as she kept an eye on the gate. Right then, Melina realized she ought to have Andrew's phone number, so she could call and ask when he'd be home for dinner. Having worked all afternoon, she leaned against her seat. With her eyelids growing heavy and her mind fuzzy, she fell asleep without realizing it. When Andrew returned home, it was already midnight. No one knew where he had been, but he exuded a sharp and bloodthirsty air. He came back to see the lights in the house shining with an orange hue, seemingly the only source of light in the night. He also noticed a person dozing off in the yard. Andrew was taken aback. Was someone waiting for him to come back home? The footsteps woke Melina up. As she opened her eyes, she noticed Andrew had come back. She rubbed her eyes and said, "You're back, Andrew. I've already sorted out the yard." Andrew was in a daze for a while. After snapping back to reality, he sported a fierce look and looked at the yard, asking, "Did you uproot those orchids?" "Aren't they just weeds?" Melina was perplexed. "Huh, the orchids worth tens of thousands of dollars do look like worthless weeds. Buy the exact same ones and plant them back." Hearing that, Melina's face turned as white as a sheet. How could it be tens of thousands of dollars? Were those weeds she pulled out really worth that much? Ignoring Melina, Andrew just walked inside the villa. She hurried after him, scrambling for words. Looking at the dinner that had turned cold, Andrew kept walking and remarked, "If you don't know how to cook, consult Dorothy. Even a dog wouldn't eat what you made." With a terrible attitude, he finished his sentence and just went upstairs. On the dining table were three dishes that had already gone cold. To Melina, this was already quite a generous meal. When she lived in the mountains, she typically only had one dish. But today, she had served meat, vegetables, and even chicken broth. Melina blankly stared at Andrew's back. She didn't bother with the dinner on the table and quickly turned around to head over to the yard, where the uprooted orchids were still scattered about. Melina crouched, and her eyes started becoming misty. She was fine with hard work, taking a beating, and handling insults, but ruining such expensive orchids was too much. The children in the mountains still couldn't afford all their textbooks for this year. That was tens of thousands of dollars. How could she waste such a huge amount of money? Tears began to well up in Melina's eyes. She wasn't the type to cry easily. Even when she fell off a mountain as a kid, she didn't cry. As she thought about it, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore. Looking out the window from the second floor, Andrew spotted Melina crouching in the yard and crying. He paused for a moment and was surprised that she cried. Upon her arrival yesterday, she stood up for herself with everyone watching. This morning, she hurled solid punches at him. And now she was actually crying?