Chapter 36 Depression
Chapter 36 Depression
Nelson watched Yulia leave with his mouth open. He wondered what had happened to her. But Melinda could sense that something was wrong. Yulia had enough money to fulfill her needs. She felt that Yulia was dealing with a problem. Otherwise, there was no need for her to ask for one million dollars from her grandfather.
"Gavin, inform Jonas about this," Nelson said.
He knew that Yulia would ask Jonas for money since he had refused to help her out. Gavin was aware of Yulia staying out all night. She would sneak late at night and sometimes wouldn't return home until the next morning. He knitted his brows and wondered if she had gotten into trouble.
Yulia's head was spinning as the pain increased with every step she kept forward. Her head was throbbing because of stress as well as the hangover and she couldn't drive the car. Melinda saw her swaying unsteadily and understood that it was the effect of overconsumption of alcohol.
Yulia stopped a servant who was about to go shopping. She asked him to drop her at a place where she could get a taxi. The servant had been humiliated by Yulia before and he was confused by her unusual calmness.
Yulia felt emotionally numb. She walked into Soaring Group like a ghost. As she was asked to fix an appointment first, she listened to the receptionist and waited patiently without protesting.
Gavin had informed Jonas about Yulia's possible visit. Therefore, Jonas instructed William to bring her to his office.
"Jonas, I want to borrow one million dollars," Yulia asked, biting her lip.
Jonas saw that her eyes were bloodshot and puffy as if she had been crying all night. He had never seen her like this before. Jonas was Yulia's only hope and she thought that he would help her out. He
was a businessman and it was easy for him to arrange the money.
"Yulia, why do you need so much money?"
Jonas pursed his lips and looked intently. He usually never wasted his time over silly issues as time was precious to him. He could convert one million to ten million in the blink of an eye. But Yulia seemed disturbed and Jonas could sense the depth of the problem, so he decided to listen to her.
He had worked hard to earn money and wanted to make sure that Yulia wasn't wasting it.
"Jonas, I'm in desperate need of money. Please help me out. I don't have answers to your questions."
Yulia didn't have the courage, to tell the truth. People had been abusing her all her life for being the illegitimate daughter. She couldn't imagine her plight if they found out the truth. Her life would become hell, perhaps, worse than Melinda's.
"Okay." Jonas nodded.
He understood that Yulia was hurting inside and didn't want to talk about it anymore. Yulia was moved by his response. She felt that a tiny part of him still cared about her.
Jonas signed a check and gave it to her. Yulia smiled gratefully and left. William walked into the office and saw Jonas peering out of the window. His posture was tense.
"William, ask someone to keep an eye on her. I want to know about what she's going to do with the money."
He was aware that a scammer had swindled Yulia out of her investment. He thought that she would learn from her mistakes but didn't expect her to borrow money from him.
He felt that someone was after her. Jonas wouldn't spare anyone who targeted his family.
After Yulia walked out of the Soaring Group, she called the man. They had planned to meet in a public place. Yulia was terrified of him and thought that it would be safe to meet him in a crowded place.
"Wow! I didn't think you'd be able to arrange one million dollars in a short time,"
The man said, raking his eyes across Yulia's body. She was a sex goddess in bed and the man enjoyed sleeping with her. He had an erection by just watching the video.
"I've brought the money. Where are the photos?"
Yulia asked as she clenched her fists. The mere sight of the man made her sick. He had ruined her life and she vowed to destroy him.
"You're adorable, sweetie," the man said, sweeping his tongue across his lips.
Yulia resisted the urge to punch him in the face. She felt disgusted with herself for sleeping with him.
"The pictures are here. Where is the money?" he asked hungrily. His friends had warned him that he wouldn't get a single penny out of her as she meant nothing to the Gu family. But he had managed to get a million dollars from her, that too in a very short time.
"Here."
Yulia took the check from the bag and shoved it against his face. The man looked at the check and smirked at Yulia. He could make women fall for him with the money.
Yulia went to a remote place and saw the photos and videos as tears filled her eyes. She felt humiliated and dirty. She quickly deleted everything and smashed the USB flash disk to pieces.
William had sent his man to follow Yulia. The man informed Jonas and William about how the man had been blackmailing Yulia.
Jonas's jaw tightened. "Hand him over to the police," he said coldly.
Jonas knew that the man wouldn't stop. He would continue to torture Yulia and demand money. Therefore, he decided to put an end to it. William shivered at the intensity of his tone and nodded.
The man was in the bank, excited to withdraw the money. The security guard captured him and handed him over to the police.
Yulia was oblivious to this. The evidence was irrefutable and the man was sure to face severe punishment.
Although the secret was buried within the walls of the Gu family, people who despised Yulia continued to pass snide remarks and gossiped about her. She had been insulted all her life for being the illegitimate daughter. Now, people were using the information to demean her.
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself for fooling around with the man? The video would have caused colossal damage to our reputation. You and your mother have only brought disgrace to our family," Nelson bellowed.
Nelson had devoted his entire life to the Gu family. He couldn't forgive Yulia for risking the stature of his family.
Yulia had walked home in a daze. She couldn't shake off the images that were stuck in her head. Nelson's every word was like a tight slap on her face. She felt naked and wanted to hide from the inquiring eyes of the people.
Yulia glanced at Melinda who stared at her with an expressionless face. Unable to stand the intensity of her gaze, Yulia turned away. Melinda didn't know how to console her. She knew that her words wouldn't mean anything to Yulia.
Yulia was threatened and Melinda knew that she was scarred for life. She only needed love and care but no one could understand that.
Jonas had dealt the matter recklessly and Melinda felt that he should have been more sensitive and handled it with care.
"You are a disgrace to our family. Is this what we taught you?"
Yulia remained still. Her mind couldn't process anything. She finally left without saying a word. Melinda comforted Nelson and went back to her room.
When Jonas returned home in the evening, Melinda couldn't help but tell him that he had made a mistake. But Jonas felt that he had done the right thing. NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.
Jonas was a man and he couldn't understand Yulia's feelings but Melinda could empathize with her even though she had not encountered sexual assault before. She was only humiliated and trampled by Jonas in the past. Melinda was disappointed by his insensitivity.
The conversation with Melinda seemed to confuse Jonas. He began to question his decision. He wondered if he had done something wrong.
Nelson was heartbroken after what had happened to Yulia. He was not in the mood to go for a trip and Melinda wasn't bothered by it. She would often go to the main villa to spend time with him.
Yulia had become a recluse. She was unusually quiet and hardly stepped out of her room. She would sometimes lose her mind and get frustrated. Melinda once saw Yulia harming herself.
Yulia had insulted the servants in the past and none of them seemed to care about her. They ignored her and sometimes complained when Yulia broke things and created a ruckus.
Nelson couldn't stand the sight of Yulia and was glad that she stayed in her room. But Melinda felt that something was wrong. After a lot of thinking, Melinda finally went to Yulia's room.
Yulia was sitting on the floor and didn't notice Melinda. There was a puppet in her hand and she was staring at it for a long time. Yulia let out a piercing scream, clenched her hair, and began to punch the puppet. She was acting like a maniac.
Melinda was stunned. Although Yulia had tortured her, she couldn't see her like this. Understanding crossed Melinda's face and she quietly left the room. Gavin saw her come out of Yulia's room and knitted his brows in confusion.
"Gavin, can you fix an appointment with the family doctor. I want to see him," Melinda said.
"Mrs. Gu, are you okay?"
Gavin asked concernedly. Melinda's life had become better without Yulia's taunts and Gavin wondered why she wanted to see the doctor. She looked normal to him.
"I'm fine. I need to discuss something with him,"
Although Melinda was not a professional, she could see that Yulia was showing symptoms of depression. She wanted to talk to the doctor and see if she was doing okay.
Gavin nodded and arranged the meeting.
Melinda explained about Yulia's condition. The doctor pursed his lips and finally said, "I think she's suffering from clinical depression. Do you mind if I take a look at her?"
All the symptoms were signs of depression but the doctor needed to see Yulia in person to diagnose her condition. Melinda instructed Gavin to take the doctor to Yulia's room. When the doctor returned, he confirmed that Yulia was indeed suffering from clinical depression and her condition was quite serious.
Gavin was shocked by the result and quickly informed Nelson. Nelson didn't think that Yulia had become quiet because of her mental illness. He felt guilty for ignoring her. He knew that people suffering from mental illness would harm themselves and might go the extent of taking their lives.
"Gavin, appoint someone to take good care of her and ask the servants to keep their mouths shut. I don't want anyone to talk about this issue again," Nelson ordered.
He was aware of the servants gossiping about Yulia and he didn't want anyone to hurt her. Nelson's love and adoration for Melinda grew multifold. Although Yulia had tortured Melinda for years, she was the one to notice the change in Yulia's behavior. She was worried about her and wanted to help her out.