She and Raymond clearly had nothing to do with each other anymore. Whoever he wanted to be with was none of her business.
But why did she still feel a surge of inexplicable anger burning in her chest? They must have had a more intimate relationship long ago. After all, he was a normal man with normal physical needs.
So, Melinda was almost certain that Raymond's current bed partner was Emily.
The thought of Raymond daring to kiss her forcefully made Melinda feel nauseous.
At the kindergarten entrance, Sam looked around for a while before finally raising his head and asking, "Mommy, where's Raymond? Why didn't he come?"
"He has something to do tonight, so he won't be coming," Melinda explained, taking Sam's hand to leave.
However, at that moment, Sam suddenly broke free from her hand and excitedly shouted, "Mommy, you lied! Raymond is here!"
With that, Sam ran off in a direction.
Melinda turned her head and saw Raymond's imposing figure slowly approaching. Even from dozens of feet away, she could feel his deep eyes staring at her.
Melinda's face immediately turned cold. She glared back at Raymond, thinking: Isn't he supposed to be on a date with Emily? What is he doing here?
"Raymond!" The little guy had already run up to Raymond and was securely held in his arms.
"Raymond, my mommy said you were busy and wouldn't come!" Sam said, tilting his head.
Raymond smiled slightly and gently patted his head. "No matter how busy I am, I will always come to pick you up from school." With that, he turned and walked towards his car. "Let's go! Get in the car."
He knew that as long as he took Sam into the car, Melinda would definitely follow.
Moreover, he had specially installed something in his car today—a child safety seat.
Sure enough, although Melinda wanted to take a taxi with Sam, seeing Raymond already holding Sam in his car, she had no choice but to walk over.
"Aren't you supposed to be on a date? Why didn't you go?" Melinda said sarcastically.
Raymond closed the car door, turned to face her, and his cold eyes revealed dissatisfaction. "Why didn't you answer my calls?"
"Did you call me? I didn't hear it," Melinda lied with her eyes wide open.
Raymond looked at her, feeling helpless but unable to do anything about it.
He took a deep breath and explained, "You misunderstood earlier. It's not what you think."
Listening to Raymond's explanation, Melinda found it amusing.
She smiled brightly, but her eyes carried a hint of sarcasm. "Mr. Thomas, why are you telling me this? Everyone in the lab knows about your relationship with Emily."
Raymond's face stiffened slightly, and his eyes deepened.
He frowned, clearly in a worse mood, and irritation surged in his heart.
He suddenly grabbed Melinda's arm, his voice domineering and low. "Melinda, I'll say it again. Emily and I are just friends."
"No need to explain."
Melinda coldly withdrew her hand, opened the car door, and got in.
Her gaze never left the scenery outside the window, as if she didn't care about any of this.
On the way, Raymond tried to ease the atmosphere by chatting with Sam.
He asked about Sam's kindergarten stories, and Sam excitedly shared his joy.
However, none of this could break the ice in Melinda's heart.
When they arrived at the apartment complex, Melinda handed the keys to Raymond, asking him to take Sam home first. She went to the nearby supermarket alone to pick out ingredients for dinner.
In the supermarket, looking at the fresh green peppers, she suddenly had the urge to make some spicy dishes to stimulate her taste buds.
When she stepped into the house, she immediately noticed Raymond drinking from her cup again, feeling a surge of inexplicable annoyance. She silently blamed herself for forgetting to buy disposable cups.
"I'm cooking. You guys can play," Melinda said lightly and turned to the kitchen.
The awkward atmosphere from the afternoon seemed to linger in the air, and behind this seemingly calm dinner, there were subtle emotional changes and conflicts between the two.
Raymond stood up and walked to the dining table. When his eyes fell on the dishes, he was visibly stunned.
However, he said nothing, just silently sat down and picked up the utensils.
Next to him, Sam pouted and muttered, "Mommy, why is tonight's food so spicy?"
Melinda smiled and explained, "Because Mommy likes spicy food. Why, don't you like it?"
Sam curiously tilted his head and looked at Raymond. "Raymond, do you like spicy food too?"
Raymond smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, I do."
A hint of mischief flashed in Melinda's eyes. She unhesitatingly picked up a piece of pepper and gently placed it in Raymond's bowl, a trace of barely noticeable tenderness in her eyes. "Then Mr. Thomas, have some more."
Raymond looked at the pepper in his bowl, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
For him, this was clearly a challenge. Under Melinda's gaze, he still took a bite.
The spiciness spread instantly in his mouth, but he gritted his teeth and made no sound.
Seeing this, Melinda smiled smugly and added another very spicy dish to his bowl. "Mr. Thomas, try this. It tastes great."
Raymond knew she was being malicious, deliberately targeting him, but he didn't resist. Instead, he seriously ate every dish she served. Although the spiciness made him sweat, he maintained his composure.
Melinda, who loved spicy food, was very happy eating. She observed Raymond's reaction while eating, feeling a sense of satisfaction seeing him sweat from the spiciness.
Finally, Raymond couldn't stand the spiciness anymore and gave in. Melinda, seeing his state, smiled smugly. She calmly cleaned up the dishes, and Sam sensibly returned to his room to finish his homework.
When Melinda finished washing the dishes and came out, she saw Raymond gulping water from her cup.
She couldn't help but tease, "What's wrong, Mr. Thomas? Can't handle the spiciness?"
Raymond glared at her without saying a word.
He picked up his phone and handed it to her. "See for yourself."
Curious, Melinda took the phone and saw the surveillance footage. In the video, Emily's voice could be heard, "Raymond, something seems to have gotten into my eye. Can you take a look? It hurts!"
Then, the video showed Emily closing her eyes, and Raymond slightly bending down to look at her eye.
This was exactly the scene Melinda had witnessed earlier.
However, she hadn't heard Emily's words at the time.