The Unwilling CEO's Love Game
Chapter 75

Jocelyn was slurping down her porridge all by herself, totally spaced out about the dude who was also shacking up at her place.

After she polished off her porridge, she curled up on the couch to binge-watch some TV. But she actually didn't care what's on TV. Her mind was like, totally blank.

When she heard the door creak open, she just instinctively glanced back.

Melvin strutted out in his undies, gave her a look, and moseyed over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water before plopping down next to her. He casually slung his legs over the coffee table, all laid-back and nonchalant.

With one hand, he nursed his water, while the other just naturally landed on Jocelyn's shoulder.

Jocelyn dodged his arm like she was dodging a bullet.

Melvin paused, cocking his head to look at her.

Jocelyn kept her eyes glued to the TV, not even tossing him a glance.

Neither of them was actually watching whatever was playing on the screen; they were just silently locked in some kind of unspoken standoff, not saying a peep to each other.

After downing his water, Melvin was gearing up to leave.

That's when Jocelyn piped up.

"You're the one who rallied the parents to vouch for me, right?"

Melvin settled back down, snatching a throw from the couch to cover his thighs.

He shot her a look, "No need to thank me."

Jocelyn finally faced him head-on. She saw that smug look plastered across his face.

"Should I be thanking you?" Jocelyn said coldly. "Haven't you figured out yet that you're part of the problem? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess, nor would I have needed your help." Now Melvin was catching on that Jocelyn's vibe was out of his expectation.

She was blaming him!

"Don't you get it? This all went south because you didn't listen to me about having that interview with that guy and going out for dinner together. If you hadn't gotten so chummy with him, things would've blown up like this?" Melvin gave her a frosty look. "Or are you saying if I hadn't pushed you to sort things out with him that day, you would've just gone with the flow and hooked up with him?"

He was a pro at turning the tables, playing the blame game like a true artist.

Jocelyn wasn't in the mood to argue. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe you were just too soft on your old flame? No, you gave her too much room to imagine things. After all, I was never your legal partner. Yeah, if you hadn't threatened me with someone else's reputation, I wouldn't have bothered explaining anything. If I had started dating someone else, that would've been totally normal. And you, you have no right to judge me."

Her gaze was unwavering, "After all, you were never 'mine'."

Melvin's eyes twitched, "Don't you dare say it again!"

"You're not 'mine'," Jocelyn stated calmly. "Let's put an end here. It's over between us."

She could see Melvin's chest heaving, his face darkening, and she could feel his anger brewing.

But what could anger do, really? They weren't kids anymore, who'd throw a tantrum and then go back to playing together.

They were no longer at the age of quick tempers and fleeting moods.

Jocelyn had thought it over. They were just not a good match.

Even if she loved him to bits, even if she had successfully pressured him into marriage, with their personalities, a divorce would've been on the horizon.

Not all people can just stick around for a lifetime on the so-called power of love.

She was done with loving him. It had been over three years. Such a long time.

She had hoped things would get better. But in reality, they only got worse.

Even the simple relationship they had before was falling apart.

Melvin glared at her with furrowed brows, "I don't like it when you use this kind of talk to threaten me."

"It's not a threat. I am serious," Jocelyn maintained her composure from start to finish. "I could never enter your world and stand by you. And I don't want to spend my life battling it out with other women who are into you, or wrestling with jealousy. If you don't love me, I won't cling to you. And that should be a good thing for you. From now on, you won't have to deal with anyone pressuring you into marriage. I want to have a real romance, replace someone to settle down with, and live the ordinary life that any woman deserves." If she had said such things in the past, it was out of spite to threaten him. But this time, she mean it after thorough contemplation.

"Finished?" Melvin's voice had changed, eerily low and grim.

Jocelyn nodded, with an earnest demeanor, truly wanting to say goodbye to him.

Suddenly, he laughed.

Jocelyn was all over the place, clueless about what he was getting at.

His smile was the kind she used to fall for - all cool and distant when he wasn't smiling. But when he did, it was like a breath of spring warming her heart, utterly enchanting.

Once upon a time, it was just for that fleeting smile that she had fallen head over heels, wanting his heart so badly that she couldn't hold back.

She admitted she was superficial. And she had been willing to spend a lifetime to be superficial.

"Forget about it," Melvin stood up, yanking the throw off his waist, slamming the glass down on the table with a thud, and shooting her a glance that could freeze hell over. "This isn't over until I say it is." Jocelyn's blood pressure skyrocketed. She held her temper in check and asked, "What do you want?"

"Easy to reel me in, but thinking of dumping me? No way." Melvin marched into the bedroom and before shutting the door, he threw one last remark over his shoulder, "I'll pretend I didn't hear a thing today." Jocelyn's face went pale.

How could he act like this?

She didn't want to mess with him anymore. Bursting into the bedroom, she confronted the man already lying in bed, "Can you be more mature? You are no longer a kid."

"The immature one is you," Melvin glared at her. "I won't dwell on the past, and it won't weigh on my mind. You'd better keep your emotions in control. Think about it, whether I've ever wronged you." Jocelyn realized that he would never let her go easily.

No matter what she said, how much she argued, it was useless.

"Besides, a smart woman would not just take a hit and shut up, even handing over her man on a silver platter. Instead, she would think about how to show everyone that no matter what they throw at her, her man is hers and no one else gets a touch."

Melvin watched her coldly, "With the way you handle things like this, even if one day we really get married, we may face something even more complicated than this, with harsher words thrown our way. Would you simply call it quits, throw in the towel?"

Jocelyn had to admit, he hit the nail on the head.

Being trapped by Willow but letting her get away with it without saying a word was a real bummer for Jocelyn. Indeed it was intolerable.

But what can she do about it?

Willow had got way more connections and social clout than she did. Plus, She didn't have any dirt on her to spill, barely knew anything that could put a dent in her armor. How was she supposed to get back at her?

Jocelyn's eyes suddenly drift to the man lying on the bed, who rested with his eyes closed. An idea came to her mind.

Willow's Achilles' heel was the dude right here. Wasn't all her scheming just to win his love?

How about turning the tables and making him blacklist her instead? Wouldn't that be a juicy twist?

"Figured something out?" Melvin suddenly opened his eyes, locking gaze with her.

The corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily. "You know what my greatest skill is?"

Melvin's clueless why she's bringing up something seemingly out of left field. "Great sex appeal?"

Jocelyn could have strangled him hearing the answer.

"If that's your take, well, I guess it's not totally off base. Otherwise, how could I make you so darn smitten?" Jocelyn was much more unashamed now. If Melvin could be such a shameless man, then there's no way she could outdo him by playing Miss Goody Two-Shoes.

Melvin's lips curled into a slight, devilish smirk.

"Go on."

"Help me take down Willow." Jocelyn had thought it through. The only person who could hurt Willow the most was Melvin.

Melvin squinted, "I don't want to get mixed up in a catfight."

"Well, then I guess it also doesn't matter if I get bored with the man I've had my fun with, right?" Jocelyn said nonchalantly.

Melvin fixed his gaze on her, his tongue poking cheekily at the inside of his cheek. "Bored, huh?"

"It's been over three years. Time to consider a change." Jocelyn didn't see herself as Miss Prim and Proper. She did want to stay with him all her life. But if that's not in the cards, she's open to swapping out.