The Unwilling CEO's Love Game novel Chapter 28

"Jocelyn!" Melvin called after her.

Jocelyn stopped in her tracks, not bothering to look back.

"Come on, there's a limit to making a scene." Melvin was sure she was just making a scene. He had already explained himself. What more did she want from him?

Jocelyn took a deep breath, feeling more pathetic and ridiculous by the second.

In his eyes, she was just being a drama queen because she wanted more. Yep, to him, she was totally overreacting.

And he had already stooped to coax her, so she should've taken the hint and quit while she was ahead.

It used to be the same old story: she'd get mad, he'd sweet-talk her a bit, and she'd drop it all.

Truth be told, back then she kinda liked being coaxed by him because it felt like he actually cared, like she mattered to him.

But thinking it over now, it all seemed like just going through the motions without ever wondering why. She couldn't even tell if he meant any of it. Or was it just sweet talk to get her into bed and then back to business as usual?

"I'm beat. Let’s go home," Melvin said, moving in to grab her hand and pull her towards the apartment building.

Jocelyn stood her ground.

Melvin turned around, his patience obviously wearing thin.

Jocelyn gently wriggled her hand free. "You should go back to your place."

"What the heck do you want?" Melvin unbuttoned his collar, looking pretty ticked off.

Jocelyn shook her head. "I don't want anything. I just think we both need some time to cool off. Give it some thought: what's the point of us going on like this?"

Melvin pressed his lips together, and looked at her coldly without saying anything. That calm before the storm sent a shiver down Jocelyn's spine.

He wasn't violent, but man, he had a way of making her knees buckle with just one look.

"You sure you won't let me come up tonight?" His tone was heavier now.

Jocelyn's heart was racing, each beat pounding against her chest, pressuring her to cave.

She steeled herself. "Yes."

Melvin stared at her for a long moment before his lips twisted into a sneer. "Jocelyn, you've got guts!"

As the door slammed with a resounding thud, Jocelyn's anxiety finally settled.

The engine roared angrily, as if venting Melvin's rage and dissatisfaction.

Once the noise faded, Jocelyn bent over, hands on knees, gasping for air, fully aware of what her refusal implied.

So that was it. She and the man she had loved for more than three years were really done.

That night, Jocelyn slept like a log.

"Mom, divorce is normal these days. Sometimes it takes a while to see the problems unfold. Deciding to divorce is just stopping the wrong and hurt from going on. Don't get into it with the gossip; if word gets back to them, it's not cool," Jocelyn advised Daisy.

Daisy huffed. "Since she was married, with a kid that big, why not stick it out for the kid’s sake? Who suffers most after a divorce? The kid. Look at Quinta, who was remarried. Do you think our relatives don't gossip? Your uncle cares about dignity, and Quinta's divorce nearly got him in the hospital. That's why marriage needs to be taken seriously."

"Mom, I've gotta square off with you on this one. A person’s gotta live life feeling comfy first and foremost. If every day feels like a grind, and you're just putting up with it for the sake of 'dignity', and then you slap on the 'for the kids' excuse to settle, isn't that exhausting? Do parents really wanna see their kids living in agony and torture every day?"

Jocelyn didn't really have her heart set on getting married, but she caved under the parental pressure and the whole keeping up with the Joneses thing, so she thought of marrying Melvin.

Turns out, not rushing into it was the smart move.

If she had managed to force Melvin into marriage, they'd probably be on their umpteenth divorce by now.

"You..." Daisy glared at Jocelyn.

Jocelyn had never really had a heart-to-heart on this topic with her mom like she did today, but she just couldn't hold back anymore, "Margot manages to live on her own with her kid, which shows she's always put the kid first, and it's very likely she divorced for the sake of the kid. If two people can't make it work, do you think playing house can fool the kid forever? The damage that loveless parents can do to a child might be even greater."

Daisy couldn't out-argue Jocelyn, but still didn't agree with her, stubbornly saying, "Anyway, no matter what, it's still better for the biological parents to be together. Back in our day, we had our share of scraps and squabbles, so what? Which family doesn't? Live through it, and eventually, there's less drama."

"Mom!" Jocelyn was exasperated, "Let's just drop it, okay? But you did say one thing that's spot on – getting married is not something to rush into. So, can you and dad just lay off the pressure? I've gotta make sure the rest of my life is happy before I marry someone."

At that, Daisy sensed the conversation wasn't going her way. "Jocelyn, let me tell you, don't you go looking for excuses. If a girl hits thirty without being married, she really becomes the talk of the town. Look around, all your childhood friends are either married or having kids, and here you are, not even a boyfriend in sight."

Jocelyn knew arguing was futile. She took out her phone, flashed a grin at Daisy, "I'm gonna take a call. You carry on."