Chapter 13
“What’s up? Got a bee in your bo? Melvin sidled up to her, whispering sweet nothings, the air
between them thick with ambiguity.
Jocelyn turned her head and forcefully pried his hand away, putting some distance between them.
She saw a flicker of annoyance in his eyes and remembered the way he looked at her after he put that
woman in the car the other day. It hurt like hell.
Melvin stepped back, leaning against the wall, his expression cooling off
“What do you mean?” he asked
Jocelyn stared him down, only now realizing how little she meant to him
He didn’t even bother to offer an exnation
She didn’t want to go all harpy on him, interrogating who that woman was, or who he had been with
during those two days and a night.
She pointed at the bag by the door, “Did my dad give that to you?”
“Yeah, Melvin nced at it nonchntly.
So, why’d you bring it here?”
“Well, I’m here, aren’t 1? Where else should I have taken it?
“You know damn well that’s my dad returning a favor. Even if you think it’s beneath you and don’t want
it, you shouldn’t unt it in my face!” Jocelyn’s temper red up.
Melvin frowned. So where should I have dumped it?
“Do you despise these things that much? Are they just not worthy of your precious attention, so you
dump them on me? Jocelyn’s tone was sharp, she wanted to keep her cool, but she just couldn’t.
“You’re way off base. Melvin reached for her hand, “Come on…”
Jocelyn shook him off, “I don’t even know what my ce means to you. Sure, I like you, but I’m not
bottomless. Like this stuff, if you don’t value it, toss it. Don’t give it to me or unt it. It just makes us
look like a joke!
“What are you trying to say? Melvin’s face darkened too.
Jocelyn took a deep breath, “I won’t be the other woman.
With one woman out in the open, one in the shadows, hoping to have it all?
Dream on!
Melvin scowled. The other woman?”
Jocelyn didn’t want to say much more, stepping back to widen the gap between them. “I thought we
weren’t nning on marriage, just living day by day, in the moment. But now, even that’s too much, so
what’s there to cling to?” She looked at Melvin, “You’ve just been ying with me, and now, I’m done
ying
She refused to bebeled a homewrecker, a mistress, a floozy
With not even a flicker from Melvin’s eyelids, he asked, Got someone else lined up?”
Jocelyn exhaled in irritation, “No.”
Done ying?”
Melvin stared at her for a long while before turning and heading into the bedroom. He didn’t even shut
the door. He got dressed and walked out. face sour as hell.
The door mmed shut with a bang.
Jocelyn took a deep breath, filled with nothing but frustration and disappointment
He knew what she cared about, what she wanted to hear, but he wouldn’t exin, not one bit.
In the end, he disdained to exin because they were not even in a boyfriend-girlfriend rtionship.
No need to retain, no need to exin, it’s over just like that.
Jocelyn had her limits, and now that they’d been crossed, no matter how painful or unwilling, she had
to cut ties.
Otherwise, she’d make a mistake.
She went to the bedroom, yanked his clothes out of the closet, and threw them into his suitcase, her
eyes starting to
burn
She hadn’t finished packing when someone knocked at the door Judging by the rhythm, it couldn’t be
Melvin.
She steadied herself and answered the door. It was Rose, her neighbor from downstairs.
Jocelyn, did you have a fight with your boyfriend? I saw him standing down there all alone, looking
pretty pitiful.”
Jocelyn froze
He didn’t leave?
Jocelyn had packed his things, sitting on the bed and watching the time. It had been two hours since he
left
Rose’s words echoed in her mind, making an impact, and she couldn’t just ignore it.
After another hour, she couldn’t sit still any longer and hurried down to look around. But there was no
sign of him.
Suddenly, she scoffed at herself.
What was she doing?
He had someone new, so how could he have nowhere to go? Why would he linger downstairs? He
wasn’t that attached Mocking her own foolishness, she turned to leave.
“Looking for me? Melvin stood there, putting out his cigarette in the nearby trash can, his eyes half-
closed, with a smirk ying on his lips
Seeing him at that moment, Jocelyn felt a sharp pain in her chest.
She looked away and walked past him, ignoring himpletely.
Melvin caught up and grabbed her hand just before she got into the elevator. He pulled her into the
nearby fire escape, pinning her against the narrow corner.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!” Jocelyn was furious, her voice quivering.
Melvin closed in on her, trapping her in his space, “If can’t bear to see me go, why didn’t you stop me?”
he murmured, a low growl in his throat.
Jocelyn turned her head away, defiantly saying, “You’re imagining things.”
Aren’t you here for me?”
“No!”
But Melvin just chuckled lightly, “How can a teacher lie?”
Jocelyn was furious.
ug look, knowing he had her in the palm of his hand, was infuriating.
He understood love alright he was just too damn good at it
Knowing she loved him that’s why he was so cocky.
Sote and you’re still here, not worried your girlfriend will be upset?” Jocelyn admitted she was
jealous.
Melvin frowned. “My girlfriend? Isn’t that you?”
Jocelyn felt weak, his words dissolving all her built-up tension and imitation.
He acknowledged her as his girlfriend! For the first time in years, he said it.
“Then who’s that woman you met in the middle of the night? As his girlfriend, she had the right to ask.RêAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
Meivin backed off a bit, “A friend”
Jocelyn was smart A mere friend wouldn’t have him rushing out like that.
She didn’t dare ask more, scared that the more she knew, the quicker her dream would end.
Then why’d you bring my dad’s gift to me? She changed the subject, not wanting him to see her
concealed thoughts.
“I’m staying at your ce, if not to you, then who?” Melvin took her hand, “Let’s go back to sleep.”
Jocelyn’s temper had cooled, and she let him lead her back to the elevator.
As the numbers climbed, Jocelyn pursed her lips and asked a question that was hard for her to voice.
“If we bump into someone outside, can I introduce you as my boyfriend?”
Women are like that, always pushing their luck. The inch you give them, it’s like handing them a free
pass to run wild.
Melvin looked at her, and the look in her eyes spelled out exactly what she wanted. His Adam’s apple
bobbed slightly, “What’s the point of going public anyway?”
The little thrill Jocelyn had felt inside vanished in a puff of smoke. She was done being led around by
him.
“So, we’re still in a rtionship that can’t see the light, right?”