Chapter 143
Melvin stood in the yard. His gaze was fixed on the glow seeping through the window. Were they
locked in a passionate embrace?
Right then, he felt an overwhelming urge to smash the door.
ncing around, he spotted a brick by the fence, gripped it in his hand and ascended the steps to
stand before the green-painted iron gates. Clenching the brick, he took several deep breaths until the
lights inside the room went out.
In an instant, his breath caught in his throat. His heart plunged into darkness.
They were together!
2 GB E F F 3 0 9
The reality was right in front of his eyes!
With fingers clenched too tightly, the rough edges of the brick grated painfully against his skin.
A sinister gleam flickered in his eyes as he raised the brick. But in the end, he hurled it onto the road
beyond the gates. The dull thud echoed loudly in the quiet of the countryside.
Inside, Jocelyn sat on a stool with her eyes glued to the outdoors, genuinely fearing that Melvin might
burst in with weapons
The noise confirmed that her fears were unfounded. Her heart, which had been in her throat, finally
settled back into ce.
It took a while before Harrison uttered, “He’s gone.”
Jocelyn exhaled a long breath, “I was really scared he’de in and start a fight with you.”
“If he actually had barged in, no matter how much you liked the guy, I would’ve told you to drop him,”
Harrison said, turning the light back on, “Stop overthinking it. The guy needs to be hung out to dry. You
gotta push him to find out what he’s really about.”
Jocelyn shook her head, “I didn’t want to push him. Forcing him to do what he’s unwilling to do goes
against the flow of nature. A melon forcefully twisted off its vine is never sweet. I don’t like putting
people in tough spots.”
“You both haven’t let go of each other. Isn’t it painful to act like this?”
“It takes time,” Jocelyn knew that she couldn’t simply forget someone she had deeply loved so long.
She wasn’t lying to herself. She was trying to persuade herself to move on.
Harrison knew she was trying hard to let go of Melvin. As an observer, he thought it was tough.
How long would these two continue to entangle, he wondered.
“It’s already three in the morning. We should rest,” Harrison said as he checked the time, “I need to
leave early tomorrow. There are rtives back home I still need to visit during the holidays.”
“You shouldn’t havee. It’s such a long trip.” Jocelyn always felt he shouldn’t havee so far.
Harrison took off his sses, “If I hadn’te, how would we have provoked him?”
Jocelyn just sighed.
So, he hade all this way to ruffle Melvin’s feathers.
“Alright, get some sleep. I’ll make do right here, Harrison settled into a chair, pulling out a thick down
jacket from his bag and draping it over himself.
“How can I let you do that? You take my room, and I’ll sleep in Urs’s,” Jocelyn insisted. “It gets cold
in the mountains at night. Without any heating, you’ll definitely catch a cold by morning.”
Under Jocelyn’s insistence, Hamison relocated to her room.
Nerther of them got much sleep that night. And someone sat by the fish pond until dawn.
The next morning, Harrison and Jocelyn visited the vige chief’s house to have doughnuts for
breakfast. They were both tired from staying upte and emotionally drained from Melvin’s antics,
which was evident in Jocelyn’s weary expression.
Although the vigers were conservative, they couldn’t help but give Jocelyn and Harrison curious
nces. Their looks conveyed a message that all adults understood.
Jocelyn didn’t feel like exining anymore.
Hamson greeted everyone with polite enthusiasm. He thanked the chief for having prepared the
doughnuts for them.
Take a picture for me, Harrison handed his phone to Jocelyn, “I want to show my parents.*
Jocelyn took the phone and stapped a photo of him with the doughnuts.
Harrison checked the picture and smiled, “You’ve got a pretty good photographic skills, and then sent it
to his family group chat
You two are so lovey dovey,” Urs approached with a sly smile, “Did you have a good sleepst
night?”
Jocelyn was speechless. Urs knew exactly what was going on, yet she still joked about it.
“Delightful, Hamison replied.
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Urs couldn’t help but make yful gestures at Jocelyn, hinting that perhaps their staged act had
turned into something real.
Jocelyn had given up on exining.
“Hey, Mr. Martinez!” Uriah suddenly called out loud, “Where have you been?”
Everyone turned around.
Vin appeared disheveled as he approached from a different path. Upon seeing Jocelyn and Harrison,
his eyes fixated on them with a rigid stare
Jocelyn was unaware of his internal struggle from the night before, but his current look made her
ufortable.
“Come have some doughnuts,” Uriah beckoned.
Instead of reaching for the food, Melvin walked straight towards Jocelyn.
Startled by his icy gaze, she took a step back.
Harrison quickly stood up and positioned himself protectively in front of Jocelyn, looking at Melvin
warily.
The tension was palpable to the onlookers.
Just as Uriah was about to intervene, Melvin turned back and entered the house.
‘That scared me to death, Urs was patting her chest.
Jocelyn had also been frightened. Not so much of what Melvin might do to her, but the possibility of a
scandal.
“Are you okay?” Harrison asked Jocelyn.
She shook her head.
Harrison reasoned, “He must have been irritatedst night.”
Jocelyn felt that it was best to avoid provoking him further-angering him could lead to an unpleasant
oue for everyone.
After finishing their breakfast, Harrison checked the time, “I have to leave.”
“Sure,” Jocelyn said, “I’ll walk you to the entrance of the vige.”
“Great”
Before leaving, Harrison handed out some small gifts to the vige elders and children. It wasn’t much,
but the act of kindness mattered
Upon departure, the vigers gave him some homemade smoked ham, which he graciously epted.
Rural folks were sincere and kind-hearted. When they offer you something they value, refusing it would
hurt their feelings, as if you looked down on them. epting it happily would make them happy too.
Some even went out to their fields to bring back several heads of cabbage, cing them in his car.
Harrison bid his farewells to the vigers one by one. And the folks were considerate as ever, giving
him and Jocelyn some space they
needed.
“They’re really kind, Harrison remarked, ncing at the fully filled trunk of his car. “With all these
veggies, we’re set for weeks
“Are you sure you’ll be okay driving back alone?” Jocelyn asked with concerns. The journey was a long
haul.
Harrison closed the truck and joked. “Or you coulde with me to my ce. What do you say?”
Jocelyn gave a smile back, “I still have work to wrap up here.”
As if you’de even if you were done, Harrison said with a knowing look.
She didn’t deny it, but still said, “Why not? I should visit your family when I get the chance”
‘Then don’t stay away too long. Let me know when you’re heading back to the city. If book your flight.
Harrison offered merrily. “You could even bring your parents over for a few days. Everyone’s got some
downtime over the holidays.”
I would have been a perfect arrangement if they were indeed in a rtionship.
Not wanting to dampen tus spints, Jocelyn replied, “Sure. I n it out.”
Hampson’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, it’s a date then
as time allows, Jocelyn added, securing her tape route.
*Fair enough Hamson replied, understanding her implication without pointing it out.
In the distance, a sleek ck SUV approached.
Curiosity piqued, Jocelyn watched as Unah and the chief rushed over in a flurry of excitement.
“Who’s this now?” she inquired.
“It’s some big-shot celebrity,” the secretary replied breathlessly.
A sudden jolt of rm struck Jocelyn.
Could Urs’s loose lips have actually called it? Was this small-town scene about to get a Hollywood
twist?