The Unwilling CEO’s Love Game

Chapter 147 Melvin’s words seemed to stick in his throat, unspoken.

Jocelyn’s heart, which she had painstakingly patched together, shattered once again.

She forced a smile, “It’s okay, | understand. Rest up. I'm off.” This time, she left without any hesitation.

It was her own fault, really. Too confident of herself.

Words unspoken for more than three years were likely to be blurted out just out of impulse.

And now, not even that impulse seemed worth it.

Hope is for dreaming, not necessarily for achieving.

Jocelyn went back to shelling peanuts with the villagers, listening in as they gossiped. She didn’t think about Melvin anymore. She wouldn't As dusk settled, a beam of headlights illuminated the village hall.

Uriah cin a run, “Mr. Martinez has headed back to the city.” Jocelyn paused in her shelling, just as Ursula cin and mentioned, “Willow left with him.” Jocelyn just smiled. “Good for them. A bit of peace returns to the village finally.” After dinner, Jocelyn caught up with her parents over a video chat. Afterward, Harrison called, saying he'd been driving non-stop and was only a few hundred miles from home.

Jocelyn thought he was driving too fast.

Harrison didn’t ask about Melvin or Willow. They chatted idly for a while before hanging up.

“Are you okay?” Ursula asked her.

“What do you mean?” Jocelyn fiddled with her phone, looking puzzled.

Ursula gave her a knowing look. “Con, don’t put on an act for me. You've been off since you cback from the hike, and with him leaving overnight if there’s nothing going on, I'll eat my hat.” Jocelyn shrugged. “There’s nothing going on between us.” “Are you really okay?” Ursula had a hunch that Jocelyn’s calm was a facade.

“I'm fine. We'll be back in a few days. Let's focus on catching up with the lessons.” Seeing that Jocelyn didn’t want to talk, Ursula dropped the subject.

As long as Jocelyn wasn't falling apart, she could weather the storm.

Jocelyn went back to her room.

In truth, the next few days were light on lessons, with occasional tutoring for the kids.

Five days later, Jocelyn and Ursula prepared to return to the city.

The villagers cto see them off, filling Ursula’s car to the brim with gifts.

Before they left, Yuri approached Jocelyn. “Hey, Jocelyn, Melvin left in such a rush, | didn’t get to see him off.

Could you tell him when I'm of age, I'd like to cwork for him?” Jocelyn blinked. “Didn’t you take his number?” “I did, but my grandma washed my clothes and forgot to take the note out Lost the number,” Yuri spoke in a low voice.

Jocelyn wrote down Melvin’s number again. “If possible, keep learning as much as you can. Education isn’t the only way forward, but it won't hurt to have sknowledge when you head to the big city.” “Melvin said the same. Don’t worry, Jocelyn, I'll hit the books.” Yuri smiled earnestly “When | start working in the city, I'll treat you, Melvin, and Ursula to a meal.” Ursula teased, ‘Look at that, i'm included too.” Yor blushed and bowed his head. “You've all been so kind to our village. Grandma said we must repay you.” Forget about repaying us. Take care of yourself and your grandma. Things will get better, Jocelyn encouraged him.

Yun nodded vigorously.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Jocelyn and Ursula headed back to the city.

Chapter 147 The road was rough but they knew it well by now. It didn’t seem so bad *This road will be much better once they fix it up, Ursula said “Uriah mentioned they'll start right after the holiday.” Jocelyn gazed out the window, watching as the houses becsparse and the road wound between towering mountains. With such stunning scenery and pure air, she was relaxed.

“Yeah “School's starting soon. Got any plans before then?” | might need to visit my aunt and uncle with my parents. How about you?” “I'm clueless. My mom setup on a blind date, so I'll see if | should go or not.” They made it back to the city just in tfor lunch.

Jocelyn invited Ursula to stay for a meal. But her parents called her home, so she didn’t stick around.

After dividing up the villagers’ gifts, Calvin and Daisy carried them upstairs and quizzed Jocelyn on her village life until the meal ended, with conversation still flowing.

That afternoon, after a nap, Jocelyn found Calvin gone.

“Where's Dad?” “Off to his chess game,” Daisy replied, sitting in front of the TV. “Oh, | forgot to tell you. Your dad’s company had a raffle, and he won the first prize-a whopping twenty thousand.” Jocelyn frowned. “First prize? That much?” “Yeah.” Daisy beamed. “Lucky him. He's thinking of buying you a car for easier travel when you're home.” Jocelyn wasn’t thinking about cars. It just seemed odd that her father had won so much.

“Everyone at his company got something, right?” Daisy paused. “I assso. They couldn't just give it all to one person.” That assleft too much to the imagination.

Jocelyn was starting to have her doubts.

If everyone's getting a windfall like this, you've gotta say the boss is loaded and likes to play by his own rules.

When Calvin got back, Jocelyn asked about the lottery and the year-end bonus. Calvin paused for a moment before saying. “Oh, that prize? Yara snagged it for me. When | went to draw, she just handeda card randomly. It turned out to be the jackpot. As for the treats, | got them the day after the holiday, covering the last shift. Yara handed them to me. I figured she wouldn't have just given something toalone, so | brought it back home.” Yara.

Jocelyn glanced at her father’s innocently puzzled face and knew this wasn’t just out of good luck, nor was it something everyone received.

“Dad, you should probably return that bonus,” Jocelyn suggested. Since the food had already been eaten, they might as well play ignorant. But the money was too much.

Calvin furrowed his brow. “Is there a problem?” “Twenty thousand dollars, don’t you think is too much?” Jocelyn simply stated, hoping to prompt her father to think more deeply about the issue.

Daisy walked out of the kitchen just in tto hear Jocelyn mention the twenty thousand.

“What's the problem?” she asked curiously.

Jocelyn looked at her parents, befuddled. She understood their perspective. They saw it as prize money, the result of luck. Besides, they had no clue about the tension between her and Melvin. So of course, they wouldn't suspect anything untoward.

For a moment, Jocelyn was at a loss for words on how to explain the impropriety of keeping the money