The Unwilling CEO's Love Game

Yasmine had finally dozed off when her phone began buzzing with a persistence that she could hardly ignore. Squinting at the caller ID, she saw it was Melvin. Despite feeling annoyed, she picked up the call. "What now?" she grumbled, the irritation of being woken up evident in her voice.

"I got into a scrap," Melvin said. "Come down and patch me up, will you?"

Instantly, sleep was the last thing on Yasmine's mind.

She flicked on the light and peered outside, spotting Melvin's car in the driveway.

"What the hell, Melvin?" she muttered, even as she shrugged on her coat and headed downstairs.

The commotion stirred Jocelyn awake. She was a light sleeper these days.

She heard Yasmine descending and glanced at Euston, who was sweetly snoozing in his crib, before quietly getting out of bed and following Yasmine downstairs. The lights were on downstairs.

Yasmine let Melvin in and gasped at the sight of his battered face. "Who did this to you? It looks like they wanted to rearrange your face for good."

"Yannick," Melvin winced as he touched a cut near his mouth.

He caught sight of Jocelyn standing at the foot of the stairs.

Yasmine followed his gaze and noticed her too.

"Did we wake you? Sorry, Melvin got into a fight and..." Yasmine trailed off, feeling out of place in someone else's home, especially bringing trouble in tow.

Jocelyn shook her head and pointed towards the TV stand. "First aid kit's over there."

"Right," Yasmine quickly fetched it. "You get back to bed. I'll patch him up and kick him out." S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Jocelyn glanced at Melvin, who now looked like a little brother coming to his sister for solace after being picked on.

She felt no entitlement to linger, so she headed back to her room without another word.

In Jocelyn's absence, Melvin didn't find an ounce of sympathy or concern. It soured his mood further.

"If I knew there would be no comfort here, I wouldn't have let Yannick hit me so hard," he thought bitterly.

"Miscalculated, huh?" Yasmine said, seeing right through him as she guided him to sit. "She's a married woman now, Melvin. Can't you act your age for once?"

Melvin didn't even flinch as Yasmine poked at his wounds with vengeful precision.

His little schemes were pointless now. What was he aiming for? To ruin her marriage and swoop in?

He must be seriously ill.

"Yannick was in a foul mood and wanted to throw down. I just entertained him." Melvin shifted the blame.

Yasmine knew him too well to buy that excuse. With a snort, she said, "Yannick's got more sense than you. He wouldn't resort to brawling unless you provoked him. You, on the other hand..." Melvin didn't bother to argue. It wouldn't make a difference anyway.

"Have you given any thought to what I told you?" Yasmine whispered, glancing upstairs. "It's not easy for a woman, especially one with a child. I know how it feels. I don't want her to suffer." Melvin smirked. "You're supposed to be my sister, but now you sound more like hers. Are you really okay with building her happiness on my misery?"

"Don't be an idiot," Yasmine jabbed at his split lip, ignoring his pained grimace. "You had it coming."

"Seems like the word of the day for me is 'deserved'," Melvin thought sullenly.

"She's someone's wife now, and I'm supposed to guarantee her happiness, right?" Melvin was incredulous. "Why don't you just ask me to babysit them for the rest of their lives?" Yasmine glared at him. "Are you going to do as I asked or not?"

"No," Melvin declared defiantly.

Yasmine finished tending to his wounds and shoved him away. "Get out now!"

Melvin grabbed his jacket and left without a fuss.

Once in his car, he glared at the lights inside the house, fuming.

Pulling out his phone, he dialed a number. "Keep a close watch on Castiel. Don't let him get hurt or worse."

If anything happened to Castiel, Jocelyn would be the one to suffer.

After the call, Melvin slammed his fist against the steering wheel in frustration.

Upstairs, Jocelyn stood by the window, watching Melvin's car pull away. Her emotions were a tangled mess.

After his tussle with Melvin, Yannick drove to Zephyr's place and called him up.

A sleepy voice came through, "Hey."

"Asleep?" Yannick lit a cigarette, gazing up at Zephyr's apartment.

"Yeah."

Silence lingered, punctuated only by the sound of Yannick's breathing.

"What's up?" Zephyr finally asked, not hanging up.

"I'm downstairs," Yannick said, then heard the faint rustle of curtains. He saw Zephyr's bedroom window stir.

Rubbing his eyes, Zephyr peered down to see a car parked below. "Something wrong?"

"That nutjob Melvin was in a foul mood and took it out on me. My right hand's all messed up, can barely lift it, and it hurts. Might've dislocated it," Yannick said nonchalantly. Zephyr frowned, swallowing his words before asking, "Why not have your girlfriend take you to hospital?"

"The last thing I need is her making a big fuss and crying over it," Yannick's voice dripped with disdain. "Injuries can be serious," Zephyr said, now fully awake. "Want to come up and let me take a look?" Yannick paused, his cigarette hovering mid-air. "You sure it's okay?"

Zephyr's voice was rough, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I thought your girlfriend might be with you."

"I don't have a girlfriend."

Yannick's lips twitched slightly.

After a moment, he said, "I'm coming up then."

"Okay."

Yannick stepped out of his car, put out his cigarette and made his way to the trash. After locking the car, he headed to the elevator.

Yannick stepped out to find Zephyr leaning against the doorway in a tank top and shorts, as if waiting just for him.

He followed to the doorway, where Zephyr casually tossed a pair of slippers towards his feet.

After Yannick slipped into the footwear, he turned and shut the door behind him with a swift motion of his hand.

"Let's have a look," Zephyr said, extending his hand.

Yannick attempted to raise his right hand but found it uncooperative.

"You really did a number on yourself," Zephyr remarked as he lifted Yannick's hand to inspect it. "I guess the other guy looks worse, huh?"

"Just his mug got rearranged," Yannick said, his gaze fixed on Zephyr.

Zephyr probed further, "He didn't let you hit him without any purpose but to play the victim to Jocelyn, did he?"

"Probably."

"That's just low. Jocelyn's got a husband and a kid, and he's still stirring the her life. Shameless," Zephyr said, punctuating his words just as Yannick let out a stifled groan.

"Move it around, it should be better now. If there's still an issue, you'll need to hit the hospital."

Yannick rotated his arm, testing its range. "No need, got my own medic at home."

Zephyr suddenly gave him a pointed look.

"What?" Yannick asked.

"Your own medic?" Zephyr raised an eyebrow, "You talking about me?"

That question made Yannick's lips twitch into a subtle smile.