Ellison And Joycelyn A Love Beyond The Rules

"Last night-" Selene began, but Joycelyn swiftly stepped forward, cutting her off with a sincere nod to Ellison.

"Thank you for finding my phone, Mr. Grant," she interjected smoothly. "Those documents in my phone are irreplaceable. I can't tell you how grateful I am."

Joycelyn's matter-of-fact attitude and effusive thanks over a mere phone made Selene's words die in her throat as she stared in confusion.

"Just a small matter," Ellison murmured, his gaze flickering momentarily.

"We shouldn't keep you from your meal. Please, go ahead, Mr. Grant." Joycelyn tugged Selene aside, her forced smile not quite reaching her eyes. Her gaze locked with his, silently pleading for his discretion. After several long beats of eye contact, he moved toward the dining table without another word.

Only when his group had passed did Joycelyn release her breath, her body damp with nervous sweat from those few tense moments.

Selene had intended to gossip, but she found herself completely captivated by Ellison's charm. "God, he's even more stunning up close," she sighed, watching him go. "Any woman who lands him must have been born under a lucky star."

A genuine laugh escaped Joycelyn. "If your parents knew what was going on in your head, they'd probably blow a gasket!"

"Whatever." Selene rolled her eyes. "Let's eat. I need to get home to my man."

Relief washed over Joycelyn as her food-loving friend got distracted by the arriving dishes, dropping all questions about the previous night.

The retreat ended after lunch. While executives took their luxury cars, staff boarded the company bus. From her window seat, Joycelyn's thoughts drifted until Selene's squeal snapped her attention forward. "Look! Mr. Grant's Rolls-Royce is incredible." Selene pressed her face to the glass. "Why couldn't I be so lucky? I wouldn't mind snagging a guy that hot and rich!"

Studying the million-dollar vehicle, Joycelyn felt the stark divide between their worlds.

Her phone buzzed insistently with messages from her mother. Before the retreat, her family had attempted to set her up with a short, older man offering a hundred-thousand-dollar engagement gift. She'd refused, hoping it would blow over like previous matchmaking attempts. Instead, the marriage pressure had only intensified.

To delay the inevitable confrontation, Joycelyn haunted the library until well past 10 PM before finally heading home.

Taking a steadying breath outside her door, she turned the key. The scene inside stopped her cold-her belongings strewn across the floor while her mother Iris Mercer wept on the couch.

"Who threw my things?" Joycelyn's fists clenched at her sides.

"Look who finally graced us with her presence," her stepsister Octavia Mercer drawled without looking up from her game.

Joycelyn's stepfather Phineas Mercer immediately threw down his cigarette on the balcony and stormed in, his palm cracking across her face.

"We raised you, and this is how you repay us?" he roared. "We found you a good match with a generous offer, and you stood him up. Where were you? Out whoring around until this hour?"

Only her mother's intervention prevented a second blow. The harsh slap left Joycelyn's cheek throbbing, her eyes wide with disbelief.

For years, she'd endured their abuse and insults, surrendering most of her salary to support them while subsisting on a few hundred dollars a month. Her dutiful sacrifice had earned her nothing but an attempt to sell her off like cattle.

Something inside her snapped. She swung her bag at his face with all her strength. "How dare you hit me! Not even my real parents raised a hand to me!"

"Your father's dead!" Phineas stumbled back, spitting the words. "I'm your father now. If I hadn't pitied you and your mother, I wouldn't have taken in such worthless burdens."

"You dare?" Ice crystallized in Joycelyn's voice as she stood tall, unflinching. "I worked my way through college with loans and part-time jobs. My mother works herself to exhaustion supporting you. Who's the real burden here?"

Her entire frame vibrated with rage. "You manipulated my mother into signing over my father's house. You'd be on the street without us!"

The fury in her eyes promised retribution for every moment of suffering he'd caused.