Chapter 76
Jocelyn's trashy talk made Melvin feel an urge to kill her.
She's really getting too big for her britches now.
Suddenly acting so rebellious, as if he's just an optional extra in her life.
"Got sick of me?" Melvin wasn't ticked off, just gave her an icy look.
"Yeah, fed up," Jocelyn taunted him, "How about we just go separate ways? You hang with Willow, while I'll find someone else. If it works out, we don't have to stick with each other anymore."
"I only wanna stay with you," Melvin could take a hit too, "If you ever cheat on me, I'll kill that guy first, then you."
The threat was laid out so boldly. The calmer he was, the more she couldn't doubt his words were legit.
He always had that vibe that made her believe he could walk the talk.
Jocelyn wasn't backing down either, "What about you? What's with you and Willow being all cozy? Who should I get to off first?"
Melvin narrowed his eyes, "Which eye of yours saw me getting cozy with her?"
"Then keep her out of my face," Jocelyn was dead set, "As long as you stay away from her, I'll believe there's nothing between you two."
Melvin furrowed his brow, while Jocelyn raised hers with a determined look.
Jocelyn was used to it anyway, she said nonchalantly, "If you can't, don't bother with me. They say dating without aiming for marriage is just messing around. I totally get that now."
"Jocelyn!" Her name was squeezed through his clenched teeth.
"Hmm?" Jocelyn's cold tone and expression finally ignited the man's fury.
Melvin squinted, "You'd better just be joking. Otherwise, I'll show you I'm serious either."
Jocelyn felt a chill inside, but kept up a brave front, "Cool. As long as you meet Willow or hit her up once, I'll find a guy to play with as well. After all, you're not gonna marry me. I'll end up sleeping with another man anyway."
"You..." Melvin was so furious.
Seeing his livid face, Jocelyn felt a rush of satisfaction, finally getting a leg up.
She flashed him a smile, "Since you like this bed so much, you can have it." With that, she turned around.
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
Jocelyn shut the door behind her, grabbed belongings and headed out.
She didn't believe Melvin would come after her, especially when he was practically in his skivvies.
For a guy like him, he had at least some sense of shame.
Jocelyn didn't go back home. She just checked into a nearby hotel.
She tried digging up dirt on Willow on the Internet, but the girl had been nothing but squeaky clean for the past two years, making it tough to find any clues.
Besides, anything already spilled online was old news.
Suddenly, she remembered that rumor about Willow getting smacked around in a hotel for flirting with a director and getting caught by his wife, landing in the hospital. But the comment box was buried by Willow's fans.
Finally she found that comment again after some digging and cautiously sent a private message to the poster.
To her surprise, that person responded quickly and even left a Facebook ID for her to add.
Jocelyn was a bit pumped, sent a friend request on Facebook and got accepted almost instantly.
Getting straight to the point, she screenshotted the comment and asked if it was true.
"It's true."
Jocelyn was buzzing. She immediately asked for a meet-up, and the poster agreed. Jocelyn was in high spirits.
If she couldn't count on Melvin, she'd rely on herself.
It wasn't about fighting over Melvin anymore; it was about settling scores for herself.
The next day, she headed to the place as instructed, where young folks wouldn't usually come. Maybe the guy was a seasoned entertainment reporter?
Arriving the room they booked, Jocelyn saw a woman clad in a cap and mask, whose clothes suggesting her young age.
She was a bit hesitant, but it was indeed the right meet-up spot.
"Umm..."
"Yup, I am the one you want to meet," the girl spoke up.
Taken aback, Jocelyn stepped in and closed the door, "Sorry, I thought someone who picked this place to meet might be, you know, older."
"I'm Ulla," the person coolly introduced herself.
"Jocelyn."
Then the girl took off her hat and mask, revealing a fresh-faced. She's a cute woman.
Pretty features, a bit of a tomboy vibe, with a bob cut that added sweetness. It was pleasant just looking at her.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" The girl looked somewhat familiar to her.
Ulla's lips curved up in a small, pretty smile, "Maybe on TV?"
Jocelyn was surprised but hardly thought of anyone.
"I competed against Willow on a TV show before," Ulla said, "and I lost."
That explained it.
Jocelyn now understood why she knew those secrets about Willow.
Ulla got straight to the point, "I had a shot at the top three. During the 'top 10 to 6' round, Willow spent a night in the producer's room. And I was way behind her in the next day's votes,. She shoved me out to make it to the top six."
Jocelyn was taken aback.
"With her meager skills, she couldn't have gotten where she is today," Ulla scoffed, "She slept her way up."
"
"Got any proof?"
"Nope."
Jocelyn's hopes deflated.
No proof, it was just hearsay. Who could verify its credibility?
Ulla sensed her disappointment, "If I had solid evidence, I'd have smeared her reputation a long time ago. She's got a backer. Any negative news against her just squashed immediately, buried before it spread."
It could be Melvin.
"I heard she's got several sugar daddies. Otherwise, do you think she could really get this far on her own?" Ulla's bitterness towards Willow was unmasked.
Jocelyn inquired, "So, about that hotel incident you mentioned, it wasn't an accident during rehearsal but a beating from a director's wife, any evidence of that?"
"None."
"Then how'd you even know about it?"
"Well, I happened to be at the restaurant under that hotel that day when I saw the director's wife marching some folks upstairs. Had no clue what the deal was at the time, but then when Willow got carted off by the ambulance, which reminded me. This ain't her first rodeo abroad, you know." Ulla snorted with a scoff, "Stuff she pulled off overseas, hardly anyone here's got the scoop. So she swanned back in and crafted this image that everyone's just gobbling up.
She's definitely got something, snagging that jewelry brand endorsement as soon as she's back. Some folks are whispering that she's got a side thing going with the big shot behind the jewels. I mean, that company never needed a spokesperson before. Why does she get the golden ticket, right? If someone says they didn't hit the hay, anyone who knows what she's really like would just laugh it off." Hearing all this was like a punch to Jocelyn's gut.
Anyone with even a slight interest in showbiz or that jewelry brand knew that it's all green lights for Willow, no secret about how she stood out from the crowd.
The chat with Ulla revealed what kind of person Willow was.
It was true that she couldn't just take one person's word for it, especially when that person was basically Willow's arch-nemesis. But if Willow hadn't pulled this kind of stunt before, how could people spin such tall tales?
The real kicker was, despite all the buzz, there was not a shred of hard evidence, not a single snap of Willow sneaking into someone's room at night.
Obviously Willow was pretty slick with covering her tracks.