AELLA The three musketeers resume their positions the minute I come out of Ace's office. I am not offended, after all, I am a woman on a mission. I was calmer and my hands were no longer shaking. I take my time admiring the club. I would ask him for a tour after eating, maybe we can get freaky in one of the rooms. I blush, Ace has corrupted me, look at me thinking about sex. It is quite early, so I am mesmerised by the number of people around. I thought clubs were only supposed to be busy at night. I see Tom before he sees me. I don't know him, never met him before but I could bet my life that he was Tom. He was a very small man, with a bald head. He looked cute, like a baby, with his chubby cheeks that were very tempting. I wanted to touch it and pat it with my fingers. I quickly dismissed the thoughts of babies the moment it crossed my mind. I would not spoil my day by thinking about a child that might be growing in my belly right now. I pat my bag, trying to confirm that I sti
ACE In the past few months since I met Aella, I have died thrice. First, when shots were suddenly fired in that cabin. second when she had left me. And today, when I saw her on that ground, motionless. It all started as a normal day for me. I was bone tired but still had to go over to the club to settle some pending issues. Stupid Jake stood head-to-head with me when I confronted him about spilling my business to Ryker. I fired him, but he insisted I had no right to. I kept my anger in check immediately, it wasn't the first time I fired him anyway, I would never be free of him, and I knew he would lay down his life for me. He was still Fuming when Aella came into the room, I ignored him. Who would miss an opportunity to admire someone as breathtaking as Aella? Ryker had advised that I let her go back to school, he insisted I was rushing Aella too much and would push her away before she even decided to open her heart to let me in
ACE It was a bloody scene outside. Whoever had done this came prepared, most of my men were dead, some injured but a majority of them stood their ground and fought back. I am not called venomous for nothing, I scare people with my breath alone. I sigh in disappointment when they start retreating, running back to their vans and driving off. I almost follow them, I am almost tempted to go after them and kill all of them slowly. But I resisted the urge, their time would come soon. I would give them false hope, I would give them a single moment of satisfaction and then, attack them. I never hide like a child; they will see me coming. They always saw me coming. I would become their worst nightmare. Even the devil would take a seat to learn, with his mouth wide open in shock as I torture them. "Bring one of them to me.!" I say calmly to no one in particular. I am far from calm, my hands have stopped shaking because I know Aella is in b
ACE I felt better after getting off the phone with Amanda. She assured me Aella was fine and was tucked in bed. It would take a while for the drugs to leave her system. I am pissed, the cut on her face still haunts me. I can still hear her screams in the distance. I close my eyes when the banging in my head becomes worse. I am scared my head might split in half soon. I sigh in relief when the car eventually stops. We are at the warehouse. I smirk, as Jake and one of my men drag the bastard we caught out of the car. They know what to do with him. By the time I was done with him, he would be screaming and begging for mercy. I would give him hope, something to hold on to while he suffered, while his life flashed before his eyes. And then, like a thief in the night, I will snatch it away and leave him begging me for death instead. No one touches what is mine. He would suffer on behalf of others, and when I found out who sent him, he would suffer a worse faith too.
ACE My blood boiled as I moved closer to him. I kept seeing Aella's scared face, and even his death would not make me feel better. He starts fighting the rope around him, struggling to break free. "You have nowhere to run to. I will kill you, regardless of whether you decide to talk or not. The ball is in your court, you can die slowly or peacefully." I laugh at my idea of a peaceful death. "Let me go!" The man starts screaming. Jake moves to him, but I stop him with a look. I want to do this myself, I wasn't joking when I promised to kill anyone who dared to hurt Aella. "Who sent you...?" I ask bending down in front of him. "Jacob," He says in a shaky voice. He is no fun. I haven't even touched him, and he is breaking. "Who sent you here Jacob?" "I... I can't say, he would kill me." Ryker whistles at my back. I stand to my feet enraged, madder than I was a minute ago. I want to take it slowly, I want to hurt him slowly, but I am too pissed to
ACE Before I can speak my mind, he ends the call. He fucking ends the call. My eyes move from Jacob to the wall, I start contemplating who to punch instead of Zade. I settle for the wall. I don't even flinch when I start bleeding. I don't feel any pain, I am too angry to feel anything. "Ace?" Ryker calls concerned. I want to cry in frustration, I want to scream the roof down, I want to run home to Aella, I want to tie her to the bed, so she never leaves my sight. Most importantly, I want to kill Zade. "Let's prepare for war." I am equally shocked by my decision when I speak. "Ace, calm down." I grab Ryker's shirt angrily, shaking him in anger. "Don't you fucking tell me to calm down? He hurt my woman, he threatened my woman, he questioned my love for my woman..." My voice breaks as I force the next word out of my mouth. "He wants her dead." "I understand Ace." His calm voice only pisses me off. "But you don't go unprepared for
AELLA I continue to hold my breath even after the call ends. He was crying, Ace Hale cried. He cried because I told him I loved him. I keep staring at my phone, I want to call him back, I want to speak to him. But I also know I need to give him time to gather his thoughts. I shake my shoulders in fear when Amanda touches them, I have been so lost in thoughts I completely forgot she was beside me. She has refused to leave me alone since I woke up hours ago. Even when he is far away from me, Ace is constantly thinking about me, constantly ensuring that I am well taken care of. I woke up with a very bad headache. The minute I opened my eyes, Amanda rushed to get a glass of water and aspirin. She practically force-fed me some food and a glass of freshly squeezed pineapple. I know Ace must have instructed her to do that while I was out cold. "Are you okay?" She asks concerned. I am not okay, I want to scream, I want to cry and I want to smack Ace on the
AELLA The day goes by in a blur. I took Eva on a tour around the house, Amanda was sweet enough to make some of her delicious pasta which Eva ate and ate, she even requested some takeaway. I don't miss the proud smile on Amanda's face when she asks. I wish I could eat as much as Eva too, that would make Amanda very happy, We continued our tour after food. Eva wasn't exaggerating when she was explaining the number of men guarding Ace's house. Five of them shadow us as we move around. I wonder why I have never taken out time to admire this mansion. We move to the back, and I stare open-mouthed at the pool. Does he have a pool in his house? there is a fucking pool in this house! Eva of course was quick to give the five hot men a show. She quickly started stripping until she was left in only her bra and panties which hardly covered anything. I hide my smile when I see Dan blush, trying hard to avoid staring at Eva. Eva is beautiful, with her hourglass shape that I
ACE EPILOGUE I frown, holding my tongue when Aella carries a chair outside, Ryker is whispering to North beside me, he must be saying something funny because it has her giggling. I lose it when Aella comes back inside to carry the second chair "Baby, let me do that" "Christ Ace, I am four months pregnant not handicapped!" North laughs beside me, and I give her the side eye. "You might shake the baby up with all those lifting" Why can't my wife see that I am making a lot of sense here? I have more than enough men around to help arrange, but Aella is hell-bent on doing things her way. When I confronted her yesterday, demanding that she let an event planner do it, she cried her eyes out and told me she wanted to plan her daughter's third birthday party herself, like she didn't plan the last two. "Dada, dada!" The smile on my face widens when Mia runs towards me. I bend to carry her, and she yawns. Aella immediately abandons everything, giving her attention to our daughter. "D
AELLA I push her hard when she tries to punch my stomach. I have blood all over me, but I take consolation in the fact that they are hers. She screams furiously when she lands on her butt. I am getting dizzy from all the hair-pulling. I yelp when she grabs my hair. "You should never have left your cage whore. You caused all of this, you drove me to this point child" She shouts, pushing, me to the floor and kicking me accurately. Pain slices through me and my eyes tear up, flowing freely. If I could get my mind past the pain and shock, I would fight back, she is trying to kill our baby. She draws her leg back and kicks me, I scream, my body folding over protectively, my arms wrapping around my tummy to protect my baby. Her first connects with my thighs in an angered, frenzied scream. "You will die with this bitch inside you, I will save the world from another whore like you." She sounds breathless. I don't know where I found the courage, but I suddenly got on my feet, punching
ACE My hands were shaking when Jake turned on his laptop. "Thankfully, she was taken here, I don't think she knew you had cameras in here." He clicks on the video, and I suddenly forget how to breathe "Aella mo... you know her?" I was suddenly sweating, "Not as Aella's mother." We would have found her sooner if I ever took the initiative to request pictures of my woman's mother. I slightly open my mouth to assist myself with breathing. "She was there that night Jake." Jake pauses, staring at me like I might have lost my mind. "We have never seen any woman in any of the videos sent to us all these years. You confirmed that they were all men." I sit, I fear I might fall if I don't. "I think my memory has been messed up all this while, I might have gotten it all wrong. But I swear to you, I know her," I look back at the video playing on the laptop. "Her hair, voice, that smile, how could I ever forget it? She had the same smile on her face when she killed my mother." "You said
AELLA I remember Ace telling me his father came home angry, and for the first time, raised his voice, he died that same day. Oh God, my eyes widen in shock, and I stare at Mama, hoping she tells me I am wrong "Please, tell me you didn't kill him." "Well technically no..." She smirks. "I only told Joe that he tried to rape me when I found out he was planning on snitching on us. Joe and Luciano were furious, so they made his death look like a car accident." I want to throw up, so I do. Ace would hate me when he found out that Mama had a hand in his father's death. "You would need a bowl by the time I finished my story." "It doesn't end there?" "Is that question number three?" God help me "Yes." "Tighten your seat belt, honey, it is about to get messy." She said, "I didn't like the fact that he chose his family over me, I wanted to destroy everything he worked for." "God, please no" "We went to their house, it was easy, Luciano had made a name for himself, he had m
AELLAI just want Ace, I know I would feel better when I saw his face. I make quick work of locking the front door, before running upstairs to the bedroom. I burst through the door, frenzied and out of breath, only to be met by a woman, standing in the middle of the room, staring at the window. She turns to face me almost immediately, and the knife in my hand falls to the ground dramatically. "Mama?" I feel dizzy and confused all of a sudden. I must have died at some point and ended up in hell with Mama, how else do I explain my sudden ability to see the dead? "You haven't changed Aella." She looks at my bump with disgust "I always knew you would end up a whore, prophesies never lie child." I don't know if I need to run, or defend myself. "You are dead." Someone, please wake me up from this dream. She laughs and my eyes widen in shock when I see the syringe. why is everyone so obsessed with drugging me? "You haven't changed Aella, still the same old child, looking for val
AELLA My heart immediately breaks, but I sniff to avoid crying. "Oh God, you were... you were like that till morning?" "Yes, I was at the hospital for weeks. My father's family took me in but later sent me away, Mike came to the rescue when I had no one else to turn to." "All of these don't define you, Ace, it only proves that you are a strong-willed man." "Thank you""I love you now, more than ever." "I have not been able to properly sleep since then. I keep having nightmares Aella, crazy ones. I end up physically hurting anyone around me when I am unconscious." "You are scared of hurting me? We wouldn't know if we didn't try Ace." "Remember I told you my uncle sent me out after a month because Lysandra told them about my trauma?" "Yes, how could I forget that." "We happened to spend the night together once." I raise my brow "Just sleeping Aella, we were kids." "Don't blame me for going there, I don't like her, you know that." "I hurt her, it could have been so mu
ACE I watch Aella sleep. There is something peaceful and calm about it, her red hair spread around her like a blanket, her small mouth slightly opened, and her eyes tightly shut. She looks like an angel straight out of a museum. I gently touch her hair, then her brow and she sighs. I never imagined I could ever have someone who genuinely loved me like my parents, someone ready to protect me like Mike and my mother. I fucking love Aella with all of me, and she doesn't even know she is giving me the most perfect gift which is our child. I never truly wanted to be a father until I laid my eyes on her. I suddenly had this animalistic urge to own her, to get her pregnant and when all this was over, she would be completely mine, she would be legally tied to me forever. I want to call her wife so badly, this time around, I don't want to just slip a ring on her finger like I did the first time she met my family, I want to properly ask her to marry me, and I know she would say ye
AELLA Ace looked older and tired, I didn't notice how much his hair and beard had grown, or the dark circles around his eyes, he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. I wish I could say he looked like he hadn't slept in two days because I was away. I sigh, and he stares at me. We have been silent since I came back home, I guess he feels guilty after all. "When last did you sleep?" "Uhh?" My question threw him off guard. "I want to tell you the truth." "Then, tell me." "I hardly ever sleep Aella, and no, it didn't start because of you, It started way before I met you." "When you were molested?" I haven't seen the video, but with the little North told me, I guess molested is the best word to use. "You have seen it?" I am immediately mad when he buries his head in his hands in shame. I hear him sniff, and I force my butt to remain on my seat, if I move to console him now, he would think I perceive him as weak. "I am sorry you had to watch that, I would not stop you from leaving
AELLA "How could a beautiful woman like you, love a man like Ryker," I say, copying her. She laughs, smoothing her baby hair. "I know right." She frowns "I have been a terrible host. Do you want anything Aella?" "Water please." My throat is so dry. "Of course. Elena, a minute please" A beautiful young lady in her twenties comes in, holding a glass of water. I accept it with a smile, drinking greedily from the cup. "Here, do take her with you." She pouts, and Elena smiles, holding a laugh "I hope she sleeps longer; I might cry with her if she starts again." Elena loses the battle, laughing her ass out, with her hands on her belly. "I now understand why Mama sent me here, what would you do without me North? Give her to me, I will leave you two to talk, don't worry about this sleeping beauty." She waves at me, before leaving the room with the baby. "Your sister?" "Yes. bless her, she agreed to go to school from here, she is obsessed with Celeste." That explains Elena's bea