CHAPTER- 31

Ace POV:

198...199...200...

I finished my abdominal crunches, sitting up with a rough breath. Sweat trickled down my face as I wiped it off with a towel.

My morning routine was relentless: five sets of planks, 30 minutes each, and now the sweat-soaked shirt was discarded.

It was just past 7 AM. I glanced at the clock, the hands already well into the morning hours.

My phone buzzed with messages from my friends, all of them urging me to return.

I was holed up in a small cabin in Pittsford Village, a haven of solitude amidst the forest, away from the clamor of city life.

Here, it was just me and the five guards who had been assigned to my security.

The silence was comforting, but today, it felt strangely ominous.

After a quick shower and a hasty tidying of my bed, I prepared breakfast.

Scrambled eggs and papaya juice— my culinary skills didn't extend beyond these basics.

It was a dish I had learned to make for my mother, a skill I’d never quite mastered but managed to perfect out