A nagging feeling at the back of my mind told me that somehow, she was going to be a part of my life. I hated the restless feeling that bubbled up inside of me and the shiver than ran up my spine just at the thought. Elizabeth didn’t seem like someone that I could get along with no matter how she was supposed to be so good at her job. “I see. Is that why you agreed to let me join your little date today?” Elizabeth asked teasingly.Watching Elizabeth laugh so brightly only added to my doom and gloom. Kyle had a very awkward look on his face like he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react as well. As for me, I wanted to strangle Kyle just so that I could take out my anger on someone in that moment. If he was with Elizabeth, how come he didn’t talk her out of coming here? I told myself to calm down and to try to make the most of the situation in front of me. Perhaps it was the perfect opportunity for me to finally learn something about what was really going on between Ace and Elizabe
Ace wasn’t supposed to be dumb, so I had no idea why he thought that it would be fine to let Elizabeth join use for dinner. “It’s just too bad that you have to find out along with everyone else,” Elizabeth said before grinning at me.Her attempt to show her fake care and concern for me made me feel sick inside. Thinking back on how we first met and all the things that had happened between me and her directly and indirectly, I couldn’t see how she could hate me as much as she did. I felt like I was always the one on the receiving end of all the shitty things that had happened. Perhaps she hated me because Kyle chose to cheat on her with me. That was the only thing that I could think of; however, that felt like it happened a long time ago. So long that it didn’t even feel like something that happened in this lifetime. I had long moved on from that, and since I’ve started dating Ace, not once did I think of Kyle and the relationship that we shared. He was just history and nothing more.
“Call it whatever you will, but you basically ran away from home. Without going into the details, Ace and his father doesn’t have a very friendly relationship. You probably already know at least that much, right?” Elizabeth asked before she paused.“Yes, I do…” I replied while telling myself to be patient and to ignore her rudeness. It was all for a chance to learn something new about Ace. Ace didn’t seem to perfectly agree with Elizabeth’s version of the story but at least he didn’t stop her from continuing. “The time I’m referring to is that period when Ace quit his job at his father’s company and went off to start his own thing. That was a pretty bold and extreme move at the time. Obviously, Ace’s father was absolutely against it, but Ace also obviously didn’t care. He just disappeared so I always refer to that period as Ace running away from home,” Elizabeth said before she laughed. “I see…” I murmured before I waited for her to continue. “People thought that he disappeared fr
“What about you, Karina?” Elizabeth asked as she turned her attention to me. “What…about me?” I asked blankly. “Does Ace’s father like you? He knows that you two are dating, right?” Elizabeth asked bluntly. To be fair, I didn’t think that the Chairman didn’t like me as a person. After all, he clearly hasn’t known me long enough to form any kind of opinion about me. However, there were many reasons related to my social standing, the fact that I lacked many qualities especially when it came to wealth and business assets and all these lacking qualities made him disapprove our my relationship with Ace. That on top of the fact that we were not supposed to be dating because he is my boss. In the end, it might not be entirely wrong to say that the Chairman does not like me. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks of Rina. I like her well enough and that is all that matters,” Ace replied before I could come up with something to say. “Wow. Such bold words…” Elizabeth said in clear amusement as
I didn’t even bother to reply to him as I tried to control the anger rapidly growing in my chest. To my slight disappointment, my mood had not improved at all even when we arrived back at his place. There were so many things going on at work and I also knew that it probably wasn’t the right time for me to confront Ace about the disaster that unfolded at dinner; however, I felt like my entire chest might burst if I continued to keep it in. Just when I made the decision to talk to Ace about it and to tell him honestly how I felt, Ace’s phone started ringing. It was quite late in the evening, and I had no idea who could be calling. Before I knew it, I had started wishing that the one on the other end of the land wasn’t Elizabeth. Ace took our his phone and answered the call in one swift motion. The stern look on his face told me that the call wasn’t from Elizabeth or anyone looking for small talk in the evening to pass the time. “Tell me about it…” Ace said in a serious tone.Without l
“What about what she said in particular?” Ace asked as if he didn’t understand the point of my question. “Everything. Everything that she said. Every…little and huge ass thing that she said,” I replied through gritted teeth. Ace seemed surprise at how much my anger was showing and I was surprised at how he didn’t seem to realize just how angry I was. Regardless, Ace remained just as calm as before. “I think she said some strange things and some of that must have bothered you. She can take her jokes a little too far but I’m sure that she doesn’t mean any real harm. If you’re upset, I can apologize in her place,” Ace told me before smiling a little at me. I gasped at his words especially the part where he was going to apologize to me on her behalf. It never occurred to me how we could misunderstand each other this badly. I thought that Ace would surely understand what I thought and how I felt. “I don’t need you to apologize in her place. I don’t even want an apology from her. I jus
“Can you just not meet her?” I blurted out asking before I could hold myself back. It wasn’t like I regretted my words. In fact, I was thankful for that extra burst of courage that made me say those words out loud. Life would be so much better for me and for us if he could just stop meeting her or contacting her in any way. “I can’t do that. She’s not that bad of a person when you really get to know her. She’s just…she can be mean and very calculating with her words,” Ace said with a little chuckle. “You seem to adore her…and everything that she does,” I muttered darkly. “Not at all. I give her a hard time too whenever she steps over the line. However, I figured that today would be a good practice for you. One day, you’ll be able to deal with people like her so effortlessly,” Ace said before flashing me a confident smile. I shook my head in disagreement. If this was the way that he wanted me to learn and improve myself, then I would prefer that I stayed the way that I was before.
I sighed when I realized that there was no way that no one would see us together. The security guard was basically staring into the car when Ace rolled down the window. I had no idea why he had to do that when the guard could already tell that it was Ace. I mean, he’s the CEO for crying out loud. “Good morning!” Ace greeted the guard loudly.The flustered reaction of the guard told me that it wasn’t a daily occurrence that Ace would do this. I cursed him silently in my mind as I desperately turned the other way. “G-Good morning, Sir…” the guard replied in a shaky voice. “I’m just here with my secretary because we’re supposed to always be together. It’s nothing unusual, ok?” Ace said in a teasing tone.“Y-Yes, Sir…” the guard stammered. I literally began pulling at my hair in my frustration. I wondered but then decided that I didn’t even want to know why Ace did something like what he just did. When the car moved forward again, I turned around and glared at him. “Relax…” Ace whisp