Filed To Story: The Trap Of Ace Book PDF Free
How could you?”
“I know you can’t ever do that, damn it!
The one I don’t trust is that man!”
He cupped my cheeks, holding my gaze with his furious ones.
“Can’t you see what he’s trying to do?
Can’t you see what he wants?
He wants to take you away from me.
And you’re letting him!”
“Just like you took away his career from him?
Just like you sent him to Seattle because you wanted him away from me?”
A muscle of his jaw ticked, but he stayed silent.
His unapologetic, flaming gaze drove my temper haywire.
I shook my head.
“I can’t believe this.
How can you ruin someone’s career like that?
He’s just a friend to me, he always was.
How many times do I have to tell you?
I ignored everything you did in these past months.
You buying Cooper’s company so you could bring me back to California, putting guards after me, threatening off any men who came near me and making me an equal owner of everything you own.”
I counted the only incidents I could remember at that moment.
“I let everything go, thinking you’ll come around eventually.
But I won’t tolerate this!
I won’t let you do this to Warner!”
His nostrils flared.
“Why?”
I frowned.
“Why is he so important to you?
Why, even after I’m telling you he wants to steal you from me, you’re still fighting for him!”
He roared, cupping my jaw.
But no matter how furious he was, his grip was gentle.
“Why do you still care for him that much now that he isn’t your boyfriend anymore?”
I gritted my teeth.
Didn’t he hear what I was saying again and again?
“Because he’s one of my best fri—“
“You love him?”
Words caught in my throat as soon as the question came out of his mouth.
Pressing his forehead against mine, his thumb gently brushed over my cheek.
Vulnerability flashed across his eyes, along with the light of thunder that fell on us through the open window.
“Do you still have feelings for him, Rosebud?
Does he love you more than I do?
Do you regret leaving him, leaving a good, sensible man for a crazy, obsessed man like me who has a tainted past?”
The crack in his voice hit my heart like a dagger.
“W-what?”
Achilles Valencian was showing me his fear, insecurities.
So that’s why he was so vexed about Warner hanging around me that much?
Not only his jealousy, but his insecurities made him do all these things.
Because he thought he wasn’t good enough for me?
But why would he think like that?
“I wouldn’t be with you right now if I regretted even a bit.
I wouldn’t be in your arms like this if I had loved him and not you.”
I held his gaze as I said those words.
“If I didn’t love you, and only you, I wouldn’t be waiting here for you, even after the way you left last night.”
“Then why do you still care for him so much?
Why are you still letting him in your life?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Ace!”
I jerked away from him.
“Just because we broke up doesn’t mean I’ll throw him out of my life!
I won’t because he’s my friend, and I’m telling you this for a thousand times!
I don’t love him, I never did!
I don’t understand why you’re so insecure about him being around me?”
“Because even after you broke up with him, he still wants you!
He wants you back in his life, can’t you see it!”
His shoulders rose and fell with every heavy breath he took.
“You don’t know him, Rosebud.
He wants to take you away from me.
He—“
“I don’t care if I know him or not!”
I cut him off.
“Nor do I want to know him.
I thought I knew you.
But guess what?
I don’t know anymore.”
A tear left my eye as I stared at him.
His gaze followed it, his hands clenched.
“You lied to me,” I whispered.
“I didn’t think my Ace would lie to me like that.”
His lips pressed tight.
“I don’t remember you asking me about Warner suddenly getting hired and anything regarding his job.”
“That’s one of the things you hid from me.
But I’m not talking about it right now,” I said.
“I’m talking about your father’s death.
You told me he committed suicide.
But it’s not the truth.
He didn’t commit suicide, he was murdered.”
His shoulders tensed.
In place of the rage on his features sat an unreadable mask now.
But no matter how much he tried to hide his true feelings, his stormy grays revealed everything.
Shock, confusion, frustration, anger and… fear.
I had decided to give him some time to reveal everything before me.
I didn’t want to force him to do anything.
Understanding how sensitive it was for him, I thought I’d give him his needed space before he was ready to let me in.
But now seeing his irrational fear, insecurities, and jealousy, seeing to what extent he went under the influence of them, I couldn’t sit quietly.
Because of that past, he had this assumption that he wasn’t good enough for me.
That I could leave him anytime realizing the fact.
A secret that was eating him alive and was the reason behind his fear of losing me.
I wanted to be aware of that.
Because the way he was behaving every time at the mere mention of his past, I didn’t think he’d be ever ready to tell me anything.
Because he thought if I knew about this dark past of his, I’d leave him.
And he’d do anything but let me go.
I wanted him to trust me, to let me in.
I wanted to heal him.
I wanted to be beside him, the thing I couldn’t do years ago.
And for that, I needed to know everything.
“How… how do you know that?”
Greek accent was deeper than ever.
“Who told you about this?”
A silent tension was rolling off his stance, ready to explode any moment.
His nails dug into his palms.
Even though I knew Warner wouldn’t lie to me, I was still shocked knowing his father was indeed murdered.
“It’s true, isn’t it?”
A shaky breath left my lips.
“Your father was murdered.”
“Who told you that?”
Sharp jaw ticked.
“Who did it, Ace?”
I asked, ignoring his question.
“And why did you hide it from me?”
He inhaled deeply, eyes darker than earlier.
“I didn’t lie about anything.
Whoever told you this nonsense doesn’t know shit.
So just forget about it.”
“Don’t lie to me again, Ace!
I can see it in your eyes!”
I glared.
“I don’t know why you’re even hiding anything from me.
We both know what the truth is.
Then why—wait,” I tilted my head.
“Are you trying to save someone?
Are you trying to hide the person who killed your father?”
The unnerving silence and the storm brewing in his gaze was my answer.
I gasped.
“It’s true then.
You’re trying to save a murderer.”
“Emerald, stop it.”
Shaking my head, I gaped at him.
“So, it’s also true it was you who bribed the cops to save the culprit.”
“Stop—“
“How could you?
No.
I don’t believe this.
You can’t do that.
There must be a reason behind that, right?
There was a valid reason.
You can’t do that to your own father—“
“I said stop!”
I flinched at his thunderous roar.
My horrified gaze met his flaming one.
“Fucking stop it already!
I’ve had enough!
Can’t you get one fucking thing in your head that I don’t want to talk about it?”
he hissed.
“I don’t owe you anything.
I don’t need to tell you every fucking thing about my life.
Stay the hell out of my past!
And leave me alone!”