Filed To Story: The Trap Of Ace Book PDF Free
And I felt bad for Ophelia.
Though I didn’t get to spend much time with her, she was a great woman.
She didn’t deserve it.
“Did you tell her about it?”
I asked, not moving from my place.
He shook his head.
His eyes were hard as stone.
“I didn’t have the courage to.
Even though she had her own doubts, she was never sure about it.
He never let himself get caught.
She was already drowning herself in alcohol.
I couldn’t give her more reasons to increase her misery.”
“If she wasn’t happy with him, if he was treating her that way, then why didn’t she just leave him?”
I queried, curious to know more.
“Even after the doubts, why did she stick around?”
“Because of love.”
Those dark stormy gray orbs met mine.
“She loved him, Emerald.
Even after he threw her out of the board members when she had equally worked hard with him to raise the company to success, even after he started manhandling her, even after he disrespected her every day, she didn’t want to leave.
She wanted to stay with the man she once fell in love with hoping that he’d magically become the same charming man she once knew.
She didn’t want her family to get shattered.
So, she stayed.
Tolerating everything.”
I gulped the tears that threatened to spill.
She loved that man so much, but the only thing she got in return was heartache.
“And she found solace in alcohol to forget her pain?”
He nodded, staring hard at the fire that flickered so high, as if it just needed a bit more air to spread its destructive wings into raging lava.
The rage in his eyes matched the zing of the flames in the fireplace.
“Even though most of the time she used to be lost in alcohol, she sometimes used to come into my room at midnight to kiss my forehead and whisper goodnight.”
His voice cracked at the end.
Not being able to stand there anymore, I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
But he didn’t look up at me.
Maybe because he didn’t want me to see the moisture in his eyes.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
His pain was slicing through my heart.
I wanted to hold him to my chest and tell him everything would be all right, that I was here with him.
But the stiffness of his shoulders and rigid posture stopped me from doing so.
“She tolerated everything even after she was dying inside.
She kept smiling at the fancy parties he took her with him, so no one could raise a finger at our family.
She took his insults every fucking day without relent.
But everything had a breaking point.
Everything had a line.”
His lips curled in distaste, his nostrils flared in rage.
“And the line broke that night.”
I straightened.
My heart pounded.
I knew my answers were just a few moments away.
I knew it was the night that became the worst night of his life.
The night that still haunted him.
“After a long time, Caleb and I decided to have a family dinner outside with her.
That was the night of Thanksgiving.
We thought we could at least make her mood brighten a little.
Even Tobias and Tess joined us.
We were supposed to leave for your home afterward to spend the rest of the night with your family.”
Looking up at me, he held my gaze.
“I was eagerly waiting to meet you and give you the gift I bought for you.
But…Mom couldn’t control her urge and got drunk.
So, we had to cancel the plan and return home.”
His voice turned deeper and rougher as he continued.
His jaw clenched and unclenched.
I squeezed his shoulder to provide him some comfort.
“The moment we reached home, we…heard them.
Him and one of his mistresses.”
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.
“I still remember the way she stood frozen before her bedroom door.
I still remember the tears that formed in her eyes.
She…found him with a woman on the very bed they shared.
With her very best friend.”
Another gasp left me as I stood there, shocked at the new revelation.
“And that night her patience broke.
I never saw that side of my mother.
She was shaking with anger and hatred.
Tears were rolling down her eyes from the betrayal she got from the two people she loved a lot.
That night, she lost it.”
The way the anger in his eyes slowly turned into fear unnerved me.
“Tess and Tobias left immediately.
Caleb stood at the door, frozen.
And that man didn’t have a bit of shame to even show a bit of remorse.
Instead, he was mad she entered the room with the children.
He accused her of wanting to demean him before us.”
He paused, gulping.
“I stood there listening to them scream at each other, their curses and shoves.
I didn’t know what to do.
Nor did Caleb.
I wanted to console my mother, punish my father for his deeds.
But all I could do was stand there in a corner.
For a seventeen-year-old, the situation was very confusing and traumatic.”
Without warning, he stood.
Away from my touch and closer to the fire.
His shoulders rose and fell with every heavy breath he took.
His curled fists shook at his sides.
“I-I didn’t know what to do until—until Mom got out a gun from her closet.
The same gun he bought for his protection,” he said while I stood there frozen in my place.
I didn’t expect everything to turn out like this.
“She was so drunk and hurt that she didn’t know what she was doing.
She went to shoot her friend, screaming at her for betraying her in that way.
And he loved his mistress enough to snatch the gun from her and raise it to his wife.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for his next words to come.
My hands and feet turned cold out of anxiety and nervousness.
An ominous feeling rose in my chest.
“He was mad.
I still remember how red his eyes were.
I still remember how much hatred he held in his eyes as he watched Mom.
But even if he held the gun at her, she didn’t stop screaming at them, shoving him, and grabbing that bitch!
And then he lost it,” he murmured.
“I saw him curling his finger around the trigger.
His words still echo in my head that he spit out, staring right into Mom’s eyes.
‘I’ve had enough of you.
You’re becoming a nuisance for my professional and personal life now.
I just wanted to remove you from the company, but now it seems like I have to remove you from my life as well.
So I can live in peace.
And this is the perfect time to do that.'”
I let out a shaky breath.
Not even a word left my mouth.
“He was about to pull the trigger.
And that’s when I jumped in between him and Mom.
I requested him to put the gun down.
But he didn’t seem to care that his son was standing before the deadly nozzle.
He just pushed me aside and went for Mom in rage.
But I couldn’t let that happen.
I tried to snatch the gun from his clutch, but he didn’t let me.
He just wanted to kill his wife at that moment.
And I had to do something, Emerald.
I had to stop him.
And I…did.”
He slowly turned to me.
Dark eyes held mine.
Not even a trace of emotions was on his face.
Something churned into my stomach.
“You were right.
I didn’t tell you everything.
I hid two things from you.
One, he didn’t commit suicide, he was murdered.
And two—” Greek voice was dense as he stared deep into my eyes, “—he was murdered by his own son.
The trigger set off by my hands during the fight.
I killed him.”
SIXTY-SEVEN: SHE’S MY HOME…
ACE
I watched her silently as she stood frozen in her place.
With her turquoise eyes wide in shock, her lips parted.
Color drained from her face the moment those words left my mouth.
The truth I had been hiding in the deepest corner of my memories.
The ugliest and darkest truth of my life I never wanted to reveal before her.
She kept quiet.
Unbearable silence echoed throughout the hall.
Other than shock and disbelief, I couldn’t read a single emotion on her beautiful face.
I inhaled deep.
The same ominous feeling rose in my chest again, choking me in its vicious grip.
Clenching my fists, I ignored the pain that shot through my heart.
“Emerald,” her name snuck out as a whisper through my lips.
“Say something.”
She didn’t.
She just stood there, staring at me with tears glistening in her eyes.
I turned away from her.
Deep, labored breathing came out of me.