Filed To Story: The Trap Of Ace Book PDF Free
“And?”
he probed.
“And…” My gaze flickered in the backseat again.
“And some rosebuds…” My eyes widened as realization set in.
“Exactly.
Rosebuds and a beautiful blooming rose,” he whispered, easing closer.
“Ring a bell, Rosebud?
Or, should I say, my Rose?”
My breath hitched at my throat at his words.
He-he remembered.
He remembered what he said to me on my ninth birthday.
A shaky breath escaped my lips.
If he remembered, then he also knew of the feelings I’d harbored for him for all these years.
I was right, he knew.
He knew everything.
“You…” I gulped the lump down my throat, my heart pounding.
“Yes, I remember everything.
You know why I bought it?”
I shook my head, still reeling from his revelation.
“Because the moment my eyes fell onto this rose, it became mine.
And I don’t let go of anything that belongs to me.”
A gasp slipped through my mouth.
Even though someone else would think that he was talking about the painting, I knew he wasn’t.
Those intense gray orbs of his were on me as declared his claim.
And I don’t let go of anything that belongs to me.
Something ticked in my head as I remembered my message to him last week.
It was his reply to me.
Just three months, and I will be free of this contract soon.
You can’t keep me here forever.
THIRTEEN: THE VIP ELEVATOR
“S
o, you mean he declared that he wants you?
That you’re his?”
Cassie asked, with her jaw on the floor.
“He didn’t exactly say that.”
“But this is what he meant with whatever he said.
Even a kid can see through it!”
she argued.
I threw the cards we were playing on the table and leaned back against the black leather couch, huffing.
After the auction, I got a call from her to meet at her place.
Suffering from a feeble flu and bored at home, she wanted my company.
“God, I’ve seen people being crazy in love before.
But this?
This is insane!”
She shook her head in disbelief.
“Buying an entire company just to bring you closer to him, forcing you to join the board meetings so he could see you more and wasting a million on a painting?”
At the mention of the ‘L’ word, I straightened.
“There’s no love!
It’s—it just could be a want of possession or obsession of his.
I don’t know.
But there is nothing like that you’re implying.”
She sniffled.
Her sharp little nose was red from her continuous sneezing.
Her honey blonde hair was tied in a messy bun.
“Even Jeff Bezos wouldn’t do something as crazy as buying an entire company that would cost him a fortune just to bring a girl close to him he wanted.”
I rolled my eyes, but my treacherous heart skipped at her words.
After I found out from Tobias that OC Textiles’ owner was Ace, and not Caleb, I was shocked.
I even had doubt that he had something to do with my transfer.
It wasn’t just Caleb.
Though, I wasn’t sure.
When I accidentally told Cassie about this, she got this illusion he bought that company from Mr.Cooper for me.
Even though I didn’t want to believe her, it did make some sense.
“He must’ve had some other agenda behind it.
And it could be a pure coincidence he found out I’d be working in that company, and so he told Caleb to transfer me here.
That’s it.”
I still denied.
“Really?
And what about the message he sent you just the night before that day?
That you can’t escape him anymore?
Your time was over and blah, blah?
Can you explain that?”
I opened my mouth and then shut it.
Crossing my hands over my chest, I shrugged.
She gave me a look, but to my utter surprise, she changed the subject.
“How’s Warner?”
I cocked my head.
“Uh, he’s good?”
What was she trying to do now?
She nodded.
“You guys talk every day?”
“No.
Both of us were really busy the entire week.
But he did call this morning.”
I checked my phone, but there were no calls or messages from him.
“He was supposed to call me again tonight.”
“So long-distance is already at its work,” she hummed.
My brows creased.
“What do you mean?”
Her shoulders lifted as she grabbed her coffee mug and took a sip, sniffling.
“Isn’t it simple?
Even strong relationships don’t work with long-distance most of the time, and here we’re talking about your one-sided relationship.”
“It isn’t one-sided.”
“Oh?”
She raised her brow.
“So, you love him?”
Silence.
“Knew it.
Look, Em—” placing the mug back on the table, she leaned in, “—you and I both know that what you and Warner have isn’t going to last long.
And now that you two are worlds away from each other, and with your new, slash old lover back in the picture, you should take a decision on your relationship with Warner now.
You and he both are aware that you were never into this.
You never had any feelings for him other than seeing him just as a friend.
Yes, maybe he likes you, but trust me, deep down, he also knows you won’t be able to love him, no matter how much he tries.”
I looked down at my lap.
“It’s not my fault I can’t do it.
I tried.
I tried my best to love him.
But…”
“But your heart still belongs to someone else?”
My gaze snapped to her.
“No!
I don’t have any feelings for him anymore.
Yes, he still affects me, but…
it’s just the awkwardness.
Nothing else.”
I averted my eyes from her piercing amber ones.
“Warner and I are doing well.
You don’t worry about that.”
“Don’t lie to me.
I know you more than you know yourself, Em.
You still want him as much as you did back at your siblings’ birthday party that night.
You’re just scared to get hurt again.That’s why you’re denying your feelings, aren’t you?”
she asked.
When I didn’t answer, she sighed.
“Don’t you think you’re doing wrong to Warner?
Even if he was the one who insisted on trying, you know you won’t be able to love him no matter if it’s because of Ace or not.”
Closing my eyes, I put my head in my hands.
I knew I wasn’t doing fair with Warner.
It’s been eating me out for a long time now.
But I was too selfish to let him go.
Though I didn’t love him, his friendship gave me huge support.
Truth to be told, him being my boyfriend helped my mind a little bit to assure myself that I’d moved on.
I could show it to the world, to him
.
But deep down, I knew the truth.
I knew I was using Warner for my own selfishness.
My eyes pricked as guilt cut through me.
Though I was thinking about talking to him about it for the last few months, I couldn’t do it.
My selfishness, fear… fear of facing him
alone stopped me from doing it.
Cassie placed a hand over mine.
“It’s okay.
I know what you’re feeling.
But don’t.
It’s not your fault.
Though Warner doesn’t know about Ace, he does know why you agreed to be his girlfriend.
Talk to him.
I’m sure he will understand.
He deserves to know the truth, Em.
Tell him everything.”
I nodded.
“I will talk to him.
But not now.
I need to do this when we’re face to face.
He’s coming to Tess’s wedding.”
“Will you tell him about Ace?”