The entire vibe about her seemed to change and I thought that she fit very well into the casual and homey atmosphere of the house. “Thanks for inviting us…” I replied before smiling her way. “Do you want to look around the garden first?” she suggested with a smile.I was tempted to say yes to her random invitation but one look at Ace told me to hold my tongue. Despite the bright and cheerful atmosphere that Elizabeth wanted to present, the situation probably didn’t leave us with much time to pay attention to her well-tended garden. “Let’s go inside where we can talk,” Ace replied in my place. “You’re just killing the mood, Ace…” Elizabeth said jokingly. Despite her initial enthusiasm, Elizabeth did not push the matter any further as she turned and led the way into the house. Unlike the modest exterior of the house, the inside of the house was decorated quite luxuriously. I assumed that her grandparents used to live here and there was no reason why the place wouldn’t be decorated

“I don’t know if you agree with me or not, but I feel like my father is playing games with us. Even if I break up with Kyle, I don’t think that he will support the merger. Instead, he’ll start to demand more from us. The more desperate he feels that we are, the more bargaining power he’s going to think that he has. That’s the type of person that he is,” Elizabeth explained.It was difficult for me to listen to Elizabeth speak about her father that way. I didn’t even want to imagine what their relationship was like. Everything just sounded like business and very transactional without any feelings at all in the mix. Unlike me, Ace didn’t act at all surprised. “Even if what you’re saying is true, you could always start by pleasing him by dumping your husband first. What do you think?” Ace suggested coldly. “I could do that, but do you think that it’ll honestly be enough?” Elizabeth asked rhetorically. “This is his only demand,” Ace pointed out.“For now…” Elizabeth shot back with wide

I could tell that she truly believed that it would work out and maybe she wasn’t just doing this to get back at her father. At least, I didn’t think that that was her main objective, but it would probably come to that as well, which would be an additional bonus that would only add to her satisfaction. The atmosphere was so tense that I didn’t dare let out a sigh. Ace seemed to be thinking of something as he refused to comment on her proposal. It was clear that he was worried, and I could understand that Elizabeth’s unreasonable demand and overly creative solution must be getting to Ace. I could feel Elizabeth staring at us as she waited in silence for Ace’s answer. For a moment, I was scared of what Ace would decide, and if I had to be honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted him to choose. Perhaps, just like Ace, I was torn between the alternatives. If Elizabeth’s plan worked, then the merger would get back on track and so would my future with Ace. However, that would mean that Ace had t

“Why do you think?” he asked me in return. It had already crossed my mind that if this was just about our relationship then I should definitely have a say; however, this wasn’t just about our relationship. The impact of this decision would spread much further beyond my relationship with Ace and our future together. Everyone involved in the two companies would be affected and the relationship between Elizabeth and Kyle would be greatly impacted as well. It was precisely for these reasons that I didn’t quite understand how this should boil down to a decision that had to be made by me. “It’s just…this isn’t just about us…” I replied in a small voice as I pleaded with him with my eyes for him to have mercy on me and tell me what he was thinking instead of making me guess. “I guess you’re right about that. I’m sorry again, I didn’t want to apply that much pressure on you,” Ace said before pausing to smile a little at me. “Then…” I murmured as I dared to hope that he would overturn his

Even if I was fine about it right now, he was right that I may not be fine with it in the future especially when the time came when I had to really see them together. I knew that he was right to be worried; however, there was no other way but for me to grow stronger so that I could take it. “I’ll be fine,” I said before braving a smile. The fact that it took so much effort for me to get those words out without letting my voice and will falter told me that I wasn’t quite ready for what was undoubtedly to come. The way Ace’s arm suddenly tightened around my waist before he drew me even closer to his side made me believe that I had failed quite miserably in fooling him that I was totally fine with Elizabeth’s plan. “Please don’t worry…” I began saying before I couldn’t form any more words. My eyes widened as my body stiffened in his arms when Ace suddenly crushed his lips on mine. It felt like my mind ceased to function at that moment and I wasn’t sure any more of what I wanted to sa