Chapter 252 - 252 Healing and Mending

252 Healing and Mending

“Ace…” I murmured his name before I found out that I didn’t quite know what to say to him.

“Stop frowning, Rina. You’ll get lines all over your beautiful face…” Ace reprimanded me half-jokingly.

I felt the warmth of his hand against the side of my face before his fingertips slid down to cup my chin and tip my head up slightly. His other hand approached my face and then I felt his fingers trying to stop the skin in between my brows from creasing. I didn’t know how to react to how seriously he seemed to be taking this.

“You know, if you seriously don’t want me to frown like this, then you should stop making me worry about you…” I muttered darkly.

“Well, since there’s not much that I can do about that, I’ll just help keep your brows away from each other…” Ace replied with a chuckle.

I didn’t quite think that it was funny but the atmosphere around us seemed to have lightened somewhat. Things were a far cry from being normal between us but it seemed like things may just work out in the end. At least, I wanted to allow myself to hope and have some optimism.

“I really hope that I can trust you, Ace…” I murmured softly as if I was just talking to myself.

Although I knew that he could hear me, Ace chose not to reply to my words. Instead, his lips slowly approached my face and then I could their familiar warmth softly against mine as he began kissing me gently. His kiss was so gentle that it left me feeling confused about how I should be feeling. It felt slightly strange for his kiss to be so undemanding, but I didn’t dislike it at all.

“Let’s take a bath together…” Ace invited me again.

.....

I let him take my hand and lead me to the bathroom. For a moment, it felt like everything that took place at the party never happened and we were just a simple couple spending time with each other at home. The door of the bathroom closing behind us snapped me out of my thoughts and returned me back to reality. A small smile curved my lips when I realized that reality didn’t have to be so different from the dream world that I just saw in my mind.

“We should head to bed soon…” I murmured preemptively.

Ace began stripping off his clothes while I stood and watched a little shyly to the side. He probably knew why I said that because he laughed a little at me. When he was completely naked, he stepped towards me and soon his hands were undoing the zipper of my dress.

“Turn around…” he instructed.

I heard the zipper of the dress sliding down as Ace unzipped my dress. He did not waste much time in pulling it down my body until the whole dress pooled at my feet. Ace offered me a hand and I felt like a little princess as I stepped out of my dress and into his arms.

“Are you still mad?” he asked.

I didn’t want to meet his eyes because the gentleness and concern that I saw in them made me feel even more confused inside. His eyes searched mine as if he could find the answer that he was looking for there.

“I’m not mad. I guess, I was just worried about you and everything…” I replied in a small voice.

“It’s like I always tell you. There is nothing for you to worry about, Rina,” he said with a smile.

Just like many times before, Ace placed his large hand on the top of my head. I used to think that this made me feel like his dog; however, there was no denying it that this gesture helped to reassure me. It made me feel that things may work out between us and that I could depend on him and trust him.

“You know…when I heard that you wanted to quit your job, I was so shocked that I thought that I was going to faint for real…” I murmured.

“I can sort of imagine that happening…” he replied with a chuckle.

His fingers moved to caress my bare shoulders before sliding down my back. I took in a sharp breath at the pleasure of his fingers on my skin before I closed my eyes. I felt his fingers on the back of my bra for a brief moment before he unhooked my bra.

“After I got over my shock, I felt very scared and very worried…” I said before trailing off because my voice had started to shake.

It sounded like I was about to cry and maybe that was what was really about to happen. I felt tears sting the back of my eyes again as I recalled the fresh and raw pain of that moment. Ace slid the straps of my bra down my bare shoulders, and I helped him remove it from my arms and let it fall to the floor at my feet. It was strange that we were trying to have a conversation while he was undressing me.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you beforehand, but it would have just made you worry even more…” Ace said apologetically.

“Not telling me about it will make me worry even more and I just keep thinking about the worst outcome…” I muttered as my mood darkened even further.

“What do you mean by that?” Ace asked.

I felt his hands on my arm before he spun me around to face him. Our eyes met and I couldn’t look away from him even if I wanted so desperately to. It might have been the first time since our argument over Claudia that I’ve seen him so genuinely shaken and worried. For the first time, I realized that this situation wasn’t just hard on me but it must have been as hard or even harder for Ace as well.

“When I heard you say that you will quit your job, I couldn’t help but think that you would back down from the promise that you made with your father to grow the company…and…the promise that you made to me as well…” I admitted in a small voice.

–To be continued…