My eyes squinted against the bright light as soon as the room lit up. And then I found the person who dragged me into this room.
Dark orbs watched me silently.
My fists clenched. “What the hell is this, Arthur?”
His head cocked to the side. “You don’t even know what hell is. Trust me, I haven’t done anything yet to compare it with hell.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
A muscle of his jaw ticked, and his aged left eye twitched. “I’ll just say five words, Emerald.” Disgust dripped from his voice as he said my name. “Stay out of my path.”
My forehead creased more in confusion.
A shiver ran down my spine at the malice that his dark, soulless eyes held as realization hit me.
“What are you trying to say, Arthur?” I kept my voice even.
He found out. He found out about my quest, but I didn’t know how much he knew.
He let out a humorless chuckle. “You exactly know what I’m talking about. You really thought you could dig into my past and my secrets, and I wouldn’t find out?”
When I didn’t say anything, his lips curled into a sneer.
“Surprised?” he mocked. “Well, from the day you saw me with Sierra in the hotel garden, I knew you wouldn’t keep quiet. You’d go after her asking about me. And you did, just as I assumed. And then I found out that worthless ex-boyfriend of yours had his cousin after me. Do you think I’m that unaware and foolish?”
I stepped back as he took a threatening step towards me. With my eyes wide, my heart hammered in my chest. Not because I was scared of him, but because he now knew about Warner and his cousin’s involvement in this matter.
Shit, I didn’t plan this! I didn’t want him to hurt them in any way because of me.
Be strong, Em! Don’t show him your weakness. Don’t let him threaten you like he did to Liza and Sierra.
Holding my chin high, I held his gaze. “I don’t need to think you’re a fool. You are a fool.”
His nostrils flared at my comment.
“Anyone who dares to go against Ace is considered as a fool. Do you really think you can backstab him, and he will let you leave like that? Just because you’re his uncle?” I snorted. “It’s just a matter of time before I tell him what you do under your respected businessman façade, and he’ll throw you out of this company like a fly from sweet.”
“You think he’ll believe you? What proof do you have against me?”
Nothing. That’s why I was stalling to reveal your betraying ass before him.
I kept a straight face. “Do you think he’ll want any proof when his Rosebud will say something to him?”
His face hardened. I knew Ace wouldn’t just wave my words off, but I still wanted to have some solid proof against Arthur. And now that he was standing before me, warning me off, I didn’t need any proof.
“I can’t believe your guts, Arthur. You run illegal businesses across the UK, you used to run brothels over there, you were threatening Sierra, and now you’re warning me that I should stay out of your path?” I raised my brow. “If I were you, I’d be running away with my tail between my legs if my dark secrets got exposed before someone. Because the time isn’t far away when you’ll be behind the bars,” I hissed.
I wanted to confront him about Liza and his working with Antonio, but I held myself back. That could bring Liza and her family more trouble.
With his fists clenched, eyes flashing, he took another step forward. But this time I held my ground.
“You want to tell him everything about me?” he cocked his head. “Then go ahead.”
I frowned.
“Go ahead and tell him. What’s the most he can do, send me to the prison?” He let out a laugh before an ominous look claimed his face. “But know one thing before you do anything, Emerald. I don’t play my cards without keeping an ace up my sleeve.”
“What do you mean?”
A smirk tugged at his lips. “You tell him, and I’ll destroy him. Now Achilles’s Rosebud won’t do anything to break him to pieces, will she?”
A shiver ran down my spine. Destroy him?
“You can’t. You don’t have that power. Ace isn’t an ordinary man you can—”
“Do you really think I would go and do all this without having anything against him in my hands?” He raised a brow. “I’m warning you for the last time, Emerald. I don’t have any personal rivalry with you, so I’d suggest you stay away. Otherwise, your dear Ace will bear the consequences. The secret I have about your boyfriend can destroy him to ashes. Remember that.”
I shook my head. “You’re lying. You’re just trying to threaten me to make me back off. You have nothing against him. He doesn’t do any illegal businesses like you!”
Shoving his hands into his pockets, his features turned void of any emotions. “How much do you know about his past? How much did he tell you?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Other than his drug addiction and his father’s suicide, I knew nothing. But could him being a drug addict in his teen years be strong enough to destroy him? No.
He shook his head. “You know nothing! Go and ask him. Then you might know what I’m talking about. What’s the secret that can ruin Achilles Valencian?”
With that, he fixed his collar and walked out of the room, leaving me immobile.
His words rang warning bells in my head.
What secret he was talking about? What else was Ace hiding from me?
With my heart racing, I slowly trudged out of the door and walked away.
After pacing around my office for almost half an hour thinking of Arthur’s threat and waiting for Ace to finish his meetings, I called Warner. But again, he didn’t pick up. Where the hell was he?
I needed to talk to Ace. I knew there was more to his past that I wasn’t aware of. Like where his mother was or what happened to his father for him to take his own life. But I didn’t know he had some secret buried in his past that was lethal enough to destroy him.
But what if Arthur was just messing with my head? To keep my mouth shut? Was there really something he could use against Ace?
But he wouldn’t just throw it in my face if he didn’t know anything. He even told me to ask Ace myself.
I need to talk to him now. I need to know what happened in his past to stop Arthur.
With a determination formed inside me, I headed to his office. Thankfully, he was alone when I entered. Standing before the floor to ceiling window, his gaze was set into the distance. Hearing my footsteps, he turned to me.
“Rosebud?” His arms spread for me to fly in them, and I did. Without wasting a second.
Filling my lungs with his intoxicating soothing scent, I closed my eyes against his chest. A sigh left me with his arms firm around me.
My home. All the anxiousness and tiredness washed off my mind now that I was in my Ace’s arms.
Nuzzling my hair, he took a deep breath. “Where were you? I was waiting for you so that we could go home.”
“In my office. Matt told me you were busy in a meeting,” I mumbled in his chest.
“That wasn’t important. And even if it was, you should’ve come and stayed with me. I don’t like it when you’re not before my eyes.”
A smile touched my face. Kissing his chest, I looked up at him. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Good. Now can we go home? I want to spend some quality time with my Rosebud.”
I nodded, not saying anything.
What secret he was hiding from me?
His gray eyes narrowed. “What happened, baby? Is anything bothering you?”
Raising my hand, I touched his cheek. “Ace, now that we’re in a relationship, I want everything to be perfect. There should be no boundaries between us, no restrictions, no hesitations.”
Cupping my cheeks, he brushed his lips against mine, kissing the corner of my mouth softly. “There are no boundaries between us, my rose. And if there are, I will wipe them off. Nothing can come between us, not even a single gust of air.”
“I want to know everything about you, Ace. Everything that I don’t know.”
“You know everything about me, baby. What more do you want to know?” He frowned.
I held his gaze. “Your past. Everything about your past.”
He stiffened. Something flashed across his eyes. But it was gone soon as he kissed my forehead.
“What do you want to know?”
I was surprised at the ease his stance was radiating. I’d have believed he wasn’t bothered by my words if his gray eyes weren’t so blank that I couldn’t even trace a hint of emotions in them. And it unnerved me.
“Where’s your mom?” I asked. “After your father’s death, she was gone from your life. Where is she, Ace?”
His face remained neutral as he said, “She’s in Italy now.”
“Why did she leave you and Caleb like this? You had no one to look after you. Didn’t you try to stop her?” As far as I knew, she always adored Ace and Caleb. I didn’t understand what had gone wrong.
His grip tightened on my hips. “As I told you before, after my father’s death, she couldn’t take it. So, she left. Due to her depression and habit of consuming alcohol, she needed an escape from her life and this place. To get herself better, she left us with Arthur and went to Italy for treatment. She couldn’t come back. This city held too many bad memories for her.”
As he spoke, I didn’t find a hint of hatred towards his mother in his voice. I thought he hated her for leaving him like that. But he didn’t. Instead, he was giving me justification for her.
She went to Italy for treatment and stayed there. Didn’t she even try once to meet her son?
“You’re still connected to each other? I mean, I understand why she doesn’t want to return, but doesn’t she wish to meet you once in a while?”
He nodded. “I do meet her on some occasions. Especially on her birthdays. But except that, we talk sometimes on the phone.”
The edge in his voice had my heart clench. He missed her a lot. I noticed how he didn’t say she wanted to meet him, instead he said he met her every once in a while. What made her turn like this? Didn’t she miss her son?
“Do you miss her?” I whispered.
A muscle of his jaw ticked. “Sometimes.”
I rubbed his chest to provide some comfort. “Why don’t you talk to her every day?”
He averted his gaze. “Because she doesn’t like that. She got out of her depression with a lot of difficulties. And seeing me and Caleb, means her past, brings her… unwanted memories.”
Seeing her own son brings unwanted memories?
“But she does try. That’s why we talk sometimes,” he added. He still loved her, no matter how much she stayed away.
My heart tugged for him.
Nodding, I cleared my throat. Come on, Emerald. Ask it.
“What happened to your father?” My eyes held his stormy grays. “Why did he commit suicide?”
