“He…” I licked my lower lip, which suddenly felt very dry.
He nodded, patiently waiting for me to continue.
“He isn’t what you think—”
His phone blared on the counter, halting me mid-sentence. Frowning, he picked up the phone and let out a sigh.
“Sorry, Rosebud. Have to take this,” he apologized, answering the call. “Yes, Arthur?”
Even though the displeasure was lucid on his face being disturbed again, his tone maintained the respect for his uncle. If it was someone else, he wouldn’t be so lenient for the interruption.
“Hmm. All right. Just send the details to Carter. I’ll take a look later,” he said, while picking up a grape and putting it in my mouth. As I chewed on it, he listened carefully to what Arthur had to say.
Then his gaze snapped up to mine.
Nodding slowly, he said, “All right, will tell her. Yeah, see you later.”
I cocked my head at the side. Was he talking about me?
“What did he say?” I asked.
“Just some details of a meeting with the Russians. Regarding our final signing with them,” he replied. “Anyway, he gave you his greetings. He said he was sorry he couldn’t meet you today. He was in a hurry, but he’ll see you soon. He really enjoyed his last conversation with you.” A brow of his raised. “I didn’t know Arthur had time to converse with someone unless it’s regarding work.”
Something churned in my stomach. I gulped. It was a reminder of the sword he had dangling over my neck from him, not a message. When I was thinking about telling Ace everything, he stopped me again. Even if I didn’t entirely believe he had anything against Ace with him, a fear lingered. He was connected to Ace’s family and past, after all. He was there after his father’s death. He handled Ace. There was definitely a possibility he knew something.
And he’ll meet me soon? Why?
“Rosebud?” Cupping my chin, he made me look at him. “Where are you so lost?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Just thinking about the office. It’s been a few days since I’ve attended. And yeah, we had a little chat a few days ago.”
He placed a kiss on my forehead. “Good. I’m glad you’re coming closer to my family. During your stay in New York, you weren’t connected with Caleb or Arthur. And don’t worry about the office, it’s your company. You go whenever you want.”
A genuine smile stretched across my lips, even though the thought of Arthur planning something was swirling in my head. At first, when he made me an equal owner of everything he had, I was livid. I didn’t want it. But now, I didn’t mind. At all. In fact, I was happy he loved and trusted me enough to take such a huge step for me.
It was a proof how seriously he took our relationship. Of course, I wouldn’t ever take any advantage of the power he gave me. But the thought of having rights to everything he owned, felt good. As if I was already his wife, his other half.
“You were saying something about Arthur? What was it?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. I was wondering if he could handle everything on his own. But I guess you’re right. He has been doing this for years, after all. I shouldn’t worry about it.”
Just one more day. As soon as I find out about his past, I’ll be able to know what Arthur had against Ace. Maybe then I can do something?
Nodding, he picked me up from the counter, making me immediately wrap my arms around his neck.
“Let’s have breakfast now. Then we can leave for our little vacation.”
“Ace, can I remove it now? I want to see where you’ve brought me,” I complained for the umpteenth time since we left the penthouse. He had put on a blindfold over my eyes before getting into the car so I couldn’t see where he was taking me.
“Relax, baby. Just a few steps more and we’ll be there,” he murmured in my ear.
I let out a huff and let him guide me to wherever he wanted to take me.
When he finally removed the blindfold from my eyes, I was left surprised. My lips parted as my gaze roamed over the beauty of the mansion stood before me.
The same mansion we had visited after shopping for Tess for her engagement, the night we met that accident. The house he had bought for his future.
If it was beautiful at night, it was breathtaking in the daylight.
Under the sun, it stood so magnificently with its black and white combination that I couldn’t tear my eyes off it. The little garden surrounding it was now covered with colorful flowers, mostly roses. The grass was lush green.
I took a deep breath.
“Told you. It looked more beautiful in the daylight,” he said, nuzzling my neck with his arms wrapped around me.
All I could do was nod.
“So, this is where we are going to spend our day?” I glanced up at him, finally tearing my eyes off the house.
“You love it, right?” he asked, getting an immediate nod from me. Tightening his hold on me, he gently pecked my lips. “Then not just a day, this is where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives.”
My heart skipped. A warmth surged through my chest. The thing that he thought about a future with me made me feel all tingly.
“S-so, you bought this house for our future?” I blinked away the moisture in my eyes.
He nodded, stormy gray eyes set on me. “For our future.”
I bit my lip. “So, the bedroom with the balcony above the rose garden will be mine? I’ll be staying there with you?”
A husky chuckle reverberated through his chest. His eyes held amusement. “Yes, only my Rosebud’s. That’ll be our bedroom. And,” his voice dropped low as he brushed his lips against mine, “you’re the one who’s going to be sleeping in that bed with me, every night, my rose.”
Slapping his shoulder, I pushed him away and pouted. “You’re so mean! That means you were talking about me when you mentioned about your future wife sharing that bedroom with you? You were purposely making me jealous!”
I still remembered the jealousy and hurt I felt when he talked about his future wife and having a family with her. I thought he was talking about someone else. This prick!
“I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, baby. You just couldn’t understand my hint. All you had to do was just look into my eyes. And you’d know who I was talking about.” The intensity of his gaze made my heart flip.
I rolled my eyes.
“So, you were jealous, huh?” he teased, pulling me in.
With my lips still formed into a pout, I played with his shirt’s button. “Yes. Because you’re mine. No one else can be your wife except me.”
He took a sharp inhale, staring deep into my soul. “You want to be my wife?”
A blush rose to my cheeks. Even though he made his intentions clear this morning, he wanted to hear it from my mouth.
“Yes.”
“You know, that means you’ll have to spend the rest of your life with me. You’ll be stuck with me forever because I’m not letting you go.” He cupped my chin.
“Great. I’m not planning to go anywhere, anyway.”
A vulnerability flashed across his eyes, his grip tightened on me, pulling me closer. “Promise me? Promise me you’ll never leave me.”
The uncertainty and urgency in his eyes tugged a string in my heart. Now I understood why he was asking me this, even if he already declared he was going to change his ‘boyfriend’ status soon. He even bought this house for us. But he was still uncertain. He still had this fear that I’d leave him.
Rising on my tiptoes, I cupped his cheeks, holding his gaze. “I promise. I’ll never leave you. Never ever. No matter what happens.”
Exhaling a sigh, he pulled me into his passionate kiss. Not sweet and slow, but possessive and rough.
“I love you, my rose. I love you so fucking much.”
I smiled. “I love you too. More than anything.”
No matter what his fear was for, no matter what his past was, I would never leave him. I’ll always stand there beside him. Whatever happened in the past, I wouldn’t let it affect our present and future. And I had this belief he couldn’t do anything wrong. And even if he did, he wouldn’t do it on purpose.
Pulling away, the nameplate of the house caught my eyes.
Turquoise Heaven?
He followed my gaze.
“Your beach house has the same name, right?” I asked. “Why though? Seems like you like this name a lot.”
“Damn right. I’m in love with this name. Turquoise is my favorite color.”
I raised my brow. And I thought it was black? Since most of the time he roamed around in black or dark suits. But why turquoise?
Then realization hit me.
The color of my eyes.
Flutters erupted in my tummy at his words.
“My eyes?”
He kissed my forehead. “Yes. My turquoise eyed beauty who I’m obsessed with. The girl I love with everything in me.”
Not knowing how to react, I wrapped my arms around him, hiding my face in his chest. Emotions soared high inside me.
“I can’t live without you, you know that?”
“I know. Nor can I, baby.” He pecked my forehead again. “Now, let’s go inside. I have so much to show you.”
Once we were inside, I was surprised again. Not only because the interior was beautiful as well as the exterior, but also because the furniture set around the house was very familiar to me. In fact, I chose them.
Before we got together, he had given me some weird jobs to choose furniture from hundreds of catalogues he sent me. Even confused, I marked the ones I liked the most. I didn’t know he was planning to use those for our home.
“It’s not done! Why didn’t you tell me then?” I glared at him.
The side of his lips twitched. “If I had, would you help me?”
Not having the answer, I just rolled my eyes and walked away from him. To the bedroom we were going to share.
And to my surprise again, while the rest of the house was decorated well with the furniture I chose, the master bedroom was left untouched. Except the king-sized bed. Even the walls needed paint. When I threw a confused glance at him, he wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.
“I want you to decorate our room with your own hands and presence. From the color of the walls to the furniture, I want you to set everything as you want,” he said.
A smile graced my lips. “Why only me, though? You’re also going to stay here. Your choice also matters. What if I turn this room into a pink kingdom?”
He let out a chuckle and pressed a kiss on my neck. “I don’t care if it’s a kingdom of pink or purple as long as you’re here with me. Do you think when my sun will be before me, I’ll be able to see anything else beyond that?”
Letting out a shaky breath, I leaned into him. As cheesy as it was, every word fluttered my heart. He was always good with his words. They always managed to make me fall deeper in love with him, even if it was possible.
“What now?”
Pulling away, he grasped my hand in his. “My study. Come, I have something important to show you.”
“What is it?”
He looked at me. “A little glimpse of my past.”
