The Trap Of Ace

Read The Trap Of Ace [by Eva Zahan] Chapter 41 – Fuming, I strode to the door and tried to open it. But his pair of strong arms snaked around my midriff and hauled me to the middle of the cabin.

A shriek left my mouth. “What the h**l, Valencian! Leave me right now!”

“I will. Once you hear everything I’ve to say.”

His calm tone made me boil. I didn’t let him explain things, so he would literally keep me captive in his cabin, in his arms?

I can’t believe this man!

“No! I won’t hear anything! You’ll do what I want, and then let me go!” I said, putting on the scariest face I could manage on my face with a stern voice.

But he ignored me. Because he was too busy roaming his grey eyes across my every single feature. As if he hadn’t seen me for years. Not tolerating being disregarded like that, I stepped on his feet. With my five inches heel.

A hiss left his mouth, his filled with adoration orbs now watched me in shock and confusion. But I didn’t see any anger in there. Nor did his arms loosened a bit around me.

“Do not ignore me when I’m talking!”

His one rough palm caressed my cheek with the gentlest touch. “I could never ignore my Rosebud. But I won’t let you go anywhere until you hear everything and forgive me.”

“That would never happen!” My eyes narrowed. I wiggled into his hold, but as always, I failed to escape. My gaze flickered to those stupid bulging muscles underneath his sleeves.

“It will. I’ll make it happen. Now what my Rosebud wanted from me?” Leaning in, he took a desperate sniff of my hair. His heady scent was messing up with my senses.

Leaning back from him, I said, “I want you to terminate the contract. I want to leave.”

The mention of leaving had him tensed. His arms tightened around my waist and jaw clenched. Then the old Achilles Valencian came back in full force as his features hardened as stone. I saw the storm swirling inside him through the windows of his soul. Those stormy grey eyes.

“You’ll never leave me, Rosebud. Never again. I won’t let you.” The coolness of his voice sent shivers down my spine.

“Well, it was you who let me go. I didn’t leave on my own wish. I was pushed away,” I said, holding his gaze.

Now his stony features softened up a bit. “I didn’t want to, Rosebud. No sane person would push the only light away from their life. But…”

“But you’d to.” I completed for him, gulping the thickness of my throat. “Tobias told me everything.”

Surprise etched into his face.

“I had no choice, Rosebud. Trust me, I kept meeting you and spending time with you even after knowing how I would affect your life in a bad way. I was too selfish to let you go.” Pain flashed across his eyes.

“But you did,” I whispered. My heart clenched. “You left me.”

Shaking his head, he pressed his forehead against mine, letting out a shaky breath. “I never left you, Rosebud. I could never.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yes, I separated you from me. But I was always around. Though I couldn’t touch you from up close, my eyes always did from afar,” he said, stopping my heart at my chest. Then raising my left hand, he kissed my wrist, gazing at my bracelet. A soft smile tugged at the edge of his lips. “This looks more beautiful on you than I imagined.”

A gasp slipped through my lips. Eyes wide, mouth agape.

So, t-the anonymous person who gifted it to me was… him?

“I-it was you?”

nodded, kissing my

shocked. All the time I wore it on my wrist and I didn’t even have any idea it was him who left the box that day outside of my

gift to

my graduation?” My voice

I was there. I was always there for my rose.” He cupped my cheeks. “I always had my eyes on you even if I was far away from you here in California most of the time. But I was there on your every special day. I was there whenever I thought you needed me. And trust me, it

down my cheeks. He didn’t abandon me? He was there all the time when I thought

wiping my tears. “Yes, I never left you alone. I could

you saw how much I suffered! And yet you

struggle began again but he held me firm

suffered. And I’m extremely sorry for that. But you’ve no idea how much agony I went through staying away from you, Rosebud. Especially when…” A muscle of his jaw ticked as his nostrils flared. “Especially when I had to see my girl dating other men. I’d to endure it all. Trust me, they were lucky

for some days. I couldn’t even

Jabbing a finger in his chest, I gritted out. “Do you know how guilty I felt to date them? Even after I thought you’d nothing to do with me. Even after I was single. Do you know how much it hurt me to feel like playing with others? Just to get a little distraction. Just to

in pain only doubled my agony. But it was for your own good. And I didn’t just appear out of nowhere.” His greek accent dense. “You were always mine. I was waiting for you to finish your study and my being stable enough to be worthy of you. Though I was stable for a long time

be worthy of

my chest

not. How did you know I wouldn’t fall for anyone else and

that you wouldn’t fall for anyone else. Because my Rosebud loved me enough to keep

of emotions slammed into my chest. I let out

so easily. But I couldn’t give

“You didn’t let me stay with you. You pushed me away when you needed me the

For not being there for him when he needed me. It tormented my soul to even think of

stormy grey eyes, he whispered, “And I love you, Emerald Hutton. I love you

as I stared at him. And then slowly my heart started racing, a tingling sensation spread across my veins. My knees wobbled

my head twenty-four hours. The words I hated myself for feeling flutters in my tummy even after hating

I love you…

again.

I had no words.

lose into the chess matches.” He kissed my nose, followed by my eyelids. “I loved you when you were away from me. I loved even your annoying habit of eating garlic prawns using your hand. And I love you when I have you in my arms right now. The

scorching kiss. A whimper left me as I melted against him. My

deny to even breath,” murmuring against my lips, he claimed my mouth again. The way he moulded our lips around each other, the intoxicating strokes of his tongue, the warmth of

I kissed him back with equal urgency. I missed those lips. I missed his arms, his

of our breathing harsh, we couldn’t move our gazes away from each other. It was

at me, Rosebud?” he asked, grey pools

Would I?

to give him my answer, a knock landed on the door. I tried to pull away from

need. Whoever it is, will go

I wiggled out and opened the door much to his

behind my eagerness to open it was, I got an

before I could even pull the door wide, it

grin fell into a half not so happy

clenched,

Red freaking witch!

was she

could feel fumes coming out

I interrupted anything,” she said, planting an extra sweet and fake mask on her face. The once over she threw at him didn’t go missed by