: Chapter 27

“God, girl! You should seriously dump that ass boyfriend of yours! I thought he was a nice guy, but I didn’t know what a mommy’s boy he was!” Cassie cursed, shaking her head while Beth grabbed another tissue from the tissue box on her lap and blew her nose.

“It’s not that easy, Cass. I love him. We’ve been together for three years.” Beth sniffled, wiping her cheeks.

“Just because you guys have been together for three years, doesn’t mean you’ll take his mother’s shit. You deserve much more than this!” Cassie snapped.

After getting the early leave, I came directly to Cassie’s place. And though I didn’t find Beth in the same state I found her last night, she wasn’t any better. She was still a mess. After asking Cassie of what happened to her, she told me everything.

Beth and her boyfriend, Mason, were happy in their little world. Until his conservative Catholic mother stepped into the picture once she got to know that her one and only son was going to marry a non-Catholic girl. His mother’s displeasure with their relationship was creating problems between them. And being a mommy’s boy he was, as Cassie mentioned, he didn’t have the guts to go against his mother and stand by Beth and their love.

Now Beth feared he might as well break up with her, heeding his mother’s advice. And that’s why I found her at that bar, drunk out of her mind.

Looking down at her hands, Beth whispered, “You won’t understand. I can’t just leave everything like that. I-I can’t live without him.”

Cassie scoffed. “But it seems like he definitely can. Otherwise, he wouldn’t let you leave his apartment so easily. He didn’t even fight for you! And here you thought he’d come after you if you left him.”

“Now I’m repenting it. His mom will use this situation against us,” Beth sniffled, her lower lip trembled.

Placing my hand on hers, I squeezed gently. “Don’t worry, Beth. I know Mason. That guy really loves you. Maybe he’s confused between his mother and you right now. But I’m sure, as soon as he realizes his mistake of letting you go, he’ll come after you. I know he will.”

“Huh, I can’t second that. Not everyone is Achilles Valencian,” Cassie stated, rolling her eyes.

Though a blush burned my cheeks, I sent a glare her way. That girl never knew when to shut up.

She shrugged. “What? Don’t give me that look. I support those men who know how to treat their women. Not some mommy’s boy who lets his girlfriend go just because his mom doesn’t approve of it.”

Sighing, I shook my head. “I’m not siding with him. But we should give Mason some time, right? We all know how much he loves his mom. Maybe he needs some time to convince her and then get back to Beth? Yeah, letting Beth go like that wasn’t appreciated at all, but Beth shouldn’t just give up on her relationship like that.”

She raised her brow. “Oh, I’m glad you think one shouldn’t give up on something so easily.”

I averted my eyes quickly, getting her hint.

“Okay, enough talking about my life today. I really don’t want to discuss it anymore. I need some time to think. And Em?” Beth said, turning to me. “I’m so sorry for last night. Because of me, you had to carry so much trouble. I don’t remember much, but Cassie told me everything. I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize how much I drank.”

“It’s all right. You don’t have to say sorry,” I smiled. “But you definitely should’ve thought twice before going to that shady place. It could be risky, you know? Why did you even go to such a place? As far as I know, we’ve never visited there before.”

She blew out a breath. “I just wanted to go somewhere where nobody could find me. When I went there, I was already drunk. I didn’t even realize where I was going. And when I saw this bar at the side of the road, I just went in.”

“Don’t do that again. It’s not safe.” She didn’t know what trouble we were about to fall into last night. If Ace’s guards weren’t there…

She nodded, giving me a small smile. “I won’t, I promise.”

“All right, anyone need some coffee? Because I definitely need one,” Cassie exclaimed, rising from the couch we all were sitting on.

“Tea, please,” I said.

“Of course!” Chuckling, she sauntered into her kitchen to get us some hot drinks.

Once she was back with the coffee and tea, she got herself busy discussing her upcoming modeling project with Beth. While I, on the other hand, thought of everything that happened today.

No matter how much hurting Warner perturbed me, my treacherous mind went back to the kiss Ace and I shared in his bedroom this morning and then in the hallway.

Another blush rose from my neck to my ears. Goosebumps crawled up my skin recalling the sinful sensations I’d felt with his scorching mouth on mine. My heart missed the warmth of his arms around me, or the husky murmurs of his in my ears.

A sigh slipped through my lips.

“Where are you so lost? Mind a penny of your thoughts?” Cassie’s voice pulled me out of my trance. Her perfectly arched brows raised at me. Even Beth’s concerned hazel eyes were trained on me.

Shrugging, I looked down at my wrist, twirling my bracelet. “Do you think I’m being selfish doing this to Warner?”

I’d talked to her about the phone conversation before coming over.

“Of course not! Whatever you’re doing is good for all three of you. And even if it’s not for Achilles, you would’ve done it sooner or later.” She held my gaze. “The relationship was only one-sided, Em. And one-sided relationships don’t go for long. You and Warner both knew it, even though he’s being an ass right now.”

“His reaction is justified. Anyone would’ve reacted like this in his place. I shouldn’t have hurt him like that.” I’d tried to call him again, but his phone was still unreachable. He didn’t even reply to any of my messages.

“You don’t love him, Em. Even he knew it deep down. So the sooner he’ll accept it, the easier it’ll be for him to move on.”

“Cassie is right. Don’t fret yourself that much. It’s not your fault. You can’t make yourself fall for him, can you?” Beth said, placing her mug on the table.

She was right. But I couldn’t just shake off the guilt. Even after knowing I wouldn’t be able to love him, I got into a relationship with him. Even if it was him who convinced me to give us a chance, I shouldn’t have agreed with him. This day wouldn’t have come if I denied him that day.

“So, what did you decide? Will you go to Seattle to talk to him if he doesn’t come here?” Beth queried.

I nodded. “Yes. Honestly, I don’t want him to come here. I don’t want him to meet Ace, and there’s a possibility if he really shows up here.”

I knew Ace wouldn’t take it lightly if he sees Warner around me again. I still remember the rage and jealousy in his eyes this morning when he saw Warner calling me. And then the way he frightened Matt with his murderous glare, God! This man seriously knew how to get on my nerves.

“Oh, let him come here. I want Achilles to beat some sense into him for accusing you of betraying him. I mean, how dare he? Now he can’t force you to stay with him in a relationship, can he?” Cassie fumed, her lips curled into displeasure.

“Aren’t you siding with Ace too much these days, Cassie? What’s the matter?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“Because I know what’s good for my best friend. And who knows, maybe he bribed me with something to ship you guys?” she replied, wiggling her brows.

Shaking my head, I chuckled at her words. And Beth joined me.

It wasn’t impossible Ace would do something like that. He has done crazier things before. Our mirth took a break when my mobile buzzed. A message popped up on the screen.

Seeing my sudden change of mood, Cassie straightened. “Who is it?”

“It’s Warner,” I replied, my eyes locked on the screen. Anxiety latched on my mind.

“What did he say?”

I looked up at her. “He’s coming.”

Once I was done blow drying my hair, I padded into my closet to choose a dress for tonight’s event.

Tonight, our company will sign the final contract for the upcoming deal with the Arabs. The defamation Antonio Raymond tried to stamp on Valencians was cleared sooner than it was even possible. Ace didn’t even let the news of Caleb’s getting arrested spread across the media. Though some of the journalists were present there that day, clearly, Achilles Valencian knew how to deal with troublemakers.

Now that Liza accepted her crime, everything went back to normal. The Arabs were too eager to work with our company. And on the occasion of our coming together with a project, they invited us for dinner at the hotel they were staying at.

Mr. Hakimi specifically requested my presence at the dinner with Ace tonight. And to my surprise, the boss wasn’t happy to tag me along. He didn’t want me to go there.

But he couldn’t dictate me in this matter. I was too excited to try the traditional Arab dishes to heed his grumbling. So he agreed at last, but only on one condition. He would come pick me up and during the entire time of our stay there, I’ll have to cling to him.

Not to forget, I’m not allowed to talk to any Arab guy about anything that doesn’t concern work.

Freaking crazy man!

Shaking my head at his ridiculous behavior, I searched for a suitable outfit for the night. Lots of choices but not impressive enough for me to decide.

Then something caught my eye between those heaps of clothes.

Pulling it out, I ran my hand over it. An involuntary smile tugged at my lips. His T-shirt. The same one I borrowed to change into after my blouse incident. I still didn’t return it to him. I didn’t want to. One secret maybe I wouldn’t ever tell him, I sometimes wear it at night when I can’t sleep. Oddly, it comforted me.

He was never going to get it back. Though I didn’t think he’d mind if I didn’t return this one shirt. He didn’t have any shortage of clothes.

Folding it, I placed it in its previous place and took out the black dress from the back of the row. It was a dress Tess forced me to buy when I went shopping with her.

A thigh length sleeveless dress with a sweetheart neckline. Simple yet classy. This was a bad choice for this cool weather like tonight, but…

I bit my lip to hold back the smile that threatened to spill.

Walking back inside my room, I got ready for the evening.

My heart skipped when the doorbell rang.

He was here.

Blowing out a breath, I checked myself one last time in the mirror. My curves were winking at me due to the perfect fitting. The sweetheart neckline put a part of my cleavage on display when my wavy dark brown locks fell freely down my shoulders. And the dark smoky eyes, nude makeup and red lipstick finished my look.

Satisfied with my makeup, I grabbed my clutch and phone.

At the mention of the phone, I remembered I didn’t check it the whole day due to my busy schedule at the office. It’s been two days since I got that message from Warner, but I didn’t hear anything back from him since then.

I did a quick check on my phone. No calls or messages from him. I didn’t know what was going on in his head. Was he really going to come?

I will call him again later. I have to hurry now. Ace is waiting for me.

Putting the phone inside my purse, I rushed downstairs, as much as I could with my high heels. Once I was before the closed door, I smoothed my hair once more. My heart raced at the thought of his reaction after he would see me. Nervousness and excitement burst through my veins.

I wonder what this night has in store for me.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door, and stepped outside.