: Chapter 56

Sweat trickled down his strong back along with the tensing and flexing of his shoulders while he was engrossed in killing his massive punching bag.

Only the sound of his ragged breathing and punches echoed throughout the gym.

But what shocked me was the bloody spots on the punching bag.

Rage boiled inside my veins. My fists clenched. He was doing it again.

“Ace! Stop it!”

His movements stilled. His broad shoulders rose and fell with every heavy breath he took as he turned his head to me. Dark, stormy gray eyes met my turquoise ones.

Striding closer, I grasped his hands. A gasp left me at the sight. They were worse than I’d ever seen before. They weren’t just bruised, they were bloody.

“What the hell you’re doing!” My eyes burned with tears as I held his gaze. “Have you lost it? You’re bleeding! How many times do I have to tell you not to do this! You’re hurting yourself again!”

But my outburst didn’t seem to reach his ears. His eyes were too busy watching me, roaming every feature of mine.

When a tear slipped down my cheek, he blinked, coming back to his senses.

“Rosebud? What happened, baby? Why are you crying?” He cupped my cheeks. “Are you hurt?”

Didn’t he realize what I was talking about?

Something squeezed inside my chest. What bothered him to that extent that he didn’t even realize his own pain?

“Yes, I’m hurt.”

Concern etched on his beautiful face as they searched for any injuries on my body. “Hurt? Where? How did you get hurt?”

“You hurt me,” I whispered.

He stilled, watching me in silence. A pain flashed across his eyes as if even the idea of hurting me haunted him. “I could never hurt you, Rosebud. I’d die before doing that.”

“But you did. Not physically, but emotionally. You’re hurting me by hurting yourself.” Taking a hold of his bloodied hands carefully, I held them before his face. “You lied to me. I thought you told me it would stop once I’m in your arms forever. But it didn’t. I guess I’m not important enough for you to make your pain go away.”

Shaking his head, he tried to touch me, but I stepped back.

“Rosebud, there is no one more important than you in my life. You’re the sole reason I live for.” Pain flashed across his eyes as another tear fell down my cheek.

“Then why? Why do you torture yourself like that?” I sniffled.

Glancing down at his knuckles, a muscle of his jaw ticked. “Pain makes me forget, Rosebud. It helps me escape my fears and insecurities. And intense working out helps me with my frustration and the storm that rages inside me.”

Fears? Insecurities?

Hearing those words from Achilles Valencian’s mouth sounded foreign. What fear could this powerful man before me have?

“What fear?” My voice came out as a whisper.

“Fear of losing you.”

My heart stopped as I stared at him, speechless.

“Why would you lose me? I’m not going anywhere.”

He averted his gaze. With his fists clenched, he turned away. “It’s late, Rosebud. You should go back to sleep now.”

“Do not change the topic!” Grabbing his arm, I made him face me. “I’m not accepting my questions being unanswered anymore! You’re hiding something from me and that’s eating you alive! What is it? Tell me. Please, Ace. Don’t keep me in the dark anymore.”

“I’m not hiding anything from you,” his reply came out cold.

“Of course you are! Don’t lie to me!” I snapped, my temper rising.

I couldn’t let him torture himself like that. He needed to let it out. And I needed to know why he had this fear of losing me. Because I knew I wasn’t going anywhere.

“You’re still hiding something from me about your past, aren’t you? You didn’t tell me the entire truth.”

He tensed as his dark eyes snapped to me. The unreadable emotions swirling around his irises were unknown to me.

“I told you everything that you needed to know.”

I tilted my head. “So that means the things you’re hiding from me aren’t important enough for you to tell me?”

His lips pressed tight, eyes flashing. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“You have to! I won’t let you torture yourself like that! Nor will I let you keep me in the dark anymore!”

“Why do you have so much interest in my past?” His voice boomed across the room, making me flinch. “I’ve been hearing these questions the whole fucking day! Can’t you just get that I don’t want to talk about it? Leave my past the fuck alone!”

I stood still. Shock, surprise and hurt ran through me at once. He had never talked to me like that.

Seeing my shock, guilt washed over his face as he let out a curse, rubbing his face in frustration.

“Rosebud, I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry, baby.” His features were laced with agony. “I didn’t mean to shout at you. I just—I lost it.”

When he tried to reach me again, I took another step back.

“It’s all right, it can happen sometimes. I don’t mind. As long as you tell me the truth.”

Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Emerald, please stop it. I can’t.”

Even I couldn’t. As selfish as it sounded, he didn’t know what dagger we had dangling on our necks. To truly start our life together and defeat Arthur, I needed the truth.

“I won’t. You’ve kept me in the dark for seven years and it made both of us suffer. I won’t let you do it again. Tell me, Ace. Please, I beg—”

“Oh, for God’s sake! Stop it! Don’t be so fucking stubborn, Emerald! I told you everything you needed to know. You don’t need to know anymore. So let’s just keep it that way! It’ll be good for both of us!”

Before I could say anything else, he stormed out of the gym, slamming the door behind him.

I just stood there silently. So many questions were swirling inside my head like a wildfire. But I had no answers.

I walked back to the bedroom again. Leaving the door ajar, I sat on the bed.

A sigh left me as I glanced at the clock.

One in the morning.

After our fight, he left the penthouse before I could even come out of the gym. I knew he wasn’t returning for a few hours.

Where did he go?

Now that I calmed down a little, I realized how harsh I was with him. I knew how sensitive this matter was for him, but I continued to poke him. Nagged him for answers. I should’ve just given him some time instead of snapping at him.

How could I be so careless?

It was the fear of Arthur harming him and the desperation of throwing him out of our lives. And now, seeing how much the truth was affecting him, I needed to know everything even more. I wanted to heal his wounds. I wanted to comfort him, tell him I was there with him, that I understand. But how could I if he wouldn’t let me in completely?

If he didn’t open up to me completely, it’d become a hinder between us for the rest of our lives. It would always weaken our relationship. I wanted him to open up to me. I wanted him to trust me with his secrets.

Maybe I should just give him some time.

And then I remembered I didn’t bandage his knuckles.

Picking up my phone, I dialed his number. But it directly went to voicemail. I called again, but to no avail.

Where the hell is he?

His wounds are needed to be taken care of.

Frustrated, as I slammed my phone on the bed, it began blaring.

With a skip of my heart, I picked it up. But disappointment soon followed as Warner’s name flashed on the screen.

Rubbing my forehead, I received the call.

“Hey. I called you earlier today, you didn’t pick up. What’s up?” Honestly, I didn’t have the strength to talk about Arthur at that moment.

“I was busy digging out some worms, but guess what? I’ve found a snake instead,” he said from the other side of the phone.

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Remember once you told me how you didn’t know a lot of things about Achilles’s past? And knowing how sensitive it was for him, you were hesitating to ask him?”

I remembered talking to him at Tess’s wedding. When he saw Ace and me together, even though he didn’t look happy, he congratulated me. He asked me what my next step in our relationship was. I told him I wanted to know more about Ace.

But seemed like it was turning out quite difficult.

“Yeah, but why are you talking about that now?”

“Well, I thought I could help you a little. And guess what? I was right from the beginning. That man doesn’t deserve you. Because he never told you the truth. All he did was keep you in the dark and manipulate you in his trap with his sweet lies!” he hissed.

“What do you mean? What are you talking about? I thought I told you not to talk about him like that—”

“I’m just stating the truth, Em. I just called to tell you what a liar he is.”

My eyes narrowed further. “Get to the point. What lie did he tell me? What do you want to say exactly?”

“He told you his father committed suicide, didn’t he?”

Something churned in my stomach as I slowly nodded, even if he couldn’t see me. “Yes?”

“His father didn’t commit suicide, Em. He was murdered.”