YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!
An equal owner of everything he owned? That's ridiculous! Why the hell would he do that?
Only Achilles insane Valencian would be able to answer that.
With eyes formed into a scowl, lips pressed into displeasure and rage running hot through my veins, I stormed into his cabin. Well, I wasn't required to knock.
His eyes snapped up from his mobile. Standing in the middle of his cabin, his features matched my emotions right now. He was glaring holes in his phone.
I knew what ran into his head. Of course he would be mad if I wouldn't receive his non-stop calls and messages. My phone stopped vibrating as he cut the call.
"Where the hell were you?" Throwing the phone on his desk, he fired.
"And what the hell did you do?" I countered back, glaring at him.
The place between his thick brows crinkled. "What did I do? Shouldn't I be asking you questions right now?" Sharp jaw ticked. "You went to meet him again!"
Now that took my attention off the previous matter.
Warner? How did he know that I was with him a while ago?
Then realization hit me.
"You!" Striding closer, I jabbed a finger into his chest. "You still have your men after me? Didn't I tell you I don't want them to follow me around? How dare you!"
"You were holding his hand," he said, ignoring my question. His tone came out hard, pure jealousy and rage flashed across his eyes.
"Yes, I was. And that shouldn't have anything to do with you! He's my friend. I'll hold his hand, hug him, cuddle with him. I'll do whatever the hell I want with him. You don't have a say in this!"
"No, you can't!" Pulling me against his hard chest, he wrapped one of his strong arms around my waist and grabbed the back of my neck with the other. His dark grey eyes held me captive. "No matter what he is to you, no man can touch you other than me! Did you forget that you're only mine, my little rose? That you belong to me?"
Gulping, I tried to tame my wild heart beating down my chest. Weirdly, this side of him did something to me. His possessiveness and dominant behavior produced a fire inside me. No matter how absurd it was, my treacherous body reacted to it.
"T-that is ridiculous! I-i'm not yours." I cringed at my own voice. It sounded croaky and meek.
"Yes, you are," he whispered, inches away from my face. "Are you doing this to punish me, Rosebud? If you are, then I'd take anything as my punishment but not this. I can't see you with him. Not with any other men."
"What will you do if I say this is your punishment and I'll meet him again and again?" I challenged.
His lips curled into a sneer, grip tightening on me. But even a flicker of fear didn't raise in me. Because I knew, he could do anything but hurt me. At least not physically.
"Don't make me do something that you won't like, Rosebud. Do not play with my jealousy, because a jealous Achilles Valencian is anything but good. I don't play really fair in love and war. And here we're talking about both."
My lips parted in surprise. What would he do if I didn't listen to him?
Whatever it was, it wouldn't be definitely in Warner's favor.
"He's just my friend! You don't need to go all crazy over it! We- we're not together anymore. So just calm your ass down!" Narrowing my eyes, I titled my head, ignoring the fact that his shoulders relaxed visibly. "You'd take any punishment for me to forgive you?"
He straightened up, eyeing me with suspicion. "Yes. Anything. And I know you're not together anymore. I'd a conversation with Casie. But that doesn't mean you'll let him fly around you. That guy still has feelings for you. I don't want him to look at you the way only I have the right to."
I gritted my teeth. I couldn't believe this man!
And Casie? That traitor! She talks to him about me behind my back, doesn't she?
I knew she was always on his side!
I'd talk to her later. Now I needed to take care of this man first.
So not commenting on his insane demands, I came to the point. "You want my forgiveness or not?"
Grey eyes widened a bit. "Of course, baby. What should I do? Tell me and I'll do it. Do you need anything? Jewelries? Or you need a car? You love puppies, right? Should I bring you one? Or dozens? What do you want, baby?"
I shook my head. Men! He thought gifts could melt my mind?
Raising my chin, I kept my voice firm. "Nothing you just mentioned right now. You'll have to do just two things. And then I'll consider whether to forgive you or not."
"Consider?" He scowled.
"Take it or leave it!"
He stayed silent for a moment and then nodded. "What are those?"
"The first one is, you need to stop your men from following me around. I don't want them to keep an eye on me like hawks everywhere I go."
"What?" His displeasure was back. "I won't do such a thing! They're there for your safety, Rosebud. They aren't going anywhere." Tone stern.
"I'm not a child that they need to protect. I'm a big and independent girl, I can protect myself very well. And what about your declaration that you'll do anything to make me forgive you?" I raised my brow.
A muscle of his jaw ticked. "I'd do anything. But not compromise with your safety."
"You have to! It's not that there's some Mafia after me who wants to kidnap me to take revenge on my father!" My fists clenched. I'd make him agree with my decision. "Remove the guards, or no forgiveness."
"Rosebud," he warned, trying his infamous intimidating tone on me. But alas, I wasn't any of his employees. And he knew it really well.
When I continued to hold his hard gaze with my defiant one, he let out a sigh.
"Alright."
"Alright?" Shocked, I watched him in perplexion. I wanted him to agree, but I didn't know he'd agree that soon.
"Yes. I'll pull my men off of your back. Happy now?" His facial expression was too blank to read.
"Promise me."
He nodded. "I promise not to send my men after you."
He promised. That meant he wouldn't break it. He never broke his promises to me.
A smile broke onto my face.
"Now what's the other one?"
My smile faltered, remembering his audacity. "You made me the equal owner of everything you belong to. Undo it. I don't want your money! Whom did you ask before taking this decision? Did you really think I'd be interested in your property?"
The astonishment and shock in his eyes were clear. But he masked them soon, clearing his throat. "How did you know? And of course not, Rosebud. I'll never think of you like that."
"It doesn't matter how did I know. And if not that, then why the hell did you do that? I don't have any interest in your business. Change it!"
"I'm sorry, Rosebud. I can't agree to this condition of yours."
"Why?" I snapped. "I said I don't need them. Why'd everything that belongs to you would belong to me too? I've no right on them!"
Leaning in, he pressed his forehead against mine. "Because I belong to you, my Rosebud. Just like you belong to me. So everything that I own, automatically becomes yours. It's the truth. And I just made it official. Nothing unexpected."
My breath hitched, heart fluttered inside my chest. A blush rose up my cheeks.
"T-that doesn't make any sense. I don't need anything from you." Why did his words have such an effect on me all the time?
"I know. But I need you to accept it. Everywhere my name will be, I want yours beside mine," he said, peering down my soul. "And if something happens to me, I'll rest in peace knowing that everything that I worked hard for will be in my Rosebud's hands."
A chill ran through my veins as something squeezed my chest at the thought of losing him. "What do you mean? What will happen to you? Don't talk rubbish!" my voice rose as I spoke, hands fisting on his shirt.
A soft chuckle left him. "Of course, Rosebud. Nothing will happen to me. I'm just stating facts."
"Then it's a really absurd fact! And you'll emotionally blackmail me to get me into your court now? Because that's not happening!"
"I'm not blackmailing you. And what's done is done. It's not negotiable anymore."
My lips pressed tight. "What if I run away with all your money?"
Another laugh. "You can take anything you want, baby. Everything is yours. Just make sure you also take me along. Because I can't live without you."
I could feel my cheeks and neck heating up again at his cheeky response. Now he was flirting with me?
Unbelievable man!
I wiggled out of his arms. "Whatever you say, I'll make you take everything back from me. Or I will give it back to you!"
He quirked a brow. "It's non reversal, Rosebud."
"We'll see!" Huffing, I turned around and walked away.
"Where are you going?"
His footsteps behind me reached my ears.
"At the meeting. With the responsibility you gave me, do I have any other choice?" I replied, without stopping at my track.
"Right. But what about my forgiveness? You still haven't forgiven me."
"I said I'd consider it. And you didn't agree to my second punishment."
He groaned. "Well, they were more like conditions. But yes, agreeing to them was a punishment to me."
"As if you agreed to both of them!" I taunted. "So there won't be any forgiveness!"
"Now that's not fair, Rosebud. I agreed to one even though it was too much for me to do. And the second one wasn't negotiable." He continued to walk after me down the hallway outside of his cabin.
"It's absolutely fair. The deal was for two conditions, and you only agreed to one."
"I can still keep my men after you, you know?"
"You can't. You promised." I wasn't bothered by his threat. He was bound by his promise here.
He stayed quiet.
Huh? Accepted defeat so soon?
An involuntary smile tugged on my lips as I walked ahead of him.
But I wasn't letting the equal owner thing go so easily. I'd give it back to him today or tomorrow. At least I got his men off my back.
A masculine groan was heard behind me.
What was that?
Turning over my shoulder, I looked at him.
His heated gaze set on my butt.
With wide eyes and flushed cheeks, I turned my head back and walked as fast as I could.
That ashole!
And the whole way to the conference room, I felt his eyes on me. On a VERY specific area.
Pervert!
***
After the meeting, when I strolled out from the conference room leaving Ace behind to discuss with some of the board members, I spotted Tobias.
"Hey! You're here at this time?" It was almost lunch hour.
"Yeah, remember the project Achilles invested in my start-up company? I needed something to discuss with him."
Oh, I almost forgot about that. And thanking him for helping Tobias also slipped my mind. But I couldn't let one thing slip right now, the one that was nagging in my head since the meeting with Warner.
"Ace is still busy with some board members. Why don't we hang at my cabin until he is free?" I needed to dig out information about Arthur from him.
He nodded. "Sure!"
Once we were in the safety of my cabin, out of anyone's earshot, I didn't waste anymore time.
"What do you know about Arthur?"
He halted his movement in the air from settling his ass on the chair to look at me. Then finally seated, he raised a brow.
"That he's Achilles and Caleb's uncle and is a good man? Why do you ask?"
I rolled my eyes. How informative!
"I didn't ask you his identity. I asked if you know more about him. Like his background and past."
"Wait a moment. Does Achilles know that his Rosebud's interest is shifting from him to his uncle? I know even at this age, he is quite fit. But c'mon Em! Isn't it going out of the line?" he teased.
My mouth twisted in disgust. "Shut the hell up! I need some information about him to clear up some doubt of mine. So speak up now. Don't waste my time!"
His posture straightened. "Doubt? What's happening here, Em?"
I sighed. "I can't tell you anything right now, Tobi. Once I sort everything out, I'll let you know. So please, help me here."
He slowly nodded his head. "Alright. I don't know what doubt you have on him. He's a trustable man. And really close to Achilles and Caleb." Unbuttoning the button of his coat, he leaned against the chair. "Anyways, as far as I know, he'd spent a big chunk of years of his life in UK. His relationship with Achilles's father wasn't good. And due to some conflict, Achilles's father sent him away to UK when he was quite young. And then only only returned after Achilles's father had a sudden demise."
Yes, I heard that his relationship with Ace's father wasn't good and he was in the UK before he came back. But I didn't know it was Ace's dad who sent him away. And between the years, they didn't have any contact with each other.
And why did everything related to Ace and his past stop in the UK?
"What did he do back then in the UK? A job or anything?"
"He'd a small business there. That's quite big now with Achilles's help. You can say, he's a millionaire there now with farmhouses and some hotels," he replied.
"Ace went to the UK for two years to get his degree after I left for NY, right? Did he stay at one of Arthur's places?"
At my question, he shifted in the chair, scratching his jaw. "Umm, sometimes. It was Arthur who sent him there. Though we all thought he was going to need a lot of time to finish his… course, regarding his state. But he returned after two years and started to handle his company on his own." Pride shone into his eyes.
Why did I feel like there was something hidden behind his words?
"After sending Achilles there Arthur took care of the company until he returned. And he kept everything stable. That's why Achilles and Caleb respect him that much. When no one was there for them, Arthur was there."
That's why I didn't want to think anything bad about him. But after Sierra's incident, I couldn't help it. Maybe the kindness and honesty were just masks over his true colors?
"Do you know where exactly his business is located out there?" Warner's cousin can find out more about him from the locals and people that associated with him in the past.
"Yeah, in Wales. I'll send you the exact address."
"Alright. What about his own family? Doesn't he have a wife or kids?"
He shook his head. "No. He never married. Neither I heard anything about him having any child."
A question out of the topic raised into my head. "Do you know where Ace's mom is? Or the reason behind his dad's suicide?"
I'd have asked him myself all these questions about his past. But after his revelation, I couldn't think of anything else other than what he did seven years ago.
"The only thing I can tell you is she's not here. And not really in touch with anyone. Then rest you've to ask Ace himself. And about his father's commiting suicide, I really don't have any idea. He never told me. The only thing I know is things were never good between his parents." He shrugged.
My heart tugged for him. It must have been really difficult for him to live in a place where he had to watch his parents fight everyday. Even I heard them arguing some times during my visits to his place. And now he didn't have his father beside him. His mother was alive, but still far from him. I wondered what was the reason she left him and Caleb alone behind just like that?
I heaved a sigh. "Alright, thank you, Tobi. I really needed some insight." Though it wasn't much, at least I got something about Arthur.
"I don't know what you're up to, Em. But think twice before doing something rash. Achilles is quite close to his uncle, so be careful." He stood up, buttoning his coat button. "Anyways, before I forget, tomorrow is Tess's rehearsal. You're coming, right?"
I rubbed my neck. I decided not to attend, but then I couldn't just miss an event that meant so much for her. Nor did I want my parents to be upset.
"I'll be there. Don't worry."
He smiled. "Tess will be relieved. She's been nagging me to convince you to come if you had decided otherwise. I'm glad you're letting things go, Em. It's for everyone's good."
I nodded. "I know. See you tomorrow."
Placing a kiss on my forehead, he walked out of my cabin.
Letting out a sigh, I plopped on the chair he occupied just some seconds ago.
In between the Arthur mess and thoughts of Ace, I totally forgot about her marriage. And also the thing that Warner was invited by Mom. Though it was when we were still dating each other. And she couldn't just uninvite him just like that. And my biggest concern was, Ace would be there too.
A groan left my mouth.
They were going to come face to face again. The thing I didn't want.