CHAPTER 33 - RECONCILED

R. 18: Read at your own risk.

~>.<~

My lips went dry.

"I-"

My mind went haywire. In just a second, thousands of thoughts ran through my head. We wanted to talk about the same topic, I was prepared for that topic, and yet here I was speechless. I couldn't even move.

"Vandia, I... I know it is too late to tell you my side of the story but before I do, tell me why, why didn't you give me a chance?" Ace paused and gave me a bleak look which sent a pang of pain in my chest. I felt regret. I let the silence hang in the air for a few more seconds before finally responding.

"Ace, I was mad. Anger got the best of me. I was stuck in the thinking that you left me when I needed you the most, I hated you, I hated your guts," I halted to take in a breath.

"I needed you Ace, I wanted your assurance, I wanted your comfort but all I got was a coward, someone who wanted to back off, someone-"

"Accepting reality is an act of bravery," he stated.

"Your life was on the line. Letting you die, risking your life, only then will I feel like a coward. Vandia, breaking up with you was the toughest thing I ever had to do. It wasn't the fucking scar I got from my mom, it wasn't my dad's whips, it wasn't the torture I had gone through in my first year in Beta. Vandia, it was breaking up with you, but I did it anyway. I did it because I knew it was the only way I could protect you," he stared deeply in my eyes.

"Now call me a coward for doing the hardest thing I ever had to do."

His hands were clasping one another and the veins in his arms were very apparent, he gulped, making his Adam's apple move. He looked very stiff with how he was sitting. It made me guilty, more than ever.

I knew he wanted to protect me all along, I knew that, but my stubborn head kept denying it. I was so caught up in the idea that I could have protected myself but looking back now maybe I really was the childish one.

"I know, I told you it was my family and Joey's life that I could not risk but it really was yours. I knew how stubborn you were, you were going to tell me that it would be alright and that you would take care of yourself and that we should push on the case. Tell me if I'm wrong," he paused and I couldn't respond because he was right.

"I expected that and believe me when I say that I wanted to work with you. I wanted to overthrow Mr. Macklet together, you and me, but at the same time I knew we wouldn't be able to do anything," he paused again, scanning me, waiting for a response but I remained quiet.

"Vandia, we were still so young back then, what could we have possibly done? If we had pushed the case back then, both of us would have probably ended up dead. I knew I had the money and the connection but was that really enough to overthrow Scion, to send Mr. Macklet to jail, to protect the person I love?" he highlighted every question.

I could see tears forming at the side of Ace's eyes and it made me want to cry as well.

"Vandia, I couldn't risk losing the only person who ever saw me for me, I couldn't risk losing the one person I loved truly, I couldn't risk losing you," he leaned forward and cupped my right cheek. His hand felt warm, I held it with mine.

"We could have still found a way around it, we could have asked our parents for help, they are both powerful in the industry. We could have searched for the concrete proof, we had Ceasar with us, there was also Abigail, it was a great team," I sighed as I started to explain my side more.

"I know, and that was why I begged you to give me a chance to talk, didn't I?" he looked down and pulled away from me. He looked broken, betrayed.

"But you never gave me a chance, not even when I kneeled in front of you," he scoffed and again the memories came flooding back in.

"For the first time in my life, logic didn't matter, Ace. I had lost the guy who taught me how to love, I had lost you. I couldn't function properly, studying became harder, doing my responsibilities as the head became tougher and I blamed it all on you. I knew it was wrong, I knew that you have your own side of the story but I didn't want to hear it then. I feared that I would give in to you and throw the case off as well," My tone got higher despite cracking at every pause.

"It was never in my plan to forget the case, I just didn't want you involved further," his lips trembled.

"Vandia, right after you left my room, I immediately regretted everything. I didn't want to risk your life but at the same time, I didn't want to let you go. I had to let go of one to have the other so my best choice was to compromise. I was going to make you a promise that I was going to finish the case, free Edward, and come back for you. One way or another, I was going to achieve that goal. I wasn't going to let anyone or anything come in my way, I just wanted to promise you that but you... you never gave me a chance," he gulped on nothing.

"You kept me waiting in the garden. You left me kneeling in the hallway. You never bothered to reply to any of my messages. You never even greeted me on my birthday. I got so drained Vandia, I thought I would finally lose my feelings for you. I thought it would be replaced with anger but," he sighed.

"There was no way I could ever unlove you."

Ace fixed his eyes on me, waiting. He looked so honest and sincere it made me tear up. How could I inflict such pain on the person I loved. My immaturity had caused him great suffering.

"Vandia, until now, I never could."

My heart skipped a beat.

Does he still love me?

"You..." I trailed off.

"I still love you Vandia, I always will."

Say that again.

A few moments passed by but I just continued to stare at Ace in a state of shock. I thought he didn't love me anymore, the way he acted had suggested that so why was he confessing to me right now?

I managed to pinch myself at the side, I could feel it.

This was not a dream.

"You told me you were going to marry me for the president's seat," I stuttered, still trying to take in what he had just said.

"As if that seat ever mattered to me, being a surgeon was all I wanted to be, the real goal was your hand in marriage," he started to sound more like himself now, back to his cocky ways. It made me a little relieved that our conversation was becoming light again.

"You liar," I smirked.

He was about to say something, probably another witty comment when I stopped him.

"Ace, I- I really am sorry for what I had done. For keeping you waiting in the snow, for letting you kn-"

"I don't need your apology, I am not mad at you at all," he gave me a smile and suddenly my tears started to fall.

Why wasn't he mad at me?

Why is he being so kind?

Why?

I didn't deserve his kindness after what I had done to him.

"Don't cry," he started to wipe my tears but I continued to sob.

"But-" I suddenly got hiccups.

"Still a messy crier," he laughed and stood up, he kneeled in front of me so he could get a better view of my face, wiping it more.

Thank God I was wearing waterproof mascaras.

"I'm sorry, Ace. I-"

"I love you too, Vandia."

Ace gave me a kiss on my forehead and a hug, he didn't let go, not until I finally calmed down. He was still squatting in front of me when he suddenly started a new topic.

"Which reminds me, there actually was a time when I got mad."

I raised an eyebrow, still sniffling a little, "When?"

"When I found out you had a new boyfriend," he smirked and I almost coughed on nothing.

I only had one boyfriend after we broke up, his name was Joshua and I never even knew we were already officially together. I only found out about it when he started to post pictures of us on his media accounts, claiming I was his girl. I didn't stay quiet for too long though because after a week I had cut ties with him.

I just wanted to forget Ace, I did everything I could in order to fulfill it but no other guys reached his league. I couldn't settle for anybody else, they were all lacking.

"You, yourself went out with other girls, remember the girl from med school," I raised a brow when I remembered Joey spilling the beans back at the restaurant.

"Hey, I just wanted to forget you, okay? Thus, she was a pain in the ass, she was always so jealous of the girls who hung around me, I couldn't take it," he sighed. "She saw your photo on my wallet and got so mad."

"Ace, any girl would be mad to see her boyfriend having another picture of a woman in his wallet," I sighed and he just shrugged like he couldn't care less.

"I suddenly pity the girl," I shook my head and he rolled his eyes.

"Wanna take her place?"

"Would you let me?" I asked.

"No," he smirked and I smiled triumphantly.

"So many things happened when we graduated," he commented.

"Yeah, it was also surprising to see couples forming from different houses," I added.

"Nah, those couples never surprised me, I always thought there was something going on with people like Riley and-" Ace was interrupted by Blake on the sound system.

"We would be departing in ten minutes, if you guys are currently in bed, please finish up soon, thank you!" Blake's voice boomed out of nowhere. He was laughing as he made the announcement, I could understand why he was a good friend of Ace, still can't believe he is from Kappa.

"Shit. Our conversation took too long, my plans got ruined, how could I check 'sex on plane' off of my bucket list now?" Ace grunted and I found myself slapping his arm in outrage.

"What?!"

"Hey, I never said I wanted to do it with you now. I just said it was a part of my bucket list," he smiled.

"Oh so who else do you want to do it with?" I found my blood boil at the thought.

"Kidding babe," he kissed my forehead before seating back on his chair.

The rest of the flight went by in a jiffy and soon enough Ace and I were at the hotel. It was the same hotel we booked back then, The Mandrake Hotel, the only difference was this time instead of a penthouse, we had two premium suites, one for each.

I thought he would insist on the two of us to share a room after what had happened during the flight but he didn't. It was already afternoon when we had arrived at the hotel, the porter took our belongings to our room. We were supposed to head straight to bed but instead, we decided to take a round trip to the city and have an early dinner first.

We didn't really go far because we both felt tired. It was about to be 6 pm when we finally finished dinner and headed back to the hotel. We made our way to our rooms, which was again, next to one another.

"Goodnight, Ace"

"Goodnight."

I thought he would ask me to come over or even stay in his room but he didn't so I reluctantly went inside mine. It was rather foolish of me to think that we were back to being a couple, I guess we still needed time to adjust.

The room was almost in the same shade as the penthouse we had back then, cream and grey. My suitcase was placed by the door and to my surprise, Ace's suitcase was there too. I guess they had accidentally placed it together with mine. I was about to deliver it to him when I heard a knock from the other side, it must be him.

I opened the door and found Ace standing outside. He had taken off his coat and the top buttons to his white dress shirt were unbuttoned, revealing his chest a little. I tried to take my eyes off of it and look him in the eyes instead.

"I think they placed my suitcase with yours," he glanced down at his bag which was next to my luggage and I nodded.

"They did," I was about to reach down and take it when he did the same thing. Our hands touched and almost immediately we both pulled away.

Awkward.

"Take it," I smiled weirdly and so he did. He stood up straight to meet my eyes. He gave me an intense stare and I had thought he was going to kiss me but instead, he left and went back to his room. I closed the door and leaned against it.

I let out a ball of air, it was only then when I realized I had been holding my breath.

Why didn't he kiss me?

I pouted and smirked to myself. I was about to head towards the bed when I heard a click in the knob. The door swung open revealing Ace. He closed the door behind him before staring right at me.

"Did you forget anything else?" I asked but he didn't bother to answer.

He jerked towards me and pulled me by my waist, the next thing I knew was we were indulged in a kiss. He tilted my head a little before deepening the kiss. He pulled away and placed his forehead against mine.

"Don't stop me, Vandia."

He kissed me again.

It was passionate yet soft. It stayed that way until it started to burn, becoming more intense with every passing second. He was hungry and he didn't want to be stopped.

He pushed me gently towards the bed without breaking the kiss and soon enough he was on top of me. His hands crept its way under my shirt and up my mound before squeezing it a little. I let out a small moan escape in between our kiss.

We were in no position to be pulling a stunt like this, tomorrow was the day when we will finally break Edward out of the hospital but I also knew I wouldn't be able to stop him.

"And if I tell you to stop?" I asked when he started to nibble on my neck.

"I still won't."

He continued to trace my neck, down to my chest and when he realized my shirt was in the way, he tugged it away. I lied under him with only my jeans, and bra now. He smiled at his view before pulling at the hem of his shirt, taking it off as well.

I bit my lower lips, his figure was more apparent now, I guess he still works out.

He leaned back down and began to kiss my chest, his right hand went on my back, unclasping my bra and soon it gave away. He lightly kissed and nibbled my right mound while his hand fondled with the other. I couldn't help but let out moans every once in a while.

It didn't take long before he started to pull my pants and underwear down, leaving me naked. I was about to speak when he got the better of me.

"Unfair, right?" he raised an eyebrow and began to unbuckle his belt.

"Get on your fours," he ordered, his voice deep and a little husky.

I wanted to complain but my body had other plans. I turned around and got on my hands and knees. I didn't even realize Ace was naked as well already, I felt his shaft glide on the top of my ass and I froze.

I managed to get a glimpse of it as he placed it on my entrance, a cocky grin was plastered on his face. Is it possible that it has gotten bigger over the years? I bit on my lower lips.

"I can't go in," he sighed and I immediately smirked at him.

"What?"

"I guess I'm not as prepared as I was, I didn't bring any condoms," he laughed.

How can he be laughing? We were at the head of the moment and he just ruined it by saying he wasn't prepared. Normally, I would be glad for such an occurrence but right now I just wanted him. I knew I was going to feel so unsatisfied if we suddenly stopped.

"And I don't want to get you pregnant when we aren't rea-"

"I have pills, it's alright," I stated and his eyes widened.

"What? Why do you have pills? Don't tell me you have sex with other guys-"

"What no!"I denied and he looked at me accusingly. The anger in his face was genuine, it made me stifle a laugh. I guess we were alike, the thought of him having sex with someone else was not something I could process. He wasn't like the other guys who thinks of sex as just another activity. He gave it a special meaning, we both did.

"Tine made me bring them," I stated the truth and he still looked confused.

"So?"

"It's alright," I assured him and he bit his lower lips trying to figure out what is the next right move. He continued to hesitate but I knew it wouldn't take long for him to get back in the mood, I knew we both felt the same way. With this heat between us, it was rather hard to suddenly back down.

He leaned forward to give me a gentle kiss at the nape of my neck, down to my back until it was on my waist. He made my hair stand, I kept getting goosebumps which caused me to arch my back.

"I'm going in," he said and I gave him a small nod.

I felt him enter slowly, my grip on the sheets got tighter as I felt myself wrap around him. I had not had sex since the last time we did it so if it was even possible, I felt the same kind of pain like I did before.

"Slow down, babe," I managed to say and he did but it didn't take long for him to go slightly faster again. He thrusted over and over until I felt my knees start to give away. A knot was starting to build inside my stomach and I knew at any second I was going to release.

"Babe, I'm-" he panted.

"Me too."

I felt his release inside me, I tensed up at the same time. After letting a second pass, we both fell into the bed, he was on top of me. I grunted due to how heavy he was and I tried to push him away.

"Remember to drink the pill, alright?" he reminded me and I nodded. He gave me a peck on the lips.

My body felt heavy and I wanted to sleep right away but I didn't want to sleep feeling icky so in the end, I went to take a shower. Ace had the same plan as well because to my surprise the door to the bathroom opened and he joined in.

He entered the bath naked, smiling like a kid.

I tried my best not to look down.

"Let me join too," he hugged me from behind, water from the shower sprinkling the both of us.

"Let go! Here's the soap," I handed the soap to him and he began to scrub himself. I couldn't help but laugh every once in a while because of how troubled he was with the slippery soap, I guess he was used to using liquid soap.

"Babe, are you feeling alright?" he asked after a while, he kept blinking due to the shower.

I smiled at his concern, well, the last time we did it, I wasn't able to stand the following day. I, myself, was surprised that I didn't feel any pain in my lower body.

"I'm good," I smiled at him despite the water getting in my eyes as well. We were able to finish showering in a jiffy, I was already in my robes and he had a towel wrapped on his waist when a thought entered my mind.

"Babe," I called out right after we got out of the bathroom.

"Mhn?" he asked as he rummaged through his suitcase.

"Are you back to being my boyfriend now?" I asked squatting down next to him as he looked through his suitcase. He stopped and faced me after the question registered in his mind. He cocked his head a little before raising an eyebrow.

"Boyfriend? I'm already your fiance."

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