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“But the chairman did give you three years…” I murmured while still not quite getting why he was so rushed about this.
If Ace didn’t truly like the idea of merging the companies together, I didn’t see why he had to rush things forward when he had close to three years left to come up with another plan. There was also the option of keeping that as his last resort in case all of his other plans did not work out. Ace was suddenly silent, and I ended up staring at him while wondering what he was thinking about again. For some unknown reason, my heart clenched in my chest as I waited eagerly for his reply.
After a short moment that felt like it lasted so long, Ace turned to stare deeply into my eyes before his lips curved up into a very charming smile. The look in his warm hazel eyes was bright and for an instant, he looked very free of stress. A slight fluttering feeling overwhelmed my chest, and I had no idea why I suddenly felt a little excited.
“I didn’t want to wait three years. It is quite a long time when you actually think about it…” he said as if still pondering that thought.
Oh…I should have realized that working as the CEO for the next three years might have been a painful experience for Ace. He did mention a couple of times that he wasn’t a big fan of his job and that he was mostly doing it for his father’s sake. On top of that, it wasn’t like he had a great and loving relationship with his father either. In the end, Ace was probably doing it out of a sense of responsibility. Looking at it from his point of view, three years in a job that he wasn’t quite fond of would probably feel like a long time. Ace probably also had other and better things that he wanted to do with his life during those three years in question.
“I guess you’re right. Waiting three years to leave your post as CEO will probably feel like a very long time for you…” I replied while still feeling regretful that that would be the case.
Ace continued staring at me but the look in his hazel eyes had changed and the beautiful smile that graced his lips suddenly vanished. I didn’t quite understand what was going on, but it felt like I had just said something that I wasn’t supposed to. I blinked a couple of times as his intense gaze started to make me feel uncomfortable.
Did I say something wrong just now?
After staring at my face with a look that resembled disappointment on his face for a short while, Ace looked away and heaved a loud sigh. That was when I was convinced that I must have said something to offend him although I wasn’t absolutely sure what was wrong with what I had just said. All I did was try my best to understand things from his perspective and I even told myself that I had to be as supportive as I could be. The way Ace began shaking his head slightly from side to side only confirmed the fact that I had probably misunderstood him.
“Rina…” he called my name as if to make sure that he had my undivided attention.
“Y-Yes?” I replied as I sat up straight like a student that had just been called out in class by her strict teacher.
It truly felt like I was in trouble, and he was going to give me a good scolding for it.
“Listen properly to what I’m going to say,” Ace instructed as his eyes continued staring at my face.
“Ok…” I whispered in a small voice that I thought was barely audible.
I secretly bit the inner of my lower lip as I waited nervously for him to tell me what I had done wrong. It wasn’t the most pleasant of feelings, but I knew that I had to bear with it and that it was probably worth it if I could find out what Ace was really thinking.
“I don’t want to wait three years to marry you…” Ace confessed calmly.
Marry me?
I was too shocked to say anything so all I could do was stare at him with widened eyes with a stunned expression on my face. My eyes grew so wide that it felt like my eyeballs might just pop out of their sockets. My heart raced uncontrollably in my chest and then I started to blush wildly. It was all too much, and I couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes. I was so shocked that I must have started denying what I had just heard by telling myself inside my mind that I must have misheard him as I averted my eyes away from him.
“Rina…” Ace called my name as he reached for my hands and pulled them firmly into his much larger ones.
“Yes…?” I replied but I still couldn’t look him in the eyes.
It isn’t what I’m thinking…
“Are you even listening properly to what I just said?” he asked with a hint of disbelief in his tone.
To him, I must be acting really ridiculously. However, I just couldn’t help it. His direct confession truly caught me off guard and I found it hard to believe that he went through all that trouble just for the sake of pushing our relationship forward.
“Umm…” I mumbled hesitantly.
Ace let out another sigh before bringing my hand up to his lips where he kissed the back of it gently. The warmth of his lips against my icy cold hand calmed me down in a strange and unexplainable way. My heart skipped a beat for a different reason than before as I stared at the sight of his lips kissing the back of my hand.
“Calm down and listen, Rina. I’m not rushing all of this because I can’t wait to quit my job, although that might be partly the reason as well if I’m being honest. The truth is, I don’t think that I can wait three years to date you properly or to marry you,” he said while staring deeply into my eyes.
--To be continued…
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