Chapter 47 - The Other Heir

Ace carries on with all the blushing and beaming for some time while Winter only stares at him in silence. 

Despite her impassive expression, she can't help but be dazzled by his bright, sunny smile. It's no wonder that many girls have fallen for his charms. Not only is he kind and friendly, but he is also quite the eye candy. 

Winter is merely being appreciative of Ace, though - she already had a fair share of experiences with handsome men, considering that she was already living with one and had even married another before. 

"You know, I'm really happy right now..." he started all of the sudden while still staring at the guitar pick she gave him. 

"Not only were you finally talking with me, but you also gave me something. I'm already glad enough that you didn't insist on putting your distance. After everything that happened yesterday, I thought we're going to drift further away from each other."

"I think it's actually the opposite. Now that you know about my secret and I know yours, this is only a given. And besides, when I said that I didn't want anything to do with you, I wasn't trying to blame you. You're not at fault..." she said and cast down her gaze, suddenly finding it in herself to confess. 

"For a while now, I've been avoiding people to protect myself from getting hurt. Even though they didn't do anything wrong, I stayed away. I wanted an easy way out of the situation - and that was the easiest one I could do."

"I... see... I understand. It seems to me that you've been through a lot. I'm kinda getting the impression that you experienced many things that made you lose your trust and hope in others. That's why you've become the way you are."

"Well, you could say that."

"What if I want to be the one to change that?"

"Huh?"

A little taken aback by his uncalled-for declaration, she went quiet and still. 

Just when she thought that she would appear like she was too caught up in her angsty teenage phase by saying all those things, he ended up taking it seriously. She used to see him as someone who never had problems to deal with, so she didn't expect him to understand. But then, he actually did - and with how he steeled his expression, she knew that he meant what he said. 

"I want to be with you, Winter..." Ace then said out of nowhere, throwing her off guard. 

"I-I-I mean as friends! Close friends! It's just as you said. We already know each other's secrets. Can we use that as our starting line?"

"Oh, you want us to be friends...?" Winter absentmindedly blurted out, still confused by how he seemed to have changed his mind at the last minute and took back what he said at first. 

"To be honest, I don't get what you mean by being friends. Are we supposed to hang out together all the time or what? I'm not really good with people. And you're always surrounded by a crowd of them-"

"That's not it at all. What I mean by that is that we can open up to each other. You can rely on me anytime. I'll help you out as much as I can."

Though a bit enlightened, she remains looking dazed. She only kept staring at him from that moment on, not responding. He sighed at her lack of reaction and thought that he must have not been convincing enough. 

"Perhaps, just saying that makes it look like I'm all talk. I probably still need to act it out to you..." Ace continued with a small smile.

"And I guess that you're still curious about me? You already know that I'm one of the Miller's. I doubt you're gonna give that subject a rest."

"Right. I am indeed curious..." Winter seconded, going down to business. 

"Why is there no record of you being one of them? And how come you're living an average life? Were you really trying to hide your identity?"

"I'm an illegitimate child. My mother has an affair with another man who is my father. She is still married to my step father, but she is living with us. He let her be as long as he had a successor. In the end, my step sister was left to succeed my step father."

"I see. I never would've thought that was the case."

"To cut the long story short, my step father doesn't care about me. He's indifferent to my existence. However, out of hatred towards my father, he did erase every record that said he's related to me. To him, my step sister is the one and only heir."

After hearing all of these, she can't help but sympathize with him. 

It seems like disputes within the family are the main thing that makes life complicated for rich people. The drama lives on from one household to another - such a cliche. But then, that is just how it is. Children like them have no control over these kinds of situations, especially since the adults are the ones who are always in command. 

"How are your parents, though? Are they good?" Winter asked to which Ace nodded in return. 

"Yeah. They're fine. They love each other, and they take good care of me."

"Then, that's what matters. As long as you're well, you can get by."

"That's true, though I do worry about my step sister."

"Ms. Violet?"

"Yeah, well... I don't really get to talk with her that much since my step father doesn't want us having any contact. From that alone, I can tell that she is restrained from doing many things. She does want us to spend time with each other, but she is under his care. I've always had the feeling that she doesn't have much freedom unlike me."

Winter already had an idea that what Ace said was indeed the case - Violet is restricted from a lot of things. 

She feels bad for both of them. Because of the circumstances surrounding their parents, they don't get to live the way they want to. Now, she no longer wonders why she doesn't know about their story before. And that's because she never tried to pay closer attention to the little details. 

Her targets are no mere objects of interest - Winter will hold onto that. She would try to open up her heart and mind again, but this time, she would do so to the right people. 

"Thank you for telling me all of that..." Winter said and smiled at Ace, making him blush time and again. 

"And yeah. We can be friends. From now on, you can rely on me too."

---

Since August will be coming for Winter after school on the day after tomorrow, she has to meet up with Marcellus and finish their preparations for the upcoming party that George invited her to. 

"When I said preparations, I meant the plan regarding the Ratri's, Marcellus Lexington..." she muttered with an incredulous expression while she remained stiff on her place. 

"Not this nonsense."

Apparently, he took her all the way to this posh and sophisticated boutique - one of the branches of their wide-ranging business, that is. 

When she met up with him earlier that afternoon, she thought that he was going to take her to his office again. But then, he drove all the way down to the mall and led her to a branded clothing store. From that point on, he kept dragging her all around the place and even had it momentarily closed for their convenience. 

"You can't possibly go to a party without anything to wear," Marcellus remarked in all seriousness. 

"Oh, you don't say~?" Winter quipped with a playful tone.

"No, really. You don't have anything to wear, right?"

"Well, I do have a dress, though I doubt it's something within your standards. Still, I can make do with it. You don't have to do all of these."

"I'm not going to let you pay - if that's what you're worry about. So, go on already. Pick whatever you like."

She remains hesitant even then. 

Not only was this too sudden, but she also never thought of getting anything like this from him. While he had a point that she had nothing good enough to wear, she could manage on her own. She does have an experience on two when it comes to dressing herself up for some rich people's party. 

Also, she doubts that he doesn't want anything in exchange for this. 

"Hey, do you want something from me?" she asked and narrowed her gaze at him in suspicion.

"Like what?" he asked back, not getting what she meant. 

"Surely, we're not in that relationship. You don't close down a shop to buy dresses for some girl."

"But you're not just some girl to me."

"What am I to you, then?"

Only when Marcellus came to a still and fell silent did Winter realize that she must have phrased that question out in a misleading way.