Chapter 138

138 Taking Him Home

“Yes...” I replied truthfully. It’s no use to lie about it now.

“I can’t believe it. What is going on? Please explain to me, Rina!” my mother started wailing through the phone.

I knew that she was extremely upset and confused. My chest felt tight when I imagined my mother crying because of me. Although I tried to make her proud and happy, I’m the one breaking her heart right now. I wiped my tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. Not surprisingly, I had started crying for real. My mother’s tears only triggered mine to flow even more than before.

“Give me that for a moment,” Ace said softly.

Before I could protest, Ace pulled my phone out of my hand. My eye widened in shock, but it was already too late. I watched through my tears as Ace pressed my phone to his ear.

“Hello. This is Ace Hills, the CEO of Jessen’s and Hill’s and Karina’s direct supervisor,” Ace introduced himself calmly to my mother.

I couldn’t hear what my mother said to him. Apparently, she had stopped shouting and her voice wasn’t resonating out from the speaker of my phone.

“Regarding that, since I am with your daughter right now, I would like to apologize and explain it to you in person. If you’ll let me know your address, then we can head over there right now. The truth is the reporters have blocked entry to Karina’s apartment and so we’re in a little trouble about where she’s going to spend the night. Karina is also quite stressed so going home will also be best for her...sure...thank you...” Ace spoke calmly to my mother while I stared at him as my mouth hanging open.

Did he just ask to take me back to our apartment? This cannot be happening.

.....

Ace thanked my mother warmly before he handed my phone back to me. Shocked, I snatched my phone back from his hand while my mouth still hung open.

“I’ll drive you home,” Ace said before he turned to smile sweetly at me.

“Why did you do that?” I snapped.

Things were really getting out of hand this time around.

“Do what?” Ace asked innocently as the car made a U-turn.

Great, we’re definitely heading to my mother’s place if we head in this direction.

“Why did you ask to come over to our apartment? Let’s forget this. Let’s just go to your place or stay at some random hotel, ok?” I suggested desperately.

Ace just smiled wider as he shook his head from side to side with his eyes on the road. It wasn’t just my imagination; Ace was driving faster now.

“I just promised your mother to come over and explain everything to her. You don’t expect me to break my promise, do you?” Ace asked with a teasing smile.

“This isn’t funny, Ace!” I yelled at him as my anger boiled over.

It’s bad enough that she had to learn about your illicit relationship through the news rather than from me. She must be so shocked and now he’s just going to meet her in person. He’s crazy...

“I’m serious. This is a big matter, and I can understand why your mother is upset. You’re her only daughter after all. As your boss, I should take some responsibility,” Ace replied calmly.

...

Had our apartment always been this small?

Suddenly, with the three of us sitting at the dining table together, the room just felt suffocatingly small and full of tension. Ace looked too big for the place and so out of place in his expensive business suit. My mother greeted us at the door with a look of pure shock and slight terror on her face when she came face-to-face with Mr. Ace Hills.

“My name is Ace. We spoke on the phone just now. Thank you for letting me come over with your daughter,” Ace said with a charmingly disarming smile on his face.

He wasn’t playing fair. Not even with my mother. I felt like hitting him and I had to ball my fists tightly at my side as I plastered a hopefully calm looking smile on my face.

“Oh...yes. Nice to meet you, I’m Diana, Karina’s mother. Oh, please come inside...our place is small but...” my mother said as if in a daze.

Just like that, I found myself sitting next to Ace with my mother on the opposite side of our small dining table. I managed to get Ace to change his mind about coming here earlier but fate was really cruel to me and somehow, we ended up here anyways. My mother’s eyes shifted between Ace and my face nervously as the silence in the room became unbearable.

“Umm...this is Ace. He’s...my boss...” I murmured.

“I see...” my mother muttered.

I knew that Ace already introduced himself, but I just didn’t know what else to say. The room lapsed back into silence, and I knew that I had failed at starting up a conversation.

“Umm...do you two want something to drink. I can make some tea...or something...” I offered as I got up from my seat.

My mother’s eyes flickered in my direction before she shook her head. I guess there was no escaping for me from this tense situation. What should I say now?

Thankfully, Ace stepped in to save the day.

“I apologize for dropping by and disturbing you so late at night. Just like I mentioned on the phone, I thought that it would be better for me to explain in person to you as soon as possible regarding what you’ve seen on the news,” Ace said calmly.

My mother had his eyes on him. She was stressed and very concern, I could tell that much although there were many emotions that flashed across her features that I couldn’t completely read. Without replying to Ace, my mother nodded for him to go on.

'

“I apologize for the delay on this and the fact that you had to find out this way, but I would like to confirm that Karina and I, we’re really in a relationship,” Ace announced straightforwardly.

...What?

“Wait...” I whispered when I finally found my voice.

What did he just say to my mother?!

–To be continued...