Chapter 466 Declaring Our Relationship

Chapter 466 Declaring Our Relationship

I parted my lips invitingly and Ace took the initiative to thrust his tongue into my mouth. His tongue stroked mine as I made small whimpering sounds of pleasure in my throat. His kisses felt so deliciously pleasurable that I didn’t want him to stop kissing me.

His large manly hands began caressing my back before dipping down to my waist and then even lower to cup the sides of my hips. Everything felt so perfect and naturally smooth as his lips trailed soft tender kisses down the side of my neck. I moaned his name as I let myself surrender to the sweet pleasure of his seduction. Ace buried his face in between my breasts before kissing me there while I ran my fingers through his soft hair.

The escape that we planned was truly worth it because I was certain that we both ended up forgetting about all the troubles that were waiting for us in the real world.

...

**The day of the announcement**

My first reaction was to run away from the press conference that had been planned. Although I knew that it was probably impossible for me not to turn up, I still expended quite a reasonable amount of time and effort in negotiating with Ace.

“Can’t you just do it by yourself?” I pleaded with him.

“You’re actually going to leave me and let me handle it all by myself?” Ace asked as he acted overly shocked.

“You’re basically a pro at this. You’ve done this countless times before...” I pointed out.

“Don’t you think that it’ll be weird for me to say that we’re dating all by myself without you there to actually confirm it? I’ll look like a fool...” he pointed out before laughing at the idea.

I truly understood what he meant, and I knew very well that logically I should be there sitting right next to him when we confirm to everyone that we are indeed in a relationship. Even knowing all of that, it was still hard for me to accept that the day that I dreaded had arrived. To make matters worse, Ace’s father was actually in support for us to set the record straight.

Since Ace had met all conditions of the deal, there wasn’t much that the Chairman could say against our relationship. That being said, I didn’t think that he would be so accepting now that the merger was well under way. Sometimes it made me think that he might have had this planned at the back of his mind all along. I could imagine him using this as a way to manipulate Ace into doing what he wanted. It was clear that he still preferred to have his own son sitting as the CEO of the newly formed company, but he also seemed satisfied enough with the business results.

The outcome of my argument with Ace was obvious enough and that meant that I couldn’t find a way out of the press conference. Since there was no other option, all I could do was to prepare myself for it in every way possible.

“I just have a bad feeling that I’m just going to end up embarrassing myself...” I confessed to Ace.

“No, you won’t and even if you do, it doesn’t matter,” he said in his attempt to comfort me.

I wasn’t sure if his words worked to make me feel better but by then I had decided to get all the help that I could. Both Ace and Elizabeth were great at dealing with something like this so I thought that they could both help to coach me.

“Maybe I can just sit there and smile and just follow your lead....” I suggested softly.

“I’m sure that you can do better than that,” Ace replied before grinning my way.

After going through the sequence time and time again with Ace and the organizer team, I thought that I had everything down. I was foolish enough to believe that I was ready for this. However, when I saw all the people seated in the venue with their eyes focused on the stage where Ace and I were supposed to make our appearance, I just wanted to bolt and run away.

“Calm down. Take a deep breath and imagine that they are sunflowers in a field...” Ace whispered close to my ear.

“That’s not funny...” I muttered in reply.

I felt a slight pressure on my wrist and realized that he was holding on to it to prevent my escape. Ace smiled teasingly at me before he began patting my back.

“There. There...” he coaxed softly to me as if I was a baby. n.-0vElb1n

“Do I really need to do this?” I asked while praying that there might be some kind of miracle that could save me.

“You do. Let’s go,” Ace said firmly.

It felt like I was just drifting along as Ace led me up onto the stage where seats were prepared for us behind a long table. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I couldn’t stop thinking of what people were thinking of me. My entire face felt numb, and my legs felt weak. That was why I was so thankful to finally sit on the chair. I didn’t dare look up at the crowd of reporters or anyone seated in the room in front of me.

“Relax and focus...” Ace whispered from my side as he gave my hand a squeeze under the table where no one would see it.

I nodded my head a few times as I tried to suppress my oncoming panic attack. All I could do was tell myself that Ace would handle everything and that it would all be over soon. The host introduced us as planned by the script and that it was time for Ace to make his announcement.

“Just to save everyone’s time, I’m going to keep it short and directly to the point. It is true that Karina and I are dating. We wish for your best wishes and blessing for our relationship in the future,” Ace declared.

--To be continued...