Ruining Everything


    “Young people these days don’t have the stamina…” a man muttered beforeughing.


    “Don’t say that. It only makes you sound like a dinosaur…” Julianna snapped and then beganughing


    loudly.


    “I’ll take her back first. Thank you everyone for your hard work. I’ll see you tomorrow at the office,” Ace


    said a little sternly.


    “Yes, Sir!” Julianna replied with a salute.


    Ace basically dragged me after him out of there after exchanging some polite words of farewell with the


    team members. I felt slightly better to get away from the crowd of people but being alone with Ace in


    the car made me anxious in a different way.


    “Are you sure that you don’t want to stay? I’m really fine so we don’t have to leave so early…” I


    mumbled.


    The atmosphere felt so tense now that we were alone in his car and Ace’s silence did not help with the


    overall mood at all. I wondered what he was thinking about before I cursed myself silently inside my


    head for crying like that and ruining the mood for the entire night.


    “I only came here because you wanted to. If you hadn’t wanted toe, I wouldn’t be here…” Ace


    replied as he turned to stare my way.


    “I’m sorry…” I mumbled apologetically.


    “Stop apologizing. Honestly, I don’t even know what you’re sorry for,” Ace said before he started the car


    and began driving.


    Although his words were quite blunt, his tone was caring and kind. The way he didn’t seem to mind not


    attending the party until the end only made me even more guilty. It felt like the only way that I would be


    able to feel better about myself was to confess to him about how I honestly felt.


    “Ace…” I called his name softly to get his attention.


    “Yes?” he replied before waiting for me to go on.


    I was about to start my honest confession with the words ‘I’m sorry’ but managed to bite down on my


    tongue in time before those words would slip pass my lips. Ace would have hated it if I had apologized


    again and I was thankful for catching those words on time. I took in a deep breath before letting it out to


    refresh my mind before aiming for a fresh start.


    Let’s try this again…


    “I know that today is supposed to be a happy and joyous day. Ourmercial looks great and


    everyone seems very excited to see it. Theunch is very sessful and even I can feel that our


    so proud and so thrilled to see this happen and to see this projecte so far…” I said before pausing


    to take in another deep breath.


    Ace listened to me in silence as he slowly drove the car. I knew that he was listening to me and


    patiently giving me the chance to say everything that I had in mind. My tongue flickered over my lower


    lip before I continued on with what I wanted to say.


    “I think things may be a lot lessplicated for me if that was the only role that I y. The reality for


    me is a lot moreplicated than that because the end of Project Alpha and the end of thepetition


    would also mark the end of your time here. Just thinking about that makes me feel scared. Every single


    step forward that takes us closer to our goal makes me happy yet very confused and sad at the same


    time. I get so scared just thinking about it and sometimes I feel like I’m really going to lose it…” I


    confessed honestly before I had to stop.


    I felt a stinging pain at the back of my eyes and realized that if I went on, I would probably end up


    crying again and that wasn’t something that I wanted Ace to see. Even now, I was sure that my words


    have ced unnecessary burdens and worries on him already. After a moment of pause, I realized that


    Ace didn’t intend to say anything in response to what I had just told him. Perhaps just having him listen


    to what I had to say was enough for me because I did feel more relieved after telling him honestly how I


    felt. Even if it couldn’t change his mind or the future thaty in store for us, I still felt like it was the right


    thing to tell him how I honestly felt.


    “Rina, do you want to stay over at my ce?” he asked to break the silence between us.


    “Yes…” I replied without hesitation.


    My simple response was rewarded with a very charming smile as Ace turned to look at me for a brief


    moment before his attention returned to the road in front of us. His smile felt encouraging, and I told


    myself that I just needed to be a little braver. It waste in the evening and the traffic wasn’t crazy.


    We arrived back at Ace’s ce in no time at all and I was relieved to be back in familiar surroundings.


    “You should take a bath, so you’ll feel better. It’s been a long day so I’m sure that you’re tired,” Ace said


    understandingly.


    “Yeah…” I mumbled.


    Instead of taking a long baht like Ace had suggested, I decided to take a quick shower instead. Ace


    pretty much left me alone and I used that time that he had given me to think about him. Ace had not


    said anything concerning my worries but I could tell that he was acting caring in his very own way. Time


    was really flying by and along with it, my impatience had started to grow. I stepped out of the shower


    and dried my hair before my thoughts would turn into depressing ones.N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    “That was fast…” Ace said when he spotted me.


    Ace’s dark hair was damp, and it was clear that he had just stepped out of his own shower not so long


    ago.


    --To be continued…