Chapter 18

SYBIL let out a long sigh.
*This isn’t good.*
She put down her pallet and brush. Shaking her head, she left the stool and sauntered toward the window. When the wind blew and touched her face, it felt refreshing. However, it didn’t erase all her worries and thoughts about her feelings for Ace. Sybil wished she could just forget about it. If only it would be possible to erase her memories again. But it was impossible at that rate. She was already bothered, and her heart was trying its best to survive.
*Is it even possible to feel this way for someone in just a short period?*
She thought it would take time for love to grow.
Ah, it was good that he could find himself a job at the Peterson’s farm. At least he had some time away from home. They wouldn’t see each other for hours at a far distance. Perhaps it could help her calm down and think about more rational things than imagining scenes where she and Ace were together happily.
“So much daydreaming, Sybil,” she muttered as she slowly hugged herself.
She yawned and stretched, then went back to her seat afterward.
“Back to painting, Sybil. The painting won’t paint itself,” she told herself and picked up the brush and pallet.
But just when she was about to resume, she noticed she had done something wrong.
“Oh, God…”
She had painted another portrait of Ace. It seemed that he had turned into her recent favorite muse.
Sybil tilted her head backward and groaned.
“If this is love… this is bad.”
Look what love had done to her. It was slowly turning her into a mad woman—madly in love.
“Jeez! I need a drink.”
She abandoned her painting and went out of the cabin. There was this pub nearby, and they served delicious beer. She could use that to forget or to drown in her feelings even more.

“OH, gosh! Sybil?” Raine chuckled softly the moment she saw her sitting on a stool at the counter.
“Hi.” She waved a hand. “Beer, please. Lots of it.”
“One moment.” Raine winked at her.
After a few moments, she was served a large cup of beer and a platter of sweetened peanuts.
“I didn’t order peanuts—”
“It’s in the house,” Raine said, grinning.
“I’m allergic to peanuts.”
“Oh. Oh! Sorry, I forgot about that.” Raine shoved the platter out of the counter.
She shook her head and took her first gulp of beer.
“Mmm… I missed this taste,” she said afterward.
“It’s your fault anyway.” Raine leaned on the counter and cupped her chin. “It took you a month-long before coming back here.”
“I’ve been quite busy.”
“We are all busy.”
“Well…” She leaned against her seat. “We are all busy in different ways. I’m busy with my art. I need solitude.”
“Oh, yes. You love solitude.”
“Yeah. So, you better get back to work.” She waved her hand dismissively.
“Alright. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will call you for another serving of beer soon.”
Raine chuckled and went back to work.

ACE was about to go home when his co-workers suddenly asked him out for the evening. They said it was a welcome party since he was new. The pub was just nearby, so he thought it would be fine. Besides, Sybil was always busy nowadays and wouldn’t come out of her room until midnight. Perhaps he would just take out a meal for her. He was sure he could no longer cook after coming home from the pub.
“Raine!” Edward called and waved at the woman behind the counter.
“Hey!” The woman waved back and gestured at the long table on the left side of the pub. “Mr. Peterson made a reservation for you guys. And oh, he sad tonight’s tab’s on him.”
His co-workers cheered.
Edward then wrapped an arm around his shoulder and ushered him to the table. They were immediately served food and beer.
“Oh, here they come.” Jake slammed his hands on the table continuously as if he was playing drum and whistled.
Curiously, Ace turned in the direction of the door and saw a bunch of girls coming in who soon joined them at their table. One of them even pinched his cheek and winked at him.
“Oh…” his co-workers teased him in unison.
But when the girl was bout to sit on his lap, someone pushed her away.
“Fuck off.”
Ace’s eyes widened when he recognized the voice. He immediately rose from his seat and turned around.
“Sybil…”
Everyone fell silent, looking at them with anticipation of what would happen next.
“You…” Sybil pointed at the girl and wobbled. “I said—oh!”
She almost fell on the floor, but he managed to catch her with his arms. And now that they were that close, he noticed her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were sleepy. It seemed she was drunk. Ace heaved a sigh and turned to his co-workers with an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry, but I need to take her home.”
He didn’t wait for their answer and swiftly carried Sybil out of the pub.
“Did you bring the car?” he asked when they finally got out of the establishment.
“Yes.” She groaned as she snaked her arms around his neck. “The key’s in my pocket.”
“Did you come here alone?”
“Hm…”
Ace gently put her down and fished the key from her pocket. He then opened the door and carefully pushed her in. He made sure first that she was settled on the passenger’s seat before running to the other side of the car.
“I want to go home, Ace….” Sybil muttered when he got in.
“Yes, I’m taking you home.”
She grasped his forearm and turned to him with a smile.
“Thank you,” she mouthed before closing her eyes.
Shaking his head, he started the car’s engine and sped away.
It didn’t take long, and they finally arrived home. Ace opened the cabin’s front door first and turned on the lights inside before taking Sybil to her room.
Her eyes were closed when he put her to bed. He didn’t bother to wake her up to change because he thought she was in a deep sleep. But after tucking her under the blanket, her hands grabbed her collar. Sybil opened her eyes and looked straight into his eyes.
“W-what’s the matter?”
He couldn’t help but swallow hard when he saw her lips parted. She didn’t say a thing, though. Sybil kept staring at her with this emotion in her eyes that made his heart want to jump out of her ribcage. Ace could feel his heart beating erratically and almost hear his blood rushing through his veins.
“It might be better if we just got it over with…” she muttered.
“W-what?” His forehead creased.
“The kiss. I wonder what it would be like, and I bet you wonder, too.”
Ace’s eyes widened. He swore to heaven Sybil wasn’t wrong about it.
“I—”
“Don’t you think we’d be more comfortable if we stopped wondering?” She moistened her lips.
His hands clenched and unclenched against the blanket. It was really tempting, though it wasn’t really a romantic proposal, it was a logical one. However, he doubted if Sybil was in her right mind at that moment. She was drunk, it was obvious. He didn’t want to make it look like he had taken advantage of her.
“Let’s just—”
Ace couldn’t finish what he wanted to say when she suddenly pulled her for a kiss.