Chapter 22

HE looked intently at the man in front of him. The way he stood already spoke of power. The man seemed intimidating, and he didn’t know how to approach him. However, there was this sense of familiarity. It was as though they had known each other for a long time. Ace then mustered all his remaining courage to speak to the man.
“E-excuse me. Have we met before?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Do you think we’ve met before?” His voice brought him another surge of familiarity.
Now he was sure that he knew this man. He had heard his voice many times. There was no way he would forget his feeling whenever he listened to that voice roar. But who was he? Why did he know his face but couldn’t remember his name?
“Chase…”
He heard the man call someone, but he didn’t get the chance to see who it was.

ACE woke up in a jolt. Beads of sweat rolled forth his forehead when he sat up. It was a dream, an intriguing one. He wondered what it was about. Could it be a memory? If his hunch was correct, then that sounded a piece of good news to him. However, he couldn’t help but feel that there would be problems that would arise once his memories were back.
His gaze reverted to the woman sleeping beside him. He lay down again, to his side this time so that he could see her face.
“Sybil,” he muttered softly as his hand went to her face. Ace caressed the bridge of her nose down to its tip until he reached her lips.
They were soft, warm, and tasted like cherries whenever he kissed her. They always gave him a feeling he wouldn’t forget. It was kind of funny how he was getting slowly addicted to kissing her since their very first kiss. How he wished he could kiss her every hour, every minute.
Ace withdrew his hand when she suddenly opened her eyes. He smiled when Sybil met his gaze with love in her eyes.
“Hi…” he greeted her and planted a kiss on her forehead. Ace cleared her face from the loose strands of hair on her face and tucked them all behind her ear. “Good morning, lovely.”
“Good morning,” she mouthed. Sybil moved closer to him and cuddled without hesitation.
He sniffed her hair, her scent. Ah… everything about her was so invigorating. It seemed that he wouldn’t get enough of her no matter how many times they cuddled and made love. If some love potion bewitched Ace, Sybil was his antidote. He would love to keep her by his side forever…
“What do you want to eat for breakfast?” he asked afterward.
She looked up with a pout.
“Pancakes? Waffles? I don’t know.”
He laughed at that as he gently caressed the bare skin of her back.
“Is this your way of saying you’re missing Mrs. Collin’s Diner?”
“Well, yeah.” She gave him a peck on the cheek and left the bed.
Sybil didn’t mind getting out of bed naked and sauntered in the bathroom’s direction. She even turned around and smiled sweetly at him. But Ace knew better. She was teasing him early that morning. Well, he would be totally damned if he ever let that opportunity slide. So, he jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom.
She squealed when he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her nape.
“You should be making breakfast by now,” she said between her cackles. “You have to go to work afterward and—”
“It’s still early, Sybil…” he drawled and bit her earlobe. “I still have two hours to prepare breakfast and make you happy.”
She giggled loudly as she turned to face him and snaked her arms around his neck.
“I love that.”
She kissed him on the lips.

SYBIL munched her food lazily as she watched Ace eat his breakfast in front of her. Since Sonja left and they kissed and made love, she and Ace lived in the cabin as though they were a married couple. She was thrilled with the idea but couldn’t help but feel worried about what the future held for them.
Ace reached for the corner of her lips after a few moments and wiped off something. They just smiled at each other and resumed eating. Soon they were both finished with their breakfast. Sybil told him to get ready for work and took over the kitchen. He made breakfast, so it was only right for her to do the dishes.
She was in the middle of washing when she heard a knock on the front door.
“Who’s that?” she asked as she sauntered to the door while drying her hands.
But no one answered her question. However, when she opened the front door, Sybil found a package on the front porch. With a deep knot on her forehead, she went out of the porch and looked around. But there was no sign of anyone who could’ve delivered the package, making her anxious about it.
“Sybil?” Ace emerged from the cabin with a towel wrapped around his waist. It seemed that he had just gotten out of the bathroom. She could see beads of water dripping from the strands of his hair. “What’s the matter?”
“Someone delivered a package.” She walked toward him.
His gaze reverted to the box on the porch, and he looked at it.
“This looks kinda suspicious, don’t you think?” Ace turned to her with furrowed brows. “It doesn’t even have a waybill.”
“You’re right.” She heaved a sigh.
“Let’s bring it to the storage and keep it there for a while. I’ll ask around on my way to work if they noticed someone suspicious around the area.”
She nodded her head in response and followed him to the storage.
“I wish we at least have a dog to sniff it,” she told him.
Ace turned to her after putting the box on a table and went out of the storage.
“Let’s get one then,” he said with a grin. “There’s this dog shelter nearby, and they’re always looking for someone who can adopt dogs.”
Sybil winced. She really loved the idea. However, Sonja wouldn’t love that once she got home.
“Sonja’s allergic to dogs.”
“Oh! I see.”