LOGIN"This is your schedule for the next month, Sierra!"
She turned to the woman who threw an iPad in front of her. Her one free hand reached out for the device that contained her work schedule for the next month. Her green eyes widened as soon as she looked at how packed the schedule she would be working on for the next month was. “What? Are you insane? You've got to be kidding me. You made a schedule like this, you really want to kill me, don't you, Rose?!” The woman who was named Rosalie gave a harsh sigh and even clicked her tongue when she caught sight of the pissed off look on her face that Sierra was showing. Rosalie knew perfectly well that Sierra would surely lash out at the new schedule she had received today. "You know, it was not me who made it but it was the boss himself. Yesterday he asked me for your Show schedule, girl. So like it or not I was forced to give your schedule to him, sorry girl." Hearing something like that made Sierra suck in a deep breath of as much air as needed to fill her lungs and hold her emotions as calmly as she could. The arrogant man seemed to really want to kill her slowly by giving her a very tight variety show schedule like this. Even in that one month Sierra was only given a day off... no not a day off, more like a break that she only got for three days. Normally Sierra could get about a week to ten days of free time in a month. But what the hell was this? "Ace! That sneaky bastard! I really want to kill him!" She cursed the man who was her husband on her paper with clenched fists and growled. While on the other side, Rosalie panicked as she looked at Sierra getting up from her seat, with the hair roll still hanging on her head. Sierra could not take it anymore at this moment, she wanted to cuss out her big boss who was none other than her own husband. This early in the morning Ace had been ignoring her and now at the office, he was again getting on her nerves by giving her an absurd work schedule. Despite their marriage only being on paper, at least to greet each other in the morning is not a sin, right? "Sierra, where are you going?" Rosalie instantly rushed after Sierra who had entered the private elevator that led to the CEO's office. As for Rosalie, she was getting pissed off that she failed to catch up with that fierce and perfectionist woman like Sierra. She could only pray that Mr. Valentino would not punish her later. Since she was complaining about the schedule he had made for himself. "May the Lord always protect you, Sierra, amen." With that, she flipped her body away from the elevator area and went back to the room where she had given Sierra the super-packed schedule. As for Sierra, the woman looked pretty pissed off at the moment. Even the people who greeted her as she passed by only responded with a tightly forced smile. Her steps came to a halt as soon as she was in front of the entrance that read "CEO VALENTINO ENTERPRISE." She took a deep breath and stepped in, not even bothering about her current appearance which was far from being perfect. Without knocking on the door first, Sierra barged straight into the room. When she walked in, the first sight she was greeted with was Lance adjusting Ace's tie. What a scene, isn't it? Had Lance been a woman, she would have yanked him and dragged him out of the room. Despite the fact that her marriage to Ace had no love in it, Sierra would never want her pride to be trampled on by a bitch who craved the caress of a man's manhood. "What do you mean by giving me this insane schedule, Ace? Do you want to kill me in pieces so you can become a widower as soon as possible? Have you lost your pretty brain to give me such a crappy work schedule?!" She babbled without a break, letting out all her frustration at this arrogant man in front of her. Ace remained silent, he even gave Lance a hint to get out of the room as he paid no heed to the furious rantings Sierra was throwing at him. Sierra let out a heavy sigh when she saw her boss who also happens to be her husband staring at her nonchalantly without answering any of the blunt remarks she made earlier. "Are you deaf Mr. Valentino? You didn't hear what I said earlier, why are you so quiet? It seems like you have become mute all of a sudden!" Both of his gray eyes glinted in annoyance at Sierra. The tall and muscular man made his way closer to his wife. Ace even seemed to be observing her current appearance. The woman in front of him still looked messy, even her hair roll was still hanging on her head. "Is this how a proud model of Valentino Enterprise looks? How truly disappointing. At least if you want to meet me, clean up your appearance first." Instead of answering her question, he commented on her appearance. What a cruel and arrogant man. Her temper was already at its peak, her blood boiling, and she wanted to throw the iPad she was currently holding at his handsome face. But too bad, Sierra still cared too much about her career to go to jail just for mistreating her own boss. "I am not here to ask you to comment on my current appearance. I'm here to ask you for an explanation from you, dear Mr. Valentino. Why are you giving me such a crappy schedule? Where on earth is your brain, huh?!" Ace merely lifted one eyebrow at the harsh curse that slipped out of her mouth. The man slowly leaned his back casually against the back of his oversized chair. "To keep you busy," he replied dryly. "Huh?" "I give you a tight schedule to keep you busy which means we are not seeing each other all the time. So you can stay out of my business and I stay out of yours." Her mouth dropped open at the reason given by him. To stay out of each other's business he said. Did she have time to meddle in the man's business? Never, even when he came home drunk two days ago, she didn't care, in fact she brushed him off and didn't ask him why or where he came from. It was all because she was self-aware of who she was. Even Ace dared to only give her two days off after marrying that arrogant and cocky man. "I wonder when did I ever bother to butt into your business, huh? Hell, even when you were hitting on that dickhead assistant guy of yours, I didn't ask much of you. Because what? Because I didn't care at all. Come on, Mr. Valentino, wake up, hey! Snap out of your brain!" She snapped her fingers in front of her own face, as if she was waking up Ace who was lost in another realm.“Now I don't give a damn about it, the only thing that matters is getting my schedule back to the way it was. If not, I will not hesitate to do things that will make you and this company regret it,” Sierra threatened him.
Then, stomping her feet in frustration, she walked out of the stuffy room that she could have blacked out in if she had stayed in it for too long.“Damn it, you wild kitten!”
Ace furiously cursed at her. How could that woman order him around, when no one had dared to speak against his every decision until now? Yet it turned out that the woman he had only been married to for a few days dared to challenge him. She even told him to change what he had made for her.
His pair of gray eyes drifted towards the entrance where Lance, the man who had just walked into his room, was. The man who had been his personal assistant as well as his right-hand man for almost five years.
“Are you okay, boss? It looks like your wife came out of here with a bad mood. Did you two have a fight? It looks like you're not feeling well either.”
Ace, who had been quiet, now began to lift the corners of his lips slightly. He straightened his body and motioned for Lance to come closer to him.
“Come here!”
Lance timidly walked over, shortened his distance with Ace, and plopped himself down on the side of Ace's seat who was staring at him with a gaze that seemed off and intense. Little did they know that their interaction was being watched by Sierra who had accidentally spotted it. She frowned, seeing Lance shyly stepping closer to her husband.
“What is really going on between them? Or is it possible that the two of them...” Not wanting to keep up with her own words, Sierra chose to open the door rudely. “What in the world are you both doing, huh?”
Silence took over again. A minute later, Ace lifted his face from the crook of her neck."Got any Vodka?" Ace spoke up again, his voice back to normal now. His sharp eyes scanned the room, hoping to spot a liquor cabinet to burn the chill out of his bones."No," Sierra said bluntly without looking at him, draining the last drop of her hot chocolate. The hopeful look on Ace's face instantly died.Ace slowly let go of her and leaned his heavy frame back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling with his eyes closed and squeezing them shut. He didn't even touch the ginger tea Sierra had made specifically for him. To him, the taste of ginger was nothing. Only hard Vodka could heat his blood and bring him comfort— he wasn't the type to drink something as herbal as tea."But... my dad keeps a few bottles in his room," she chimed in suddenly, her tone as blunt and icy as ever. "If you want it, go get it upstairs yourself. I don't drink that damn alcohol. It'll just make me age faster and
Ace and Sierra were still in the same room, trapped in a silence that felt suffocating yet strangely intimate. She hadn't moved, her body trembling in the circle of his strong arms, her face buried deep against his broad chest. Ace gently stroked the crown of her head, his fingers tangling softly in her messy hair as he tried to pour back into her every sense of safety that had been stripped from her life over the past year."Feeling better now?" Ace whispered, his voice low and rough, chin resting on top of her head.She didn't answer. She just kept sobbing quietly, her shoulders trembling pitifully. God knew why the tears just wouldn't stop. Her chest felt tight, crushed. Maybe it was Lucas's shocking betrayal, or maybe it was because of Ace... this arrogant bastard who had hurt her so badly, only to reveal he'd never actually agreed to the divorce in the first place. The fact that she was still, legally, Ace Valentino's wife flipped her already messy world upside down all over agai
The ruthless billionaire buried his face in her lap. His broad shoulders trembled slightly as he let out the emotions he'd been holding back. He looked completely wrecked, bowing down to the woman he loved. He didn't care if he had to grovel at her feet; he'd do it in a heartbeat for that precious second chance."You don't seem well. Go home, Ace." Sierra put her mug down, totally tuning out his breakdown. Her voice was terrifyingly controlled, even though her fingers were trembling. "I have things to do. The snow has stopped, and your car engine probably hasn't frozen over yet."Ignoring all his words and how he’d acted towards her, she got up and brushed aside the thick blanket that wrapped her. Deep down, her feelings were running wildly out of hand, a battle raging within her between logic and the lingering emotions she still held for the man kneeling before her.Just as she was about to walk away, she froze. Ace's large hands clamped around her right ankle. His grip was tight, de
Sierra rushed across the front doorstep, totally tuning out the roar of the engine pulling into her driveway. The crunch of tires tearing through the thin layer of snow got louder, instantly followed by the heavy, frantic thud of boots chasing her down."Sierra, wait! Just fucking listen to me. You didn't even let me finish explaining when I—" Ace yelled from a distance. His voice was rough, almost swallowed by the freezing, howling wind.Sierra’s hand was about to touch the doorknob; however, she hesitated and pulled back. She whipped around to face Ace, who was panting, his chest heaving from having run after her from the parking lot. Her green eyes locked onto him standing out there in the pouring snow, his dark hair soaked and his broad shoulders dusted with white flakes that were melting into his coat.A brief moment of dead awkwardness hung between them, as if time had stopped flowing. Sierra let out a long sigh, trying to calm the sudden flutter in her chest."Get in," she said
Pulling her heavy winter coat tighter around her body, Sierra locked her green eyes straight ahead at the restaurant they were about to enter. She let out a quiet sigh before stepping out of the car, not even bothering to wait for Lucas, who was still busy fiddling with his phone.The loud slam of the car door snapped Lucas back to look up. He muttered a curse under his breath when he looked at Sierra already walking away from the car. He quickly moved to follow her, but the moment he stepped out, his phone buzzed in his pocket again. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, staring at the screen as it kept buzzing, leaving Sierra to enter the place alone.Her green eyes swept across the restaurant as she stepped farther inside, looking for an empty table. But the deeper she went, the more her brows furrowed in utter shock.There he was— Ace Valentino. The exact same man who had just cornered her in her classroom and the man who had just l
Ace kept his steely gray eyes locked onto Sierra, making her roll her eyes in complete annoyance. She was currently teaching the senior class since the junior high session had been taken over by Larissa and the other staff. She kept explaining the material on the board, trying her absolute best to brush off the intense, piercing stare Ace was directing at her from the back of the room."Hey, is he a new teacher or a student? He looks way too old for high school," a girl sitting a few desks away from Ace whispered."Shh, can you just shut up?" her seatmate hissed."Well, at least... he's way hotter and sinfully yummy than your boyfriend David," another girl chimed in. She kept stealing thirsty glances at the billionaire, even boldly winking and puckering her lips, trying to flirt with him."Are you planning to stay in this classroom until the lesson is completely over, Mr. Valentino?" Sierra finally snapped, slipping her glasses down and perched them on top of her head. Her green eyes
The two men who were seated together seemed to be completely taken aback when Sierra suddenly burst back into the room with an intimidating face and sent a glare at both of them, making the atmosphere of the room instantly tense."Si-Sierra... i-it's not what you see and think. We just—" Ace stutte
Stirring her body slowly, Sierra was asleep in an uncomfortably tight position. So that when she woke up, her whole body was aching like crazy. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as her eyes trailed to the wall clock hanging above the hotel room door.Both her eyes scanned the entire room she was
“We're getting married tomorrow!”Sierra raised one eyebrow, hearing the words of the man who was casually sipping his champagne. She could only give in to the decision of the cruel, yet sinfully hot and charming man in front of her. If only her father was not at stake here, Sierra would not be sit
Twisting his pen around repeatedly, Ace stared straight ahead blankly, letting Rosalie talk about the project they would be working on next month.However, it seemed that this did not help him stay focused. He looked completely lost in thought, seemingly uninterested in the discussion.“My team is







