And so it was. Ace lifted a scowl all morning and thankfully Nora hadn't grazed the territory of dialogue. All of a sudden, regret began to wash all over him: If he would've minded his business ere long, none of these would've happened. Once in his life he didn't give a damn about the people around him, whether they had dined or not, their preferences, where they came from, and most of all their health. Nothing could change that about him. Well, so he thought. Now, he worried. He worried so much that it burnt his eyes and that hurt so bad. He realized along the line that if he had to finally give a shit about someone and all that she possessed then, he had to do it with the same enthusiasm that he didn't. Ace rocketed a care-less glance to his right where Nora was absentmindedly staring out of the window, a fisted hand firmly supporting her cheekbones. "I'm sorry," He said, gaining Nora's attention for the first time since they'd embarked on their journey. "What for?" Her

"Nora, No!" "It's a dare like any other. Just do it and get it over with." She drew closer, so close that her breast grazed his chest. "No need to make a big deal about it. Unless you're thinking of something more out of thi..." She narrowed her eyes. Ace's brow jerked. With the speed of light, Nora's lips were enclosed in a sea of warmth. Her eyes widened in shock, slacked, and then shut. He wanted to prove her wrong, that he wasn't thinking of anything but instead, he proved himself wrong. It was new, sweet, and magical. His lips felt soft, whiskey intoxicated, and desirable. It was supposed to be a kiss-and-go but turned out to be more when he began thrusting his tongue into her mouth. At first, she knew not how to respond to his penetration. It was all so new nonetheless, not a hard shell to crack. Her body began tingling in an unusually demanding way. It felt oddly good and she loved it. She yearned for his touch. As if reading her mind, he engulfed her waist to pull her cl

"Go on, throw 'em stones." She wished she could. Fortunately for him, delight suppressed anger, and the urge to see his head hang on the mango tree quickly disappeared. Nora simply took a slow unexpected step towards him and engulfed his waist. She felt lightened since her confession. Even though that wasn't the end of the talk between her and her father, there still was that feeling of freedom somehow. At least she learned she was still cherished, that someone still needed her alive, and because of that, she had to fight. "Thank you." "That's it? Thought you were going to bring down this town on me." When she didn't reply as she enjoyed the moment, Ace who surprisingly stood stiff slacked and then returned the hug. "I seriously don't know how to thank you enough," she detached from him. "I know how," he smirked. "You'll have to fight for dear life first before I tell you." "I will. I have a reason to fight now," she faintly smiled. "I'll be leaving tonight for the embassy

Chord Overstreet- Hold on. "Are you ok?" Ace asked after observing how nauseous Nora looked as the plane took off. She skeptically nodded yet, he embedded her hand in his. "I forgot to ask; how long will it take to arrive?" "Forty-eight hours." "Oh, God!" She shut her eyes in exasperation. Barely thirty minutes into the flight, Nora had fallen asleep while Ace rounded up on the magazine he was skimming through after which he drifted his attention to the white masses out of the window. No one knew he was returning home. Not even his closest member of the family who was Eloïse. But he was going to get to that as soon as they alighted the plane. He then wondered how things would turn out after Nora's operation; would she want to return or stay with him in his hometown? Would they be more than what they were or was it going to be the end of them? He sighed. How he feared to get devoted. It would probably be best if they parted ways. Nora's ruffle made him turn to his right, where

Zoe weez-- control. "Nora," Ace jogged to the frailty whose head was blanketed with thick layers of bandages. Her abdomen was concealed beneath a thin white hospital sheet. "How do you feel?" She smiled. The most genuine smile she'd offered since the gruesome incident. "A lot better." Ace reflected her grin, "I'm glad. Really," he kissed her lip, "the doctor said they weren't abl—" A knock on the door cut him off and in protruded his mother's head. "Can we come in?" He almost forgot about their presence. A nod was enough to have them beelining in. "Oh, and this is your...friend?" His mum quizzed, skepticism clearly donning her voice. "Uh...Yeah, her name is Nora," Ace nervously rubbed his neck. "Oh, Nora. Nice to meet you, deary," Zaphrina cheerfully grinned. "I mean it from the infinity depth of my heart. We don't see 'friends' like you every day." "Mum!" "I'm Zaphrina by the way, you can call me Zaph." "Nice to meet you too, mum." Zaphrina who was taken aback by the way