Even though the building was quite empty, I still felt excited as I let Ace lead me by the hand along the hallway in the building. I could tell even without the decoration and furniture that the building was supposed to be an office. “This is one of my favorite areas in this place. This large area here is an open co-working space where people can gather to work together and share ideas freely,” Ace said while sounding excited. The area was indeed open and quite spacious. Thankfully, there was electricity in the building and that meant that we could turn on the lights. “It’s quite big…” I murmured as I looked around. “Come look over here,” Ace said as he tugged on my hand for me to follow him.To my surprise, Ace took out some paper that had been stapled together. When he showed it to me, my eyes widened in pleasant surprise. “I know it’s kind of hard for you to imagine it right now with the current state that the building is in, but this is what it’s supposed to look like when it

“What about I try giving her a call to see if she’s still up?” I suggested.“Sounds good,” Ace replied casually. After giving my mother a call, we found out that she was beyond delighted to have us over for a late night visit. The way my mother smiled and how her eyes lit up when she saw Ace standing in front of her door made me wonder if she was more pleased to see him or her own daughter. “What a pleasant surprise! Welcome. Please come inside,” my mother greeted us with a wide smile. “I apologize for turning up so late like this,” Ace said apologetically. “Not at all. I’m very happy that you two are here. Thank you for driving Rina all the way here,” she said as she beckoned us to enter. Stepping inside my home felt immediately calming. The familiar sight and smell of the place reminded me of all the fond memories that I share with my mother. I wasn’t at all surprised that nothing seemed to have changed given the time that I was away. My mother seemed to be in high spirits, and

“You can take your time. There’s honestly no rush but it would be nice if you can just decide and come join me already,” Ace said before laughing a little. “It’s…a little complicated for me,” I confessed softly. “I think I know what you’re thinking, Rina…” he said.I was surprised to see the sudden solemn look that crossed his face. It made me feel like he might actually understand what was going through my mind at that moment and all the worries that I was facing. “I’d still like to support you in the meantime while I’m still making my decision. So, if there’s anything that I can do, just let me know,” I said before trying my best to smile. “Thank you, Rina. Don’t worry about my business, just focus on your work,” Ace replied. We didn’t discuss anything beyond that regarding my potential career move. Ace probably knew what I was worried about and had decided against pushing me. I was thankful that he was leaving this important decision up to me. Sometimes I hoped that I was brav

All I could do was nod my head as I felt Ace loop an arm around my shoulders to support me up. Everything felt like a blur, and I couldn’t think straight. All the ominous thoughts that ran through my head were too distracting. Ace led me to the car and then we were on our way to see my mother at the hospital.“It’s going to be alright, Rina. We’ll get to the hospital soon and then we can talk to the doctor about your mother’s condition,” Ace said calmly as he continued driving.Ace said something of that effect time and time again as he assured me repeatedly that everything was going to be fine. I prayed that nothing was seriously wrong with my mother. We just visited her not so long ago and she seemed fine. I promised that I would go back to see her soon and more often. Back then, I had no idea that something like this would happen and now I was scared that everything just might be too late. The feeling of guilt overwhelmed me, and I realized that I would never forgive myself if some

**Around a month later**After making the decision to quit my job and move to work with Ace so that we could be closer to my mother, I submitted my resignation formally into the system. Given the thirty day notice period, that meant that I had one month left at my old job. That one month passed by in the blink of an eye with the many loose ends that I had to tie up. “It’s going to be your last day here soon. I’m still finding it hard to believe,” Elizabeth said as she stared at me from her side of the table. “I’m finding it hard to believe too. Thank you for your support and sorry for all the mess, I guess…” I said. “Not at all. I’m happy that Ace seems to be happy. He’s off doing something of his own now and you’re about to join him,” she said without much excitement. “You’re running this big empire,” I pointed out. “Things are so busy, and I’ve lost quite a few good people,” she said before rolling her eyes. “I was surprised to hear about the deal that you made with Ace,” I co