I could tell that she truly believed that it would work out and maybe she wasn’t just doing this to get back at her father. At least, I didn’t think that that was her main objective, but it would probably come to that as well, which would be an additional bonus that would only add to her satisfaction. The atmosphere was so tense that I didn’t dare let out a sigh. Ace seemed to be thinking of something as he refused to comment on her proposal. It was clear that he was worried, and I could understand that Elizabeth’s unreasonable demand and overly creative solution must be getting to Ace.
I could feel Elizabeth staring at us as she waited in silence for Ace’s answer. For a moment, I was scared of what Ace would decide, and if I had to be honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted him to choose. Perhaps, just like Ace, I was torn between the alternatives. If Elizabeth’s plan worked, then the merger would get back on track and so would my future with Ace. However, that would mean that Ace had to parade around as her fiancé for a while. On other hand, if we decided not to go through with it, then her father wouldn’t support the merger and might not believe that she has broken up with Kyle. The ache in my heart came from so many reasons and it reminded me that I wasn’t quite fine with Elizabeth being forced to end her marriage.
“I’ll let Rina decide,” Ace suddenly spoke up to break the silence.
…What did he just say?
My neck almost snapped in two as I turned my head to face Ace. His eyes met mine and then he smiled like his mind was finally at peace and made up. I didn’t know how to react as I continued staring into his eyes because I couldn’t believe that he was seriously going to leave it all up to me to decide. The sound of Elizabeth clapping her hands drew my attention from Ace to her. I found her smiling and giggling a little as she clapped her hand. She seemed very pleased with Ace’s decision to let me decide.
“That’s an excellent idea! You’re such a genius…” Elizabeth complimented Ace before she clapped her hands louder than before.
“No…I…I mean…I can’t decide something so important as this…” I denied in a shaky voice as I struggled to find the right words.
“It’s precisely because it is so important that I want you to make a decision about this,” Ace stated with confidence while Elizabeth nodded her head in agreement.
“I don’t think…” I began protesting again but Ace shook his head at me to silence me before I could go on.
“You’re the one who has to decide, and Elizabeth probably thought about this from the start and that’s why she invited you here as well,” Ace explained.
Elizabeth smiled at me as if to confirm that what was saying was absolutely correct. As for me, I still couldn’t see why I had to be the one to make such an important decision. It was bad enough that I was conflicted about the two alternatives. I stared at Ace in disbelief as I struggled to understand why he would dump such a huge problem on me like this.
“I can’t decide on something like this. This has to do with the business, our future, and the fate of so many people. Surely, we should properly discuss this and come up with a decision together…” I said as I tried desperately to convince Ace.
“I guess you’re not as smart as I gave you credit for…” Elizabeth said lightly before she laughed a little.
“Excuse me?” I asked blankly.
“Why don’t you take her home for the day? She can think this through and talk things over with you. After all, it’s not like we have to make the decision today,” Elizabeth said before she grinned at me.
I still couldn’t understand why the two of them were so united in making me the one to decide the next course of our actions. My brows furrowed together as I started to truly stress out while my mind wondered if Elizabeth was right about me not being bright enough to understand Ace and how he arrived at his decision.
“That’s probably for the best. This is a delicate matter so I think Rina will need time to think things over,” Ace readily agreed with Elizabeth’s proposal to call it a day.
“We don’t have that much time to make our next move, though. As the saying goes, we should strike the iron when it’s hot. These gossips and fake news going around in the media as a result of my father’s reckless intervention will work in our favor if we announce our relationship or even our engagement soon. It will surely build the buzz and we can really turn things around if we can strike up the right deal with him,” Elizabeth said with a calculating smile on her lips.
“I get it, although I don’t think that things will go as smoothly as you believe,” Ace said with concern.
“I’m not so sure about that. The old man might be so blinded by the idea of having you as his son-in-law again that he may be swayed to do whatever it takes,” Elizabeth said before she chuckled.
While the two of them were conversing, I was still struggling to accept that I had to make such an important decision. For the life of me, I couldn’t see myself choosing any of the options because I had no idea which one was the right choice.
“We should go, Rina,” Ace said to me calmly.
I was too wrapped up in my own worries to realize what was happening until Ace’s hand came into my field of vision. When I looked up, Ace was already on his feet with his hand extended my way. While still in a trance, I slipped my hand into his much larger one.
--To be continued…
