The Trap Of Ace By Eva Zahan

Dragging myself out of the car with some struggles, I got out the box and looked up at the enormous glass building towering before me.

EMERALD ENTERPRISES was written in bold red letters at the top.

A goofy smile tugged up my lips. With the warmth that surged through my chest, emotional tears burned my eyes.

Valencian Corp's new branch, which he opened with my name. It was his gift for me on my birthday, passed just last week.

Rolling my eyes, I let out a breath through my lips.

I was getting sentimental again.

Shaking my head, I closed the car door behind me with a thud and dawdled inside.

Once in, my eyes took in the interior. As fancy and elegant as I remembered from a week ago. Though there weren't many people working here that day. But today, the way everyone was at their best speed, it seemed like they were working here for years.

I padded closer to the reception, where a girl in her early twenties, with dark curly hair and tall height typed away furiously on her keyboard, eyes on the computer screen.

"Uh, hi!" Letting out a puff, I said. Only some steps and here I was, panting and sweating.

She looked up at me, then her blue eyes slid to the rest of my body, halting at my huge belly that I tried my best to cover with my jeans jacket over my white sundress. "How may I help you?" A perfectly shaped brow of her arched.

I smiled. "Can you please check if Mr. Valencian is free at the moment? I brought lunch for him."

Now both of her brows raised to her hairline, taking another once over at me. "May I ask who you are? And why would I let you in the boss' office with this box? Do you have an appointment?"

I knew what she must be seeing. A red faced sweating, pregnant woman whom she didn't know was requesting to see her boss. As a new employee, she didn't know me. Even if I understood that, I didn't appreciate her judging looks.

"I'm Emerald Valencian. I made lunch for my husband and would like to feed him these foods if you would kindly tell me if he's busy." My voice came out sarcastic even though I didn't want to. Her attitude was pissing me off. Calm down, Em! Calm down!

At my answer, she seemed taken aback. Wide wide eyes, she typed something on her computer and then glanced up at me again; the color of her face drained.

"Uh, i- I'm so sorry, Ma'am, I didn't recognize you. I just saw your picture... uh, I apologise for my behavior, sure, Mr. Valencian is free now. You can go and see him." Wiping the perspiration off her forehead, she offered me her best smile. I nodded. "Thanks. Just be a little nicer to people next time."

"Y-yes, of course, Mrs. Valencian. It won't happen again," she stuttered. Even she was aware of the judging looks she was throwing me. "I'm sorry again."

Flashing a small smile, I turned around and walked away.

***

Knocking on the door, I waited, rubbing my tummy. The smile was ear splitting on my face.

"Come in!" His deep Greek accent grumbled from the other side of the door.

A sigh left me.

Even if he just left home this morning, I already missed him so much. And I was the one who literally threw him out of home to go and take care of his work, because since he got to know that he impregnated me, for the second time, he barely left my side.

Pushing the door open, I padded inside before locking it behind.

"Yes?" he asked in a very cold voice, without looking up, too busy with signing on files. An adorable frown was etched between his brows.

"I got lunch for you, Mr. Valencian. Thought you would be hungry," I said, making his gaze snap up to me.

Surprise flashed across those stormy grey orbs, and it didn't take long for the softness to appear in those hard eyes.

"Rosebud?" Standing up, he strode to me, immediately taking me into his warmth. "What are you doing here? You didn't tell me you were coming."

I kissed his cheek. "I wanted to surprise you. See, I got you home made food."

He looked at the box in my hand and then back to my face. Pressing his lips together, he got out his handkerchief and dabbed it on my forehead. "Didn't I tell you to stay home and rest? You have exhausted yourself!"

I pouted. "I'm fine! Aren't you happy that I'm here? I made these foods for you with my own hands!"

Sighing, he pressed a kiss on my forehead, brushing away some strayed strands. "You know my eyes crave to see you around me every second of the day. But you're eight months along, baby, you shouldn't exert yourself much. But now that you're already here, let's eat, I'm starving to eat the food my wife made for me."

The grin reappeared on my face as I nodded my head and dragged him to the couch.

"Oomph!" Slapping at his chest, I tried to move away from his hungry mouth from mine. "You're supposed to eat lunch, not me!"

"I'm just expressing my appreciation to my wife who made my favorite dishes specially for me, with her own hands," he rasped against my jaw, pulling me back on his lap when I tried to move away.

Seriously. In pregnancy, I should be the always horny one here, which I was, most of the time, but it never surpassed his lust for me.

Where I would get tired after making love once at night, he would be all set to ravish me all night long. Even after waking up, I would find him seducing me. As much as I loved it, it leaves me sore and sleepy all day.

He wouldn't let me work because I would exert myself too much that way, but he wouldn't mind to tire me out with pleasure.

Nine years of marriage, and here we were, still behaving like newly mated rabbits. He would be at fault mostly. Seriously, half of the day he would spend his time thinking about s*x!

At his burning touches on my inner thighs, I bit back a moan and slid off his lap.

"Show me your appreciation later. Let's eat now. I'm hungry. Your child needs food," I complained, roaming my hand over my huge bump.

As much as I loved the little one inside, I hated that I looked like a c*w now. But he didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, weirdly, he keeps saying that seeing me pregnant with his kid only turned him on. It boosted his ego, because he could show the world that I was his.

I rolled my eyes in my head. What would I do with this man?

At the mention of the baby, he sobered up from his lust. Placing a hand on my bump, he caressed it gently. A look of felicity shone into his eyes.

"Right. Daddy is sorry for keeping Mommy busy. The food is on the way, little one," saying, he kissed my belly, then pecked my lips again before starting to serve the food on our plates. "Here, let's feed your mommy."

Roasted chicken, creamy Alfredo pasta, mashed potatoes and some veggies were scattered across our plates. I wanted to make some garlic shrimps, but recently I started to dislike the taste of shrimp. So I just opted for chicken instead.

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"How's it?" I asked, once he put the pasta in his mouth.

Chewing, he put some pasta into his fork and held it against my mouth. Which I gladly accepted.

"My Rosebud made them for me, how could it not be good?" Taking my hand in his, he kissed my knuckles. "These hands have magic. Just like every part of your body." My eyes widened. Blood rushed to my cheeks as he let out a chuckle.

I shook my head. "Concentrate on the food, will you? And they're not that good. Just fine."

"All of them taste amazing, baby. Especially the pasta. I love it." Still keeping my left hand in his, he went for another spoonful, letting out a moan. "Thank you for this, honey."

And this brought a smile on my face.

As usual, most of the cooking was done by him in our home. I would just sit there for him to feed me. It was just on some occasions I cooked. It was just not my thing. But still, I made him and Archer something from time to time. Archer, my eight years old son, who was currently at his school.

Remembering his school...

"We need to go to Archer's school, you remember that, right? We have a meeting with his teacher about him joining the football team," I said, chewing on the chicken.

He nodded. "Of course, how can I forget that? We'll go there after we're done with your check up."

"I've an appointment today?" I blinked. I forgot again?

D**n, I didn't know pregnancy hormones could make you forget things so easily. I wouldn't have remembered about Archer's school either if I didn't get a call from his teacher just an hour ago.

He chuckled, eyes amused. "Yes, Rosebud. You've an appointment today. And we've to leave in half an hour. I was about to pick you up from home, but since you're here, I'll just call Judy to send your reports from last month with the driver." Judy was our house help, a middle aged kind lady whom he hired to take care of me whenever he wasn't home.

Nodding, I went back to the food.

Once we were done with the lunch, we cuddled on his couch for a while until it was time to leave for my regular check-up. So when the driver got me my medical reports, we headed to the hospital.

***

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Valencian, please have a seat. The doctor will see you in a few. She's on an important phone call," said the nurse, ushering us to wait in the waiting room.

"She should be doing her job instead of attending her phone calls. Did she forget that she has an appointment with my wife?" Ace shot a glare at the poor nurse, making her fidget in her place.

"Uh, I- i'm extremely sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Valencian. It's an emergency. She needs to attend the phone call," she stuttered, casting me a glance that asked for help.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Ace, it's alright. She'll just take some minutes. We can wait."

Pressing his lips, he gave a curt nod to the nurse, dismissing her. And she didn't take a second to flee away.

I shook my head. "You didn't need to be rude."

"I don't tolerate any carelessness when it comes to you." Tone strict.

Smiling, I caressed his cheek, standing closer. His arm wrapped around my waist. "No need to be so grumpy. I'm just fine."

"Yeah, anyway, you want anything? Juice?"

"Orange." I beamed. I was just craving it since we left his office.

"Alright, I'll be back with it in a minute. Stay here." Placing a kiss on my forehead, he strode away.

Sighing, I took a seat. Another pregnant woman with strawberry blonde hair and freckles on her cheeks sat beside me.

"How long?" I asked, offering her a smile.

"Five months and two weeks," she replied politely. "What about you? Seven, eight?"

My brows raised in surprise. "It's eight, how did you guess?"

A smile tugged up her lips. "I'm a midwife."

"Oh, that's great. You must not need anyone's guide in your pregnancy then!" I joked.

Laughing, she shook her head. "Sometimes it helps. Though my fiance still insists on having a doctor's guideline."

"He's right though. Even the doctors go to another doctor about their health issues," I said. "My name is Emerald, by the way, Emerald Valencian."

I offered my hand for a handshake, but the only thing she did was watch me with wide eyes.

At my raised brow, she asked, "You're... are you by any chance the famous fashion designer, Emerald Hutton, who's now married to Achilles Valencian?"

My cheeks warmed. "Yes, I'm the same Emerald Hutton."

"Oh, I'm a fan of your designs! I never miss any displays of your brand," she gushed, watching me with her eyes sparkling with awe.

Though I was proud of the name I gained in the market, I was never good at facing the fame.

I had started my own clothing outlet after Archer's birth. In between the pregnancy and marriage, I didn't get any time to think about this particular dream of mine, until Ace gifted me the studio in our house at our first anniversary where I now worked on my designs. And from then, I didn't stop. Even now, through my second pregnancy, I did my work as much as I could.

"Uh, thanks. I'm glad you liked them," I said, shifting awkwardly.

She smiled softly, still watching me. I had a feeling she wanted to say something else to me, but decided against it as she looked away.

"Oh, here you are! I'm so sorry, I'm late, honey! I was stuck in the traffic," a familiar voice spoke out as a man approached the woman beside me.

He halted in his tracks the moment his gaze fell on me.

My lips parted in shock.

It's been years since I last saw him.

"E-emerald?" Brown eyes were wide.

"Hello, Warner." My voice came out tight.