Chapter 13

"The supreme happiness of life consists in the conviction that one is loved..." Caitlin-Marie Miner Ong. .

ACE'S P.O.V

Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell. I love her and it is the beginning of everything. When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.Deep at the center of my being, there is an infinite well of love. When I look at her, I can feel it,for it was not into my ear she whispered, but into my heart.Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own, as my Cara Mia's happiness is essential to mine. She give me the kind of feelings people write novels about.I could start a fire with what I feel about her. She makes me perfect each time she's with me.

Our ride was a smooth one, full of silence. I glanced at her at any little chance. I could see her cheeks flush. The ride was getting boring so I had to bring up a topic for us to discuss.

"Why aren't you curious of where I'm taking you to?," I asked

"if you had asked me this question fifteen minutes ago, I would say a five star hotel or Bar or perhaps a Restaurant, but we are going downtown so I'm curious but I don't want you to ruin the surprise by telling me" she replied

"oh...Okay, so any guess?"

"nope... none for now, I'm clueless at the moment. We are going downtown so....I seem lost, just be warned that if you plan on murdering me, my spirit is a very vengeful one you won't like to mess with, and I won't rest till I get my revenge," she joked and I let out a smile

"don't worry, have you seen a murderer this handsome before?"

"who know what lies behind that mask"

"trust me, behind this mask, lies a beautiful soul"

"hmmm...I see...so tell me, how many girls has sat down on this same very seat I'm seated?," she asked

" That's question is tricky," I said scratching my hair with my left hand.

"Just tell me," she insisted

"Do you really want to know?," I asked and she nodded

"yes," she replied

"a lot...I've actually had many women in the past...but that was before I met you and not I have only you in my heart," I said and she let out a cute smile.

"You know you can lie and say no and I won't know right?," she said and I nodded

"yes, but I don't want to keep or hide anything from you, I don't want you to find fault in me and stop talking to me or become angry at me. like I said before, this challenge means a lot to me"

"What gives you confidence that you can win my heart,you speak with so much confidence and courage that makes me wonder where you got it from"

"My mum wound always say " instincts never lies" and mine doesn't lie to me. When I saw you for the first time, I just knew you were the one. You know when you see something for the first time and knew it was the one? that's it. I vowed to win your heart at all means. Every heart had a soft spot and I'll make sure to hit yours, even if it costs me a lot, I won't mind"

"What made you fall in love with me?'" she asked

"You don't need a reason to fall in love cause tomorrow if that reason is no more, then my love for you would be no more. You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. Every great dream begins with a dreamer. I love you, for you are love itself. The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.What matters is the future."I said

Ashley went cold as she looked away to the window. Her face dull, her eyes dim and empty. I haven't see that expression on her face before, she looked like she was lost in thoughts.

"What if there isn't a future?," she said sadly.It finally dawned to me that perhaps, what I said was the cause of it.Doesn't she want a future with me?, Will there be no future between us. I felt guilty for having said that. The ride was once again dull as we both kept quiet.

We were finally at our destination and we came down.

"Is this it?," she asked looking unsatisfied

"no, you'll need to trust me and close your eyes for a while"

"Are you sure you ain't planing of killing me?," she joked

"C'mon, how can I kill the woman I love?," I said and she closed her eyes.I took her by her hand and directed her n We got to the peak of the mountain and made a stop. "You can open them now," I said as she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were wife and full of surprise. I could see her eyes brighten up, her face full of smile and her lips which went "wow" with excitement. She went closer and took a look down the mountain.

"So what do you think?," I asked "Is it good?"

"good?, hell no," she said and I became disappointed. "This is amazing!!," she yelled happily "it's spellbinding" She said and I felt relieved. "How did you find this place, this looks like a Vacation home or something, how are we the only ones here?" She asked

"Actually, I rented it for us," I replied

"You ...You What?, you mean you rented this whole place?," she asked and I nodded in affirmation.

" yes," I replied

"That would cost a lot ..You didn't have to go this far"

"it wasn't much, just a few thousand bucks"

A few thousand bucks!!? and you are saying it isn't much? well as expected from a celebrity"

"Since you know the cost, let's enjoy this scenery to our heart contend"

"Okay, we are already here, and the deed has been done, let's enjoy it," She Said

The garden was located at the peak of the mountain. It was blessed with natural beauties. There were flowers of different kinds, just name it.There were trees which served as shades, having the garden located at the peak of the mountain was indeed a marvelous idea, and thank God I chose the day cause the weather was perfect today. I could see her gazing at the flowers in excitement.

"You know,If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever." I said and she turned slowly to me

"So this was your plan?"

"yes...do you know this flowers has their own special meaning?" I asked

"I'm familiar with a little" she replied

"That one at the far end is called pink carnations and it means I'll never forget you, white violet over there" I said pointing towards the direction " means innocence,a red tulip is for a confession of love,while a purple violet said the bouquet giver's "thoughts were occupied with love.red rose are used to openly express feelings of love," I said

"You know much about flowers, I bet you must have given a lot to girls" she asked

"no... I haven't,I'm a lover of nature" I replied.

"Instead of talking, let's enjoy the place" She said as she ran around, touching each flower as she passed. I stood for a while, staring at her. Her beauty is so ethereal, she looks like a goddess while surrounded with these flowers. God this woman would be the death of me