Fortunately, the painting was hung at a high spot and had not been burned yet. Ace used the fire extinguisher to put out the fire around it and took it down.
However, the so-called "map" Joanna mentioned was in the bedroom upstairs, so getting it would be quite dangerous…
"Get back here, Ace! Don't be crazy! Hurry up and get back here!"
Joanna was shouting so hard her voice had gone hoarse.
She could not sit still any longer. She was prepared to rush into the fire too.
But right then, she saw Ace charging out of the fire while protecting her father's favorite painting.
His handsome face was also blackened by smoke like Joanna's. He was a mess. There were various burn marks on his hands, and his clothes had holes burnt into them.
He looked up at Joanna and carefully took the painting out of his arms. "Sorry, I tried my best, but I couldn't find the map you were talking about."
Looking at his rugged but sincere appearance, Joanna's tears dropped down like rain. She did not even know what to say.
"You idiot, what if you burned to death… If you die, I won't be able to live anymore, do you realize that?"
She did not care anymore. She put her arms around the man's neck and hugged him tight, unwilling to let go, as if she had regained a treasure she lost.
Ace's tall body froze with the painting in his hand. He did not dare to move.
A moment ago, he felt like his whole body was burning because of how hot it was in the house, but right now, he was numb from head to toe, almost like he had just been shocked by electricity.
From what he could remember, this was the first time Joanna had given him such a heartfelt embrace.
Previously, although he could feel her intense love for him, she was always timid and kept a distance from him.
But now, her love was so passionate that it seemed to burn as fiercely as the fire behind them.
"Alright, stop crying. There's no way I, Ace Moran, would die so easily. Neither water nor fire could kill me. You were getting worried over nothing."
Ace, out of character, patiently comforted Joanna who was crying her heart out.
Joanna suddenly realized that she had reacted too strongly. She quickly let go of Ace.
She sniffed and wiped away her tears. "Yeah, that's right, you're a cat who has nine lives so you can't die… No, you're more like a cockroach that can't be killed. I really shouldn't have cried for you."
Ace's face darkened. "Is that how you repay me?"
"How else should I repay you? By giving myself to you?"
"I wouldn't say no."
An ambiguous feeling instantly spread between them.
Over their three-year marriage, there was never a delicate moment of mutual affection like this.
Joanna sat in Ace's sports car, examining the painting carefully with a frown.
The painting was undamaged and looked just as vivid as before.
"This was my father's favorite painting when he was alive, Dost Wurst's "The Shepherd Boy Singing in the Evening". Many famous figures in the art world are looking everywhere for this painting. The prices they offer go as high as $15 million. Even when our family was going through a rough time and could really use the money, my father was unwilling to sell the painting. If it got burned, I would have felt really sad…"
Joanna started crying again. She looked at Ace, who was focused on driving, with tears in her eyes and said sincerely, "Ace, thank you. I didn't think you would do so much for a friend."
Ace said coldly, "For a friend?"
"Of course."
They happened to arrive at a red light.
Ace pulled the handbrake. He turned to Joanna, his eyes deep and burning, and asked, "Were you serious about what you said earlier?"
Joanna blushed a little, "Which part?"
"You said if I die, you won't be able to live anymore."
"Of… of course I wasn't serious!"
Joanna continued to deny it. "The atmosphere was building up to that. If I didn't say that, it would seem like I have no conscience."
"Is that so?"
Ace gave Joanna a meaningful look.
When the green light came on, Joanna thought he would put down the handbrake, but his large hand instead grasped hers tightly…
Joanna froze. She looked at Ace with puzzled eyes, not daring to move an inch.
Her fair cheeks were blushing so hard that it was visible to the naked eye.
What… What's the meaning of this?
Ace seemed quite at ease. He looked straight ahead and said faintly, "Sorry, grabbed the wrong thing."
After that, he moved his hand to the gear lever and smoothly adjusted its position from neutral to drive.
The sports car whizzed along the road.
It moved fast, like Joanna's heartbeat!
She only realized after a long time that she… just got teased?
"Ace, did you just flirt with me?"
Joanna tilted her head to the side to look at the man who was focused on driving. Her cheeks were puffed with anger, looking like a little squirrel. It was very cute.
Ace raised his eyebrows and stared at the woman with a smile on his face. Instead of answering, he asked, "What do you think?"
Joanna rubbed her chin and, after thinking about it carefully, said with a serious expression, "I think you're flirting with me, but your flirting skills are terrible!"
If he wanted to hold her hand, he should have just done it.
Grabbed the wrong thing? Why didn't he say he was blind instead?
Seeing him purse his lips without saying anything, Joanna continued to ridicule him fearlessly. "I thought you specifically asked your good friend for advice on courting women? Why are your skills still so terrible? You must not be very bright!"
Ace's handsome face had gone stiff. He said coldly, "Ethan Stuart, how dare you sell me out? You're gonna pay for this! "
He already found it embarrassing enough that he had to ask for advice on courting women at his age, but that stupid Ethan actually went and told his target everything, embarrassing him even further!
However, speaking of Ethan, Ace's handsome face immediately became serious. He asked, "How is that idiot doing? I heard from the paramedics that his injury's pretty serious."
Joanna also seemed worried, "It is pretty serious. An air-con box fell on his right leg and broke his calf bone. It only happened because he tried to save me. I don't even know how I can repay him…"
"You don't have to!"
Ace suddenly tightened his long fingers on the steering wheel. He sounded displeased as he chastised her, "Don't take responsibility for everything. If he asks you to give yourself to him, are you really gonna give yourself to him?"
"What are you saying? He's Ethan. How could he possibly ask that?"
Joanna looked at Ace with a confused face.
She could not understand why this guy was getting angry at her again for no apparent reason.
Ethan was her savior, and she wanted to repay his kindness. What's wrong with that?
The atmosphere inside the car suddenly became somewhat tense, as if a storm was brewing. Neither of them spoke.
Joanna did not know where Ace was taking her and she did not bother asking.
She thought the temperamental man was like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. She was an idiot for feeling moved for a brief instant earlier!
After a long time, Ace finally broke the silence. "Don't you understand that there can be no debt of favors between men and women? If anyone has to repay this kindness, it should be me!"
"You…"
Joanna froze.
It was getting quite late. The car sped forward, passing through rows of street lamps. Under their dim illumination, Ace's handsome and defined features alternated between bright and dark, unpredictable just like his deep and complex mind.
She was really baffled by him. Since there could be no debt of favors between men and women, and if he repaid Ethan's favor for her, how should she repay him, then?
Joanna turned her attention to the scenery outside the window. It was only then that she realized the road they were on was the one leading to the Moran Villa.
She immediately yelled, "Stop the car! I don't want to go back to the Moran Villa!"
The Moran Villa was a cage that had imprisoned her for three years. It was a place filled with hope and disappointment, causing her endless humiliation. She did not want to step foot in that place ever again.