"What happened?" Ace called out as he hung up the phone and went straight to the bathroom door.
Just as he was about to open the door, he heard Joanna's panicked voice coming from inside, "I'm fine. Don't come in!
And a series of loud banging sounds followed afterward.
It doesn't seem like she was fine.
After moments of hesitation, he pushed the door and entered.
"Ah! Who told you to come in? Get out!"
Joanna was standing up in the bathtub. She quickly wrapped a towel around her naked body when she saw that he had entered. Although her movements were quick, he still saw her body.
He froze in place and swallowed harshly, feeling his lips turn dry.
He hadn't known that she was so stunning!
He wondered why it had taken him so long to realize that he had been living with a hidden treasure for the previous three years.
After a while, he finally calmed down. Only then did he realize that the clothes on the rack had fallen, which meant Joanna's clothes and towel had dropped into the tub, and the towel she used to wrap herself in was dripping wet.
"Do you need help?" he calmly asked her.
She looked very seductive, standing before him with a wet towel wrapped around her body.
"What do you think?" Joanna said, clearly embarrassed with how red her face was.
'Does this man know no boundaries? Does he think it's appropriate to come in when I'm naked? If it weren't for the towel, I would have dug a hole and hid in there forever!' she thought embarrassingly to herself.
"It seems like you're in a pinch. How do you want me to help you?" Ace asked as he approached her, his face filled with concern.
"D-don't come near me! That's the biggest help you can give me!" She stuttered and immediately backed away. In her panic, she didn't see that she had reached the edge where she tripped and was about to fall flat on her back.
"Watch out!" Ace called out and reacted quickly.
His long arms reached out and wound around her slender waist before they both fell into the water. Their bodies were pressed closely together, and it seemed very intimate.
They could feel each other's body temperature and their beating hearts underneath the thin layer of clothes.
Ace gazed at Joanna underneath him.
This was the first time he observed her up close..
Her eyes were brilliant and piercing. They seemed gentle and docile, yet there was a hint of mystery.
Red flushes grew like roses on her delicate cheeks, captivating his heart.
"How long are we going to keep this position? My legs are numb!" she asked awkwardly as her arms wrapped around
his neck.
Instantly, Ace returned to his senses. His expression was indifferent, but his movements were gentle as he pulled out from the tub. Then, he turned around like a gentleman and said, "I'll get your clothes."
"No. It's fin-."
Before she could finish her words, he had left.
At this point, she doesn't care anymore. After all, they had been intimate before, and she was having his children, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about anymore.
Joanna sat by the tub and wrapped herself in the wet towel while waiting for him to return.
Ace went into the bedroom. After taking her nightgown, he wanted to leave, but a jewelry box caught his attention.
The box was programmed to open automatically. There were few items inside, and they weren't very pricey.
The only item that stood out was a peach-shaped crystal necklace that looked just like the one auctioned off at the charity event.
'Is the real product? But why would she have the necklace?' he wondered to himself.
He was now more curious about his obedient wife and how many secrets she kept that he didn't know about.
At this time, Jack called him again.
"Did they talk? Who's the mastermind?"
Though his voice was calm, it was obvious that Ace was eager for the information…
"No." Jack took a long breath before continuing, "The police just informed me that they're dead. They took their own lives."
"Shit!" Ace furrowed his brows and cursed.
He was close to finding the mastermind, but now the lead was gone!
He said coldly, "Keep looking into this. I must find out who killed Dylan!"
After he said that, he paused and added, "Get me information on Joanna. Whether it's disclosed or not, I want it all."
"Huh? You want Mrs. Moran's information?" Jack repeated, clearly confused.
"They have been married for four years, and only now does Ace ask for Joanna's information. Isn't it too late?' Jack thought to himself.
It was already late at night when Ace and Joanna finished changing their clothes.
She lay on the bed, losing all patience as she gazed at the handsome man sitting on the couch in blue pajamas.
"I only have a slight injury on my arm. You don't have to stay here and look after me all the time. You should return. to your house, and we should keep our distance like before."
"You got hurt saving me, so I'm responsible for it," Ace calmly replied as he folded the magazine he had been reading. He coldly gazed at her and asked with seriousness, "Do you need me to tuck you in bed?"
"That's not necessary!" Joanna said, immediately crossing her arms and turning to the other side of the bed.
She reasoned that if he persisted in guarding her, she should leave him to his own devices since she was sleeping comfortably on the bed and not the one suffering on the sofa!
The orange light from the table lamp illuminated the room. A calm silence filled the room as time passed, and the only sound she heard was of him flipping through the magazine.
It was strange. She had been having difficulties sleeping for the last several days, but now she felt peaceful and secure for the first time and immediately fell asleep.
Ace was also getting tired. He put down the magazine and gently rubbed his temple. His dashing features looked perfect under the warm light.
He turned to look at Joanna, who was fast asleep on the bed.
She curled into a ball and turned her back on him. His heart softened when he saw her in that adorable state. He didn't understand how such a petite, weak woman could have such courage to protect him that day.
He stayed by her side because he was worried that if she woke up in the middle of the night thirsty or hungry, no one would be there to help her. He was also afraid that those who tried to murder him might come for her in revenge.
He had to be consistently on guard, as they had tried multiple times to kill him!
Ace sucked a deep breath and sipped his coffee to keep his energy. Then, he took out his phone and scrolled through social media to pass the time. On accident, he clicked on the fan page of him and Joanna.
It was usually quite an active page, but it got even more attention after the incident at the auction. There were multiple pictures and comments about Ace and Joanna, so he randomly clicked on one of the posts.
"This is super cool! See how the usual obedient wife protects her husband!"
There was a video of Joanna kicking the gun away, and she looked cool indeed.
"She's…"
Ace's eyebrows furrowed as he focused on the video and looked surprised. Her swift motions seemed only possible after eight to ten years of practice.
'Is she the same weak and incapable girl I met?' he wondered to himself.
He even suspected she was possessed since the difference between her on regular days and in the video was so significant.
The majority in the comment section felt the same as Ace.
"Wow! Joanna is so amazing. She stood in front of a gun for love. This is so touching!"
"I suddenly feel that Ace doesn't deserve her. He's so weak. I think Mr. Blackwood is more powerful!"
"I agree. I announce that Moran and my sweetheart are fake. Liam and my sweetheart are a real couple!"
"I agree!"
"Me too!"
"I agree as well!"
When Ace saw this, he became angry.
He registered an account and commented angrily, "A playboy like Liam doesn't deserve her."
Instantly, he became the joke of the internet.
"Why don't you try and date Joanna then?"
"Liam has a lot of admirers, but he only loves Joanna."
"You're definitely a hater. Get lost!"
Seeing this, Ace angrily deleted his comment.
Apart from that, there were posts applauding Joanna and Liam and bad-mouthing Joanna and Ace. Suddenly, he remembered the fanfiction about him and Joanna that managed to capture the hearts of many.
However, the owner had deleted that post, and many were begging for it to be published again. Ace was looking for it too but found nothing in the end.
He was annoyed and phoned Jack once again.
"Can you still find posts that had been deleted before when you're doing damage control?" Ace asked.
"What?"
"There's an id called 'Ace_sweetheart'. They wrote a fanfiction of Joanna and me before. Get the technician to retrieve it."
Jack was confused. 'What's going on?'
Ten minutes later, he called Ace back and said, "Mr. Moran, the technician examined it, and we did not erase it. The author seems to have deleted it on their own. Not only that but all online traces of it were also removed. I believe they did it on purpose."
"On purpose?"
Ace's face darkened, and his desire to read it became stronger.