Joanna instantly stopped humming, and her smile died on her lips. She instinctively turned around to leave, as if she'd encountered something unfortunate.
'Damn it.' She could only blame herself for procrastinating. Although she'd already decided she hadn't found a suitable place to move into yet. She lived right across Ace, so even if she intentionally avoided him outdoors, she would have to bump into him eventually when she came home.
Joanna didn't step out of the lift, and the elevator doors automatically started to close.
Ace reached out to stop the doors from closing, his expression unreadable. "What's the matter? Weren't you having a lot of fun earlier? What's the point in feeling guilty now?"
'Guilty?!' Joanna stepped out of the elevator with her chin raised defiantly. "You're hilarious, Mr. Moran. So what if I was having a lot of fun? I didn't rob or kill anyone, did I? Why should I feel guilty? You, on the other hand, are the president of a large corporation. It's the middle of the night, so why aren't you asleep? You're loitering around to stalk a single woman. Shouldn't you be the one feeling guilty?"
Ace couldn't deny it. His eyes narrowed, and he said indifferently, "I don't care how much fun you want to have, but be mindful of your status. This is a warning. You've already been featured in several headlines with different men over the past two days. Are you proud of yourself?"
Joanna was furious. This man and his ego! She honestly had no idea how she had loved him for three years. She had loved him so much that she lost her identity and became the kind of irrationally romantic person she hated the most.
Now, things were great. She'd finally come to her senses, so she wasn't going to let him get away with insulting her like this.
Joanna looked at Ace coldly. "Mr. Moran, you might have forgotten, but we're already divorced. Whether I'm out having fun or not, and regardless of who I rub shoulders with, all of it is none of your business."
Ace's response was unexpectedly calm. "I know you're in a lot of pain after the divorce, but it's immature of you to try to get my attention through such methods. These aren't things an adult should do. Don't forget that we haven't made our divorce public yet. If you do such things, it'll only create more unnecessary gossip. It'll also make it impossible for us to get back together."
"Huh?" Joanna was dumbfounded. What was this man saying?
Frankly speaking, she did feel sad when they'd divorced, but she'd long gotten over it. She'd moved on, and was now enjoying her life as a single woman. The only regret she had was not getting divorced sooner.
"Drop the act. I can see right through you," Ace insisted icily.
Ace walked up to Joanna, and pinned her against the wall. "There are many ways you can get my attention, but trying to make me jealous is just stupid. Why don't you try something else…"
He began looking Joanna up and down, and his gaze finally landed on her rose-tinted lips. "Like kissing me?" He murmured.
After that, he closed his eyes and waited for her to reciprocate.
In his mind, Joanna loved him so much that she'd searched for another man who looked just like him. Now that he was in front of her, how could she possibly resist?
Joanna stared at his handsome face. For a second or two, she almost gave in, but the absurdity of the entire situation soon hit her.
What was wrong with this man? Why hadn't she realized how self-obsessed he was in the past?
"Ace, do you honestly believe that everyone adores you?" She growled before planting her palm on his face and pushing him away forcefully. "Keep dreaming!"
Ace opened his eyes, and impatience flashed in them. "Woman, you can play hard to get, but don't push me. A little bit keeps things fun, but don't go overboard."
After saying that, he started moving closer to Joanna.
He believed Joanna was playing hard to get and trying to make him jealous. After all, she loved him so much in the past, so how could she have moved on so easily?
Joanna was completely speechless. She took her phone out and started taking pictures of Ace's face. "Ace, I think you need therapy. Is this your idea of revenge because I was in the news? I suggest you leave, or I'll take you to court tomorrow!"
Ace stopped moving and squinted at the phone in her hand. "What are you doing?"
Joanna didn't answer him. After taking the pictures, she immediately called the police. She pretended to cry while she spoke, "Officer, please help me! I'm at my Residence. A stalker followed me home, and he's trying to harass me. I can't get him to leave. Please hurry!"
Ace was speechless. He was about to retort that the police wouldn't care about a married couple's quarrel, but he suddenly recalled that they were already divorced.
From a legal perspective, his behavior could definitely be classified as sexual harassment!
Joanna noticed Ace hesitated, and was pleased with herself. "Mr. Moran, the nearest police station is less than a mile away. If you don't leave, the police will soon have you in cuffs and take you to prison."
She began reciting something she learned from Christopher. "According to Article 237 of Criminal Law, offenders who sexually harass women, in serious cases, will be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment for more than five years. Christopher is an expert in this field. Try it, if you dare."
Ace's gaze was cold. There was a dangerous emotion brewing inside him. So, Joanna wasn't playing hard to get… she was actually so annoyed by him that she wanted to put him in prison!
Women were always crazy about him, so this was something totally foreign to him. Suddenly, he felt a sense of defeat and humiliation.
Even if she wasn't doing it intentionally, Joanna actually did make him feel possessive.
"Sexual harassment, serious cases…" Ace muttered furiously.
He stared at Joanna like a starving wolf, and then grabbed her chin to lift her face to his. "In that case, I'll show you what a serious offense looks like!"
Before Joanna could protest, he leaned down and kissed her deeply.
"Mmph!" Caught off guard, Joanna looked up at Ace with wide eyes. She felt like a lamb caught in the claws of a hungry predator. She clenched her fists, and started pushing against his shoulders to make him stop. Unfortunately for Joanna, this only made Ace more excited, and he kissed her even harder.
Ace was certain that he didn't feel any romantic love toward his ex-wife, and was only possessive of her. However, ever since he had a taste of her feminine allure, he yearned for more. If it wasn't for his
rational mind holding him back, he'd have done this ages ago…
The air was thick with tension, and Joanna found it hard to breathe. 'What's wrong with this man?!'
When she was still his wife, he treated her indifferently and was never intimate with her. Now that they were divorced, he was openly flirting with her. Did he really think she was the kind of woman who would succumb to his every whim? Did he think she was that easy to manipulate?
As soon as these thoughts occurred to her, she gathered all her strength and stepped on Ace's foot roughly.
Ace winced from the pain, and reluctantly let her go.
Joanna's eyes were blazing and she was bristling like an angry kitten, but that only seemed to make her more attractive. "Ace, you crossed the line! Just you wait… It's over for you!". Ace still wasn't satisfied. He looked at her swollen lips and smirked. "I look forward to it."