I nodded. “I will talk to him. But not now. I need to do this when we’re face to face. He’s coming to Tess’s wedding.”

“Will you tell him about Ace?”

“No. There’s nothing to tell him about Ace.” I cast a glance. “I will talk to him about us. I just hope he will still be my friend after everything is over.”

She squeezed my hand. “He will, I’m sure.”

After a silence, she shifted and cleared her throat.

“So?”

I turned to her. “So what?”

“Now that the issue of Warner is sorted, will you give Ace a chance?”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You talked me into breaking up with Warner so that you can pair me up with Ace? I can’t believe you!”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. It’s not that you weren’t going to do that in the near future, anyway. Especially now that Ace is here.”

I scowled at her.

“What? I’m just helping my best friend with her love life dilemma. You and I both know what your heart desires. And I know, deep down, beside the fear of another heartbreak, you were stopping yourself from leaning towards Ace because of Warner. You didn’t want to cheat on him. But that’s sorted now, right?”

“Are you for real? I’m not going to do anything with Ace. And about Warner, I still haven’t broken up with him. He’s still my boyfriend.” Anger boiled in my chest. I didn’t know why I was angry for. For the fact that she supported Ace way too much or because her words screamed truth.

She waved her hand. “He will be out of the picture soon. It will be better for his own good, anyway. Because assessing your Valencian’s obsession with you, I don’t think he would take this nicely if he has any competitor in the way of getting you.”

“You know what? I’m leaving. I’m not talking to you anymore about this.” Red in the face, I got up and collected my purse and phone.

“Do whatever you want, girl. We both know that Achilles Valencian has played his card. And now, you’re stuck in his trap. No matter what you want, you can’t escape him. And you know why?”

I stared at her, waiting for her to finish.

“Because you don’t want to escape. Your heart won’t let you.”

The elevator pinged, opening for another person to reach their destined floor, leaving only me and Liza inside. I held a bunch of files with one hand while my other hand was occupied with a cup of tea. After the small talk with Cassie, her words didn’t let me sleep last night. Some of my own realizations haunted me.