It was midday as Ace walked through the dormitory hall, he was back from an all-night delivery and an extra morning shift. He was just returning, and his body ached.
“I have $250 saved and mom gave me $100; now I can buy Lisa that birthday gift. I'll work harder to pay my school fees; a few night shifts wouldn’t hurt.” Ace said, taking a step into his room.
He had to admit that although his current life was hard, he found it rather enjoyable, spending it with a girl that he loved and who loved him.
Ace met his roommates gathered over his computer.
A frown appeared on Ace’s face, and he lashed out, “Hey! You guys shouldn't touch my things!” Ace said in annoyance.
“Yo Ace, come over here.” Reed, a tall blonde, beckoned to Ace.
“What's that?” Ace quirked his brows. He wasn't interested in what they were watching.
He was furious when he heard the sounds of moaning.
“Give it to me.” He dropped his bag and went to the group.
However, as he came closer, his eyes widened.
Ace felt a dull ache in his chest, and before he could say anything, he heard Reed's voice again.
“Hey Ace, isn't this Lisa?” Reed turned back with a confused look on his face.
Ace was dumbstruck. His Lisa would never do such a thing.
“You don't know what you are saying. That can never be my Lisa. She's too innocent.” Ace stammered despite trying to defend his girlfriend.
“She doesn't look that innocent with the way she moves here.” Someone noted, and the group burst into laughter.
Ace’s eyes shook in rage. He was shocked and angry, and the wave of betrayal rocked him.
It was Lisa in there, smiling at another man who was on top of her.
“No! It can't be My Lisa. This has to be a trick. Someone is trying to drive a wedge between us.” Ace was hysterical as he spoke. He couldn't believe how someone would even try such a thing.
Ace pulled out the door and stood outside the room. He kept reassuring himself that it wasn't Lisa in that video, but there was a small voice telling him the dangerous truth.
“I have to call her,” Ace uttered immediately. He picked up the phone and placed a call on her phone.
Unfortunately, he was met with her voicemail.
“Lisa, I know you can't do something like this, but I still want to confirm with you. I saw a video with you featured in it. Please call me back and tell me it's not true.” Ace spoke urgently into the phone before ending the voicemail.
He desperately wanted what he saw to be a trick of his mind.
Ace couldn't wait for her to call him back, and he knew exactly where to find her. He was confident in what he thought and his girlfriend, but there was that little voice.
Ace made staggering steps to Lisa's favorite cafe. Every cell in his body was telling him to go back and forget the whole issue, but he just wanted her assurance.
An assurance that she wasn't cheating on him, especially in such a disgusting way.
Ace spotted Lisa's figure, sipping a bottle of soda, and he frowned, remembering the video he watched.
He had to confront her. What she did was a blow to his dignity, especially in front of his friends.
The smile on his face froze when he saw the person in front of her.
Richard Conner, the most popular person in the school. Ace waved off any other thoughts, maybe Lisa just wanted some help on her studies and needed him.
He sounded stupid to himself.
Ace barged into the club in rage. A deep, saddened rage.
“Lisa, what do you think you are doing?” Ace said at once. His eyes were straight at her, waiting for her reply.
Lisa was dumbstruck and livid with embarrassment. She looked at Ace in the clothes he wore, old and tattered. He was making her look like a fool in front of Richard.
Richard scrutinized the person in front of him and took the initiative to speak.
“She's my girlfriend, and who are you?” Richard arched a brow in disgust.
Ace felt an arrow stab his heart. Girlfriend?
He ignored Richard and looked at Lisa, “What is he saying, Lisa? Explain yourself.”
Richard didn't take it lightly, as he was ignored, and just as he was about to speak, Lisa slammed the table furiously.
“For heaven's sake, Ace. You disgust me! Look at you. You look like trash. What makes you think you can get involved in any of my business?! Get a life! I don't want to be with you. You can't get me anything or buy me gifts. Richard bought me something for $20000 in a day. You couldn't even get me a cup of ice cream every day! Get out of here.” Lisa blasted out her anger in words that pierced the deepest part of Ace's soul.
Everything she said was right, but she didn't have to cheat on him to get that out.
Unknown to Ace, someone had brought out his phone and was taking pictures and videos of the scenes and sending them to the school platforms.
“Low life Ace gets publicly embarrassed.” The videos were immediately tagged and retagged by the students online.
“I knew that guy was a peasant.”
“I pity him, standing toe-to-toe with Richard Conner.”
“Good thing Lisa went for the best.”
“How could she date a pigsty like that?”
“Ace's asking for a death match.”
Comments spilled over the whole student group and channel, and Ace, Lisa, and Richard were unaware.
Ace looked at Lisa and knew that this was not the woman he loved.
Richard, who was still fuming silently, took his phone and decided to make a dangerous move.
He was going to make this low-life pay.
“Hey, Fret. Look for everything on Ace Wickham, and take away everything he has.” Richard sent a text to his trusted ally.
Fret replied immediately, “Ace has nothing. He is a piece of trash. His mom stays in their worn-out cottage.”
“You left me because of him. I helped you boost your grades. You weren't kicked out of school because of my intelligence.” Ace said to Lisa, feeling the brunt of her betrayal.
“Yes, I'm in my final year now, and I realize that even with your brains, you are still broke and wouldn't go far.” Lisa snorted in disgust.
Meanwhile, Richard had informed Fret to take away Ace's family cottage and leave the mother to rot.
Ace was about to say something when he received a call. It was an unknown number.
He turned aside and took the call.
“Who is this, please?” Ace muttered into the line.
“Is this Ace? I'm calling to inform you that your mother was just rushed to the hospital after she collapsed. Please come to City Hospital at once.” The voice spoke quickly and the call ended.
The color drained from Ace’s face, and his eyes shook. His mother was in the hospital.
He turned to the new couple and saw Richard lift his face into a smirk.
Without thinking, Ace lunged for Richard by the collar and pulled him up.
“What did you do?” Ace snarled at him.
Richard chuckled and pushed him away, showing that he also had strength of his own.
“I showed you that I am not somebody you ignore. Greet your mother for me.” Richard smirked.
Lisa, who heard the conversation, looked at Richard, wondering what he did.
Ace clenched his hand, and without thinking, he slammed his fist straight into Richard's nose.
Richard fell into the chair. His nose twisted to a different angle and was furiously bleeding.
Lisa rushed to help him; she never knew Ace had such a side.
“You better wish nothing happened to her, or you'd receive more than just a nosebleed,” Ace growled and turned out of the café.
“I hope she's okay,” Ace muttered to himself.
He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to his mother.
Ace rushed to the hospital as fast as he could, desperate to find out what state his mother was in.“Hi, I was told that my mom was rushed here in an emergency. Can you please help me find her?” Ace hurriedly said to a nurse who was standing behind a desk, busy typing on her computer.The woman didn’t pay any attention to him at first, causing a deep frown to appear on Ace’s face.“Hello, I’m talking to you,” Ace said again, through gritted teeth. The woman looked up at him, wondering if she knew him from somewhere.“Who are you looking for?” she asked calmly.“Mrs. Winchester,” Ace uttered, his patience wearing thin.“Yes, that poor woman. She was brought here after suffering a heart attack. I heard it was because her house was taken away from her and—hey! You can’t go in there!” The nurse was mid-sentence when Ace abruptly walked away.He couldn’t understand why the nurse was rambling on, but Ace was burning with anger and hatred. He knew Richard had something to do with it, and he
The ride to the hospital was tense and silent. Ace kept thinking about the investment Luther had mentioned, and something struck him.He had always assumed there was another person with the name ‘Winchester,’ but it had been him all along. Luther had used his name to partner with the school.Ace wondered how big his name had become without his knowledge. It had to be pretty significant if there were twenty trillion dollars in his account.“We're here,” Luther said in a sing-song voice, but his expression changed when he saw the annoyance on Ace’s face.“Wait for me, and call the top doctors here,” Ace ordered as he stepped out of the car.“But these are top doctors; they’re usually very busy,” Luther hesitated, trying to suggest Ace call someone else.“I want the best for my mom, Luther. Nothing should interfere with that,” Ace declared, not looking back.It had only been yesterday when he last visited his mother, and he wanted to know what had happened since then.Ace walked to his m
Doctor James was dumbfounded."Sell my hospital? Impossible! Not even to this man," he thought furiously.Ace looked at him, knowing full well that James would never agree to sell his hospital, and that was exactly what Ace was counting on—so he could utterly crush him.“I can’t sell my hospital to the likes of you. I don’t know how you managed to get such legendary doctors to work for you, but I don’t believe you could afford anything in this building. I refuse to sell anything to you,” Doctor James snorted in disgust as he picked himself up from the floor.Ace merely glanced at him, then turned to Luther.“Call the General Commanding Police Commissioner and tell him that Winchester is on the phone,” Ace ordered Luther, who immediately picked up his phone.Doctor James sneered at Ace’s statement. “You think a simple bluff will scare me? There’s no way you can do that.”Luther handed the phone to Ace.“Hello, GCPC Gideon…” Ace directed his smile at James, whose face had turned white.
“What do you want, Quinn? Spill it,” Ace demanded.The lady sitting beside Quinn looked up at Ace with a frown. “How dare you speak to my grandfather like that? You should know your place,” she spat in disgust.Ace glanced at her but didn’t say a word, turning his attention back to Quinn and completely ignoring the girl.“You’re wasting my time here, Quinn. I have other matters to attend to,” Ace spoke again, causing Quinn’s granddaughter to flush with anger.Quinn placed a calming hand on the girl’s shoulder as she started to rise. “But Grandpapi?” she protested, unable to understand why her grandfather tolerated such behavior.“Sit down, Andrea. It is because of this man that we have our wealth now,” Quinn replied in a different language, and the girl fell silent.Ace understood what Quinn had said, and he grinned at Andrea.“I want you to accompany my granddaughter to her convocation and inauguration as the new owner of all my industries. I know there will be a lot of my enemies ar
Ace had chosen a well-tailored outfit for the job he had received from Quinn.“I think you look rather handsome in that suit,” Luther had remarked as Ace was about to leave, but Ace waved it off.“I don't need your snarky comments, Luther. I'm already aware of how good I look,” Ace replied with a subtle smile.He had slept in a hotel the previous night and mentally noted that he would need to find his own place soon.“I want to drive the car,” Ace declared as he snatched the Lamborghini keys from Luther.“Please don’t scratch it,” Luther pleaded, his eyes wide with concern as he watched Ace open the car door with more force than necessary.“Get another one, Luther, and let me be. If you don't see me by midnight, get reinforcements,” Ace ordered, slamming the car door shut, making Luther wince.Ace drove to the General Chancellor's house at a leisurely pace, his expression stoic. His midnight blue suit added an air of royalty and majesty to his presence.Ace arrived at the house a minu
“What is he saying?” the gang leader asked the person beside him.“He said that he alone is more than all of us here,” the person answered.The leader burst out laughing and pointed a finger at Ace. “You should be in the circus for your funny behavior. How can you say that one of you is more than the thirteen of us here?” The leader snarled in disgust.Ace ignored the remark and looked at his watch. He needed to be at the event before Andrea's speech.“Hurry up with whatever you're planning. I'm running behind schedule,” Ace said coolly.The gang leader’s anger flared. He had taken time to come out here, and this guy was acting like it was nothing.“Who do you think you are? Get him, boys!” he ordered, and they rushed at Ace with their knives and weapons, ready to cut him down.Andrea, who was sitting in the car, couldn’t clearly see what was happening behind the tinted glass, but she saw them rush at Ace.Suddenly, her car door was yanked open, and someone forcefully dragged her out.
Even the media was drawn to the sweet sound of Andrea’s laughter.“Ace? Poor? You must be mistaken. You’ve lost a good man,” Andrea said to Lisa, recalling the scene of Ace saving her during the ambush.“I don't care. He never gave me anything, and he has nothing. I don't want someone who is nothing,” Lisa’s ego took a hit from Andrea's comment, and she retaliated.“Ace? He's a million times better than your current man,” Andrea replied with a smirk.Andrea knew that Ace would disappear after completing his job, but her curiosity got the better of her; she didn't want him to leave just yet.“How do you know that?” Lisa asked, glancing at Ace and then back at Andrea. “Have you two been seeing each other?” Lisa questioned.This time, Ace stepped forward.“Not everyone would stoop as low as you have, and furthermore, what I do with my life is no longer your concern,” Ace retorted sharply.“How dare you speak to her like that?” Richard rushed forward, ready to punch Ace, but Andrea's voic
"Sir, please forgive me, just one..." Julius desperately knelt on the ground, his trembling hands clutching at Ace's pants. His face was full of remorse, cold sweat running down his forehead. His voice was choked, as if he had only one last glimmer of hope left in his despair.Ace bent down, his icy gaze locking onto Julius without a hint of expression. “Forgive you? Do you think you deserve to say that? Do you remember how I begged you during the scholarship decision?”Julius trembled, desperately searching for something in Ace's eyes, but found nothing. His hands slowly slipped away, his head bowed in defeat. “I… I was wrong… but please…”“Shut up.” Ace cut him off, his voice like cold steel. “You had your chance, and you betrayed my trust. Don't think I will be merciful this time.” He turned his back and walked away, leaving Julius collapsed on the ground.Julius had nothing left to say, kneeling there quietly in shame and regret, watching as Ace left him behind. In the distance, Q