The Trap Of Ace

I roamed around to admire each one of them. The colors were blended so well, it felt they’d come alive at

any moment. A small boy was gaping in wonder at a picture standing beside his mother where a crimson

skinned dragon fumed ember flames through his nose and mouth, its eyes sparkled with rage and

menace. On the other hand, a middle-aged man stared at the highlighted cleavage of a woman with half

of face covered with her raven hair in a canvas.

Shaking my head, I passed him and turned to another row. But a certain painting caught my eyes. A

painting of a single rose, as crimson as blood, bloomed with its velvety petals spread around, a couple of

rosebuds facing in directions adorned it. And those tiny drops of water sparkled on the petals reminded

me of diamonds.

It was gorgeous.

“Em! See this,” Tobias called out, beckoning me to him. He stood before a painting of a mermaid with the

upper half of her floating on the water. “What do you think of this? I think she will glorify my bedroom wall

with her beauty.”

I sighed at my brother. Thank G*d that the mermaid’s chest was covered with her hair. There were

children roaming around for G*d’s sake!

“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” I said, agreeing anyway.

A friend of his called him from among a group of men.

“I’ll be back!”

As he strode to the group, I stayed back and appreciated the painting.

Suddenly I felt a presence behind me. And the wisp of the familiar cologne that tingled my nostrils had

me frozen in my place. My heart stuttered as I felt his body heat behind me.

“You like it?” a deep voice rasped into my ear. An involuntary shiver ran down my spine.

“What’re you doing here?” I whispered, not turning to him. His house hunting was finally over?

Wait, why do I care if he was busy the whole week? Right, I don’t.

Deep chuckle. “I see, my Rosebud isn’t happy to see me here.”

I frowned. “You didn’t answer my question.”

I felt him stepping closer. “Why do people come to events like these?”

I shrugged, feigning not to be affected by his close proximity. “Well, most of them come to show off.”

A sharp intake of breath. And then I felt his breath on my neck. The atmosphere suddenly rose higher in

the room.

Wait, did he just smell me?

Creep!

“Trust me, sweetheart. I didn’t come here to show off. I’ve much more important things to do than

wasting my time on that.” He brushed his fingers on my hip, making me jolt.

Not being able to bear the tension, I stepped away from his overwhelming presence and touch, sent him

a glare and walked away with flushed cheeks. But his persistent gaze didn’t.

When the bell of the auction rang, we all gathered in the backyard of the building, under the open sky.

Rows of chairs were lined up before the huge stage for people to sit. We took our seats in the second

row. And a particular person was missing.

Was he already gone?

Good for me.

A man cleared his throat in the mike, snatching everyone’s attention to the stage. “Ladies and

gentlemen! Welcome to the ‘Felicity Charity Event’ one more time! We all know the holy purpose we’re

gathered here for. So without any adieu, let’s begin the auction right away.”

A painting of a phoenix was first put for sale on the stage as the auctioneer began calling for bids. And

as the auction went on, things got heated between the bidders to win over a piece of art.

Tobias was extremely disappointed when someone else brought his mermaid’s painting with a much

higher price than him, where Dad was satisfied with a picture of mother Teresa.

And when the canvas of that blood rose got on the stage, I really wanted to bid for it. But well, my

pockets weren’t full enough to do that. I could easily ask from Dad, but if I wanted to help someone, I

wanted to do with something that I owned. So I decided to just pay them a little amount that I could afford

in check later.

“And who wants to hold onto this gorgeous velvety rose over here?” the auctioneer asked. “The bid starts

with five thousand dollars!”

“Ten thousand dollars!” a man yelled out from the crowd.

“Ten thousand dollars! Anyone else wants to take it home with a higher price?” queried the bid caller.

“Fifteen thousand dollars!” shouted a woman.

“Fifteen thousand! Anyone else? Fifteen thousand dollars! Going once! Going…”

“Seventeen thousand dollars!” cried out the previous man.

“Excellent! Seventeen thousand!” Everyone started murmuring about the outrageous price for only a

mare picture of a rose. I was even surprised. That man must’ve liked it a lot. Though it was a

masterpiece. “Going once, going twice, and so…”

“One million!” a voice spoke over the babbles of the crowd from somewhere behind us. Everything went

quiet, gasps of shock echoed around as everyone glanced back to see the insane person wasting a

million dollars on a simple painting.

I turned around, and there he was. At the last row, sitting with his utmost ease, not a slight of care that he

just spent a load of money after a mare canvas.

Was he crazy?

Even the auctioneer watched him with bafflement. “A-are you sure, Mr. Valencian?”

He stood up and glanced down at his watch. “Get it ready.” Leaving a last look at my way, he went to

sign the check his secretary handed him as every pair of eyes ogled him with awe and disbelief.

Once the auction was over, we met him outside. Dad was proud of him that he donated that much for

those kids while Tobias also appreciated him with a still sullen mood. And then I was left alone with him.

He watched me as I eyed the beautiful canvas lying on the backseat of his car.

“I didn’t know you were interested in art that much,” I said. “Why this one though? There were a lot of

paintings out there from famous artists who’d have been worth the money.” I didn’t know he’d do it just

out of kindness.

“But these weren’t what I wanted. I wanted it-” he pointed to the painting, “-so I got it.”

“Why it? Anything special you saw in it?” Shouldn’t I just walk away? But here I was, asking questions to

him out of my stupid curosity. As far as I knew, he had never been on any charity functions, let alone

donating a million in a day.

He stepped closer, his stormy grey peered into mine. “What do you see in them?”

I titled my head, my brows creasing. “I- umm, a rose?” I uttered, glancing back at the painting.

“And?” he probed.

“And…” My eyes flickered in the backseat again. “And some rosebuds…” My eyes widened as

realization set in.

“Exactly. Rosebuds and rose, that’s bloomed into a beautiful flower,” he whispered, easing closer. “Rang

a bell, Rosebud? Or, should I say, my Rose?”

My breath hitched at my throat at his words. He- he remembered. He remembered what he said to me

on my ninth birthday.

A shaky breath escaped my lips. If he remembered, then he also knew of the feelings I’d harbored for

him for all these years. I was right, he knew. He knew everything.

“You…” My gulped the lump down my throat, my heart pounding.

“Yes, I remember everything. You know why I bought it?”

I shook my head, still reeling from his revelation.

“Because the moment my eyes fell onto this rose, it became mine. And I don’t let go of anything that

belongs to me.”

A gasp slipped through my mouth. Because even though someone else would think that he was talking

about the painting, I knew he wasn’t. Because those intense grey eyes of his were on me as declared his

claim.

And I don’t let go of anything that belongs to me.

Something ticked in my head as I remembered my message to him last week. It was his reply for me.

Just three months, and I will be free of this contract soon. You can’t keep me here forever

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