491 Private Celebrationhistorical

"Don't faint, Rina," Ace warned me playfully.

That was when I realized that Ace was still on one knee. I quickly tugged on his arm with both my hands to urge him to get back up on his feet.

"You should get up," I said as I pulled on his arm.

"Thank you, Rina," Ace thanked me.

"It's not a problem..." I replied shyly.

Ace continued to hold my hand even when he was up on his feet. He was standing so close to me, and I could feel his eyes on my face. We were acting so casually with each other up until not so long ago, so I wasn't sure why I suddenly felt so shy and aware of his presence close to me. I could no longer meet his eyes.

"I meant, thank you for agreeing to marry me, Rina," Ace said.

"Ace..." I whispered his name as I felt warm emotions bubbling up deep inside my chest.

Ace pulled me into his embrace as he wrapped his arm around me and held me tightly. I hugged him back immediately as I felt tears well up in my eyes. Reality was just sinking in that he had just proposed to me, and I had just agreed to marry him. Soon, we would be man and wife and we would spend the rest of our days together. The thought warmed me up inside and I hugged Ace even tighter as if I was scared that he might disappear into thin air along with what had just transpired.

"I love you, Rina," Ace whispered to me passionately.

Before I could tell him that I was truly in love with him too, his lips were on mine. His kiss felt so sweet and loving that my lips felt like they might melt beneath his. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck to draw him closer to me so that I could kiss him back. When his tongue sought entry into my mouth, I parted my lips willingly to accept its entrance. His heat filled my mouth as he thrusted his tongue inside its wet depths. I made soft whimpering sounds of pleasure in my throat as our tongues entwined.

Our sweet kiss quickly turned wetter and hotter with our tongues engaging in a hungry and passionate dance. It felt like I couldn't have enough of Ace, yet at the same time, I wanted to savor this sweet moment a little longer before our passion took over. Ace kissed me from a different angle before grinding his tongue against mine. I kissed him back without holding anything back as his hands stroked their way down my back to my waist.

"Ace..." I whispered his name breathlessly as I struggled to catch my breath once he had freed my lips.

Our eyes met and then his lips were on mine again. This time, our kiss was hot and filled with our need for each other right from the start. He thrusted his tongue deftly into my mouth and my tongue met his eagerly.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I almost jumped out of my skin at the sudden interruption. I quickly returned to my senses to realize that I had been kissing Ace in my mother's apartment while waiting for her to come back.

But...why would she have to knock?

"I'll get that," Ace said before grinning regretfully at me.

Ace opened the door while I adjusted my clothes and concentrated on taking deep breaths to calm myself down. Without any surprise, it was my mother returning from her errand. What was surprising was what she held in her hands.

"Mum?" I said questioningly as my eyes widened.

"Congratulations, Rina!" she cried out happily as she thrusted the cake that she was holding in her hand toward me.

I looked down at the glowing lit candles on the cake before my gaze returned to my mother's smiling face. She clearly must have known that Ace was going to propose to me. I truly wondered when these two got up to planning this together.

"Thank you..." I thanked her as I felt tears swimming in my eyes.

"You better blow out the candles!" my mother reminded me excitedly.

Blowing out candles and eating cake was always my mother's way of celebrating everything. Just as she had always told me, I remembered to make a wish silently with my eyes closed before blowing the candles. My mother put the cake down on the dining table before turning to face me and opening her eyes up to me. I flew into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Wow, this is some ring..." my mother said when we finally ended our hug.

She held my left hand in hers as she eyed the engagement ring that Ace had put on me. I could feel Ace watching us and couldn't stop myself from turning to smile at him.

"It's probably too eye-catching," I mumbled my honest thought.

"I don't think so. I think that it looks perfect on you," Ace quickly corrected.

"I guess when it comes to diamonds, the bigger the better..." my mother agreed with a laugh.

"You two planned this together, didn't you?" I asked in a teasing accusatory tone.

It was no wonder Ace got my ring size perfectly right if he had my mother as his accomplice in all of this. Ace grinned at me before turning to smile at my mother. I knew that I was spot on correct. I had thought that the two of them got along more than decently well but I realized then that they actually might have gotten along well even beyond my expectations.

"Surprise!" my mother cried out happily before laughing.

The best thing about knowing that my mother was involved in planning this proposal was the fact that it meant that she truly approved of me marrying Ace. It wasn't surprising given how she seemed to dote him on so much, but it did save us the effort of breaking the news to her. On top of that, I was so happy that my mother was there to share the moment with us.

--To be continued...↑