Ace's patience was wearing thin.
"Just spit it out, what's the hold-up?"
"After careful data analysis on every platform, we've arrived at the conclusion that most netizens feel upset for the unfairness that Mrs. Moran has faced."
"If you were to obtain Mrs. Moran's forgiveness, and show the public how your relationship has improved, I think we have a good chance of changing public opinion toward you," Lisa explained while looking away from Ace.
She knew just how prideful her boss was. In fact, it wouldn't be exaggerating to say that everyone perceived him as the ruler of the City. Now, they were asking for him to grovel before a woman he had abandoned,
It just didn't seem possible.
"No."
Ace was very straightforward with his answer. "Since those netizens love wasting their time on gossip, then so be it."
'They are naive if they think they're able to take the Moran Group down," Ace scoffed haughtily.
The Moran Group has branched out into various industries, including real estate, fashion, consumer electronics, car manufacturing, food & beverage, and they have recently been making moves toward the arms industry as well.
What Ace said was true, that the netizens had no power in taking them down.
"Just hire more people to delete these posts if there are too many!" Ace ordered coldly. "I'll give you three days. I don't care what method you use, but I don't want to see anything regarding the live stream by then."
"Oh…" Lisa had no choice but to accept this task. "I'll… discuss this with the PR team again. I suppose we can just increase our budget on public relations."
It was obvious that this solution wasn't going to be effective, since it didn't solve the crux of the issue. However, their CEO's pride simply didn't allow any other way.
Suddenly, just as Lisa was about to leave, Ace called out to her.
"Yes, Mr. Moran?"
The man pointed to his coffee mug with a frown.
"What have you been doing to my coffee lately? It's disgusting compared to before."
Ace had a habit of drinking coffee to relieve stress. Although he wasn't an expert, he could still tell there was a difference between today's coffee and the ones he had before.
He missed how his coffee used to taste.
"Mr. Moran, it's likely because of the change in coffee beans."
"Well change it back!" Ace ordered sternly.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible…" Lisa replied honestly. "Mrs. Moran was the one who gave us those coffee beans before. She'd always personally deliver a large jar of it to the office."
"Unlike instant coffee, we used to grind it fresh every time we made your coffee. I presume that's why it tasted so amazing."
"But we've used the last of it recently, and Mrs. Moran hasn't given any in a long time. We've tried looking for the same brand, but we just couldn't… so …" i
Lisa then shrugged helplessly,
"Ms.Pierce was the one who gave that?"
"Mm-hmm, didn't you know, Mr. Moran?" Lisa found an opportunity and mustered up all her courage to tell Ace everything.
"Mrs. Moran was the one who secretly supplied your coffee for the past few years."
"Not just that, your succulent plant, that favorite cake you gave so much praise to, and that ashtray you refuse to replace… they were all gifts from Mrs. Moran."
"Since she won't let us talk about her giving all these gifts, we secretly gave her the nickname 'Lady Char', short for charity that is."
"We really like Mrs. Moran, she's just so nice… That's why all of us were willing to risk our necks when you attacked her that day. We had to stop you no matter what…"
Ace remained silent, lost in thought as he glanced at the ashtray on his desk, the succulent by his window, then the cute cushion over at the sofa…
Mixed emotions started rising in his chest. He initially thought that they were just married strangers, yet she had already left her mark on his life, a mark that he can no longer erase.
"Mr. Moran, I have to say this, even if you threaten to fire me. Mrs. Moran really does love you, you shouldn't have hurt her like that."
"PR disaster aside, I feel like you owe her a proper apology.."
Ace remained silent. Up until this point, he wasn't aware of her feelings for him, which meant that his 'cheating' did hurt her.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back to work now, Mr. Moran." Lisa calmly walked to the door.
"Just… one more thing. I'm actually your fan too. I'm one of the moderators for the forum named 'hunt my Ace'!"
"All of our members are so talented. There was one fanfic in particular that touched everyone's hearts! It's such a shame that the author stopped posting long ago!"
After Lisa left, Ace carried on his work as usual, pretending as if nothing had happened. However, his curiosity got the best of him and he looked up the forum on his own.
He was completely stunned.
Ace did not expect to find 300, 000 active users on this forum, which placed it in the top five most active groups on the entire website.
He foolishly thought that this was just a small interest group, but it seemed that they were as big as an army. It was no wonder a single live stream was able to put him in the headlines.
Ace continued scrolling down the page, his eyes completely focused on the screen.
[This is so sweet! Just look at them! Look at them!]
[Oh my god, my precious little Joanna is looking at that bastard with such loving eyes!]
[They're definitely the opposites attract trope! The cold tsundere CEO, Ace Moran, loves his wife just as much as she does!]
The forum was incredibly active, and new threads containing old stories, photos, and theories would pop up every few minutes, all revolving around Ace and Joanna's relationship.
This was the first time Ace realized that he actually had this many pictures with Joanna. Moreover, he noticed just how deeply in love with him she appeared to be.
Out of all the posts, there was one that stood out from the rest with its astonishing amount of likes. It was a piece of fanfiction about them, written by someone with the ID name, 'Everheart'.
[Their first meeting was on a summer evening, as rain poured heavily from the skies. Everyone was busy finding shelter when their gazes met…]
Ace was intrigued. He was about to give it a good read when he was met with a 404 error message after clicking on the post. It seemed that the post had been deleted.
"Damn it!" He cursed under his breath, obviously wishing that he could've seen just a little more about the story.
However, he finally understood why there were so many active members within the forum. Their authors were just too imaginative and skilled in their writing. The moment you entered this fanbase, it was near impossible to get out.
Ace did his best to keep cool as he clicked away from the page. He was worried he himself would become a fan of his relationship with Joanna if he continued reading on.
It wasn't long before nighttime descended upon the city. Although Ace had worked productively the entire day, he felt an emptiness in his heart.
After pointlessly scrolling through his phone in the quiet office, Ace stared off into space, seemingly deep in thought.
At the same time, Joanna was reading a book on parenting when her phone suddenly rang. Picking it up from her couch, she realized that it was a call from Ace.
"I'll be waiting for you at Rose Quartz Eatery," the voice said coldly before hanging up abruptly, i
Listening to the dial tone, Joanna was dumbfounded. "What's his deal?"
This man had never called her during the entirety of their marriage, he'd merely do it through his assistant, Jack, and only if it was necessary.
'Well, tonight's a first.'
If this was before, she would've squealed with excitement while hugging her phone to her chest. Then, she'd do her makeup and dress nicely to meet him.
Now… she just thought of it as a scam call. She just wanted to dismiss it as soon as she could.
After finishing her book, Joanna proceeded to watch a documentary, then played around with some codes.
Soon, it was 10 PM, and she intended to put on a facial mask before heading to bed.
"Are you here yet? I've been waiting for more than two hours." Ace sounded like he was about to explode from rage.
Joanna was speechless. 'Is he okay in the brain?'
'I didn't make him wait. Why would he wait for more than two hours anyway? Isn't he a CEO? When did he get the luxury to wait for others?'
"Come here, I have something to tell you!" Ace said before hanging up once more.
"Ugh! He's just so…!" Joanna groaned, not knowing what his deal was.
'How did I not realize that my prince charming has a few screws loose before? He's being so childish right now!'
She first decided to ignore the man, but as the clock continued ticking, she couldn't help but imagine him waiting in a cold, empty restaurant all alone.
She felt bad.
'Oh whatever, I'll just go check it out. The restaurant's just a mile away anyway.'
With that, Joanna headed out in her cartoonish pajamas without any makeup nor hairdo.
It was already 10:30 PM. The restaurant was empty, except for the seat by the window. There was a handsome man sitting at the table, all alone.
He was currently looking out the window with eyes filled with melancholy. Watching him from afar, Joanna felt her heart skip a beat. 'Damn, just look at this man. Handsome… Elegant… What a shame that he's a jerk.'
Taking a deep breath, the woman approached Ace.
"What do you want, future ex-husband? Why'd you have to call me up at such a late hour?"
Ace turned around and looked her up and down. "Wearing pajamas to meet me? You sure let yourself go."
"You're going to be my ex-husband anyway, why would I have to restrict myself?" Joanna sat down nonchalantly, making fun of herself. "Besides, I couldn't make you stay even when I was on my best behavior. Why would I ever do something so pointless now?" "So you really did love me?" Ace asked, his gaze focused entirely on Joanna's face.