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Mayne City, Esmea

A black Maybach pulled over in front of an apartment building, and then the door to the backseat opened. Vincent got out first, and he helped Angela out. 

"Thanks for the ride, Vincent," she said as they walked towards the entrance.

He nodded and glanced inside the lobby behind her. "No problem. D\'ya need me to walk you up?"

"I\'m okay. Thanks! Call you soon?"

"Sure. Let me know what you\'ve decided. And text me when you\'ve gone inside your place safely."

"Bye, Stone." She smiled.

"Laters, Su."

Vincent signaled for her to go inside while he stood there. She knew he wanted to make sure that she reached her apartment safely, but she didn\'t think he had to walk her to her door. 

Angela rode the elevator up to her floor, and when she got out, she stopped right outside the doors and sent Vincent a text, telling him she had arrived before she called Gael.

She guessed that Gael must have been drinking in his club. She worried that something had happened for him to talk to her like he was upset. Was it something she did or had things gone worse in New York?

However, it seemed as though he was more upset when he heard that Vincent drove her home. It couldn\'t be because of that, right? She\'d told him there was nothing between them. If it\'s because of that, then that sucked. She did not do anything wrong, and there he was, being engaged to another woman. She let out an exhausted sigh at their predicament.

Placing the phone to her ear, she listened to the ringing sound and hoped he answered faster. Gael answered after two rings. 

"You okay?" was his greeting.

"Hi… Yes. I just got off the elevator, and I\'m walking to my door."

"Alone?"

Angela rolled her eyes. "Yes, Gael. Alone."

"Where\'s that Rock?"

"He left. Why? Did you want him to walk me up to my apartment?" 

She heard a huff on the other line, and she could imagine his annoyed face.

Gael spoke in almost a whisper as if he was muttering to himself, "Not inside your apartment, but since he was already there, the least he could have done was make sure you safely arrived on your floor. Stronzo. What kind of man leaves a woman like that?"

Angela chuckled at his irritated tone. It was as if Gael couldn\'t decide whether he should be jealous or mad.

As she walked past Mrs. Robinson\'s door, she heard yelling of what sounded like two men arguing inside just like the other times. The door was closed, so the voices were muffled. She wondered what they fought about all the time. That must be very exhausting.

"The neighbors are fighting again," she whispered to the phone.

"Ignore and get inside your apartment. Lock the door," he said in a toneless voice.

Following Gael\'s advice, she took a deep breath once she was safely inside her place. The door lock chimed, indicating that it\'s locked. "I\'m here," she announced as she took off her shoes and padded into the kitchen to get some water while simultaneously trying to unzip her dress from the back and failing. She only managed to unhook the top part. 

"Good."

Angela bit her bottom lip as she leaned against the counter with a glass in hand and a phone on her ear. "Did you drink?" she wondered.

"Yeah."

"Are you drunk?"

"A little."

This was a nice conversation. She closed her eyes, trying to rack her brain as to why Gael was being so moody. Was he on his period?

Remembering that she found something from the Internet around the time she left the hotel, she thought she should let him know. "So… I saw some gossip online tonight. If by any chance you saw it—I do hope you haven\'t—but if you did, you know that none of that is true."

"About you dating the Rock…" 

He didn\'t ask. He confirmed. Her heart sank to her stomach. "So you did see…"

"I did."

Angela swallowed. So that\'s why Gael\'s acting like this? Of all people, she knew very well how disheartening it feels to see something like that. It hurt when she saw the photo Lauretta sent even though it was done only to provoke her. But she didn\'t intend for Gael to experience what she\'d felt then. She should\'ve been more careful. "Are you mad?"

"Yes."

Crap. She gripped the glass tightly and her brows drew together. "At me?"

Gael sighed over the other line. It sounded like he was on the street with people chatting around him and some cars passing nearby. She guessed that he was outside his club. Who was he with anyway?

"No. At myself. Also at that Rock whose hand was on you."

"You should stop calling him that… He\'s been nice."

"I\'m good with Rock."

Gael was cute when jealous, but also a little frustrating. Angela took a sip of her water and then set the glass on the counter. Because she couldn\'t see Gael at the moment, she could only imagine him sulking in front of her and not smiling. He looked hot when he\'s brooding, but she didn\'t want him to feel bad.

Her heart raced as she pondered ways on how to make this better. "I\'m sorry. I meant what I said before… There\'s nothing between me and him. I hope you still believe that."

"But he did start out as your blind date, didn\'t he? So I can\'t completely take that off my mind just yet."

"There\'s that. Yes. I understand. But I do think he already has someone now, though…"

"He better."

***

The Phantom Empire, New York

Gael had his hand in his pocket as he leaned against the SUV with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath, the smell of New York permeating his nose. He thought this was home, but it smelled nothing like Mayne where Angela was.

"God. I miss you." He let out an exhausted sigh. "I feel like I\'ve said that many times in the past few days now."

"Me too."

"Do you really?" he probed. 

"Are you doubting me?"

No. It felt good to hear her say it. But it wasn\'t enough. He badly needed to be with her. Gael felt as though the longer he stayed in New York and far from Angela, the shittier his days had become.

"I\'m a mess here, Angel. There\'s so much to do, so many things to think about."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." He shook his head even though she couldn\'t see him and then changed the subject. "You called me earlier. Did something happen?"

"Oh, um… It\'s nothing urgent. But—"

Gael arched a brow. "But?" He waited and listened, but all he could hear was some shuffling on the other end of the line.

His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when all of a sudden, the sound of a gunshot banged against his ear. His eyes widened upon hearing Angela gasp loudly and the sound of metal clanging like her phone had dropped. 

"What the hell was that?" he panicked. "Angela?"

No answer. He paled.

"Damn it, Angela! Answer me!" Gael shoved his hand through his hair. "Angela!!!"