Angela and Gael went to bed that night separately and alone in their respective beds. While she lay in bed, she remembered every detail of their romantic rendezvous out in the wilderness under the oak tree in broad daylight. The spikes and dewiness of the grass, the smell of nature, the heat of the sun, and the intoxicating scent of all of him.
There was a chance someone could've seen them if they ventured out in that clearing in the middle of the vast forest. But she didn't care. At that moment, it was only Gael and her and no one else. He'd stripped her entirely naked and ravaged her as if he hadn't eaten that morning before removing his own clothes and entering her.
Angela had never done anything like that before, and neither had he. She anticipated there would be more similar occurrences in the future. Gael told her he would make her experience everything. "We'll do everything together. Experience new firsts together," he'd said.
The thrill of having sex with the man she loved that afternoon in the clearing undid her. She forgot about her nightmare, and she believed when he said that their reality at that moment was indeed so much better.
It wasn't lost on her that he'd told her the exact opposite one time—back when they weren't together—back when their beginning was more complicated because he was so hot and cold towards her. She felt so warm all over as if he'd wrapped his entire being around her and swallowed her whole. Her stomach fluttered when she realized that something had changed between them. She felt closer to him than she ever was.
It killed her not to sleep next to him again that night. But she wasn't lying when she told him she liked the idea of them missing each other from time to time. It made seeing him in the morning all the sweeter. It made her look forward to tomorrow—something that came to her so seldom in the past.
With the sweet thoughts of them together the whole day, Angela fell asleep. That night, she was dreamless.
***
Gael and Angela had breakfast together at eight in the morning the following day—an hour later than her father and brother who had already left for work. And right after eating, Nina picked her up, saying they were going on a lunch date—he wasn't invited, apparently. That sucked.
He didn't care much about social activities but not going out with Angela annoyed him. She pacified him, saying, "I'll be back before you know it." She told him she had to do a bunch of girl stuff with her best friend in preparation for tonight, and she didn't want him to get bored.
But he was still fucking bored out of his mind in the mansion. He was tempted to snoop around her bedroom.
Gael threw himself to work for hours in the library that he thought by the time he finished, it would be late in the afternoon, and Angela would be back. However, it was only half past one in the afternoon when he got out of the library, and she was far from done with whatever girl shit she was doing with Nina.
He assumed they went to have their hair and nails done, possibly a spa or a massage—something that Angela had wanted for a while now. He could've gone with her; he wanted to go with her. Heck—he could've given her a massage himself.
Time seemed so slow when she was away.
Gael left the mansion at 2 p.m., and it was already six when he came back—just an hour before the party started. At precisely seven in the evening, guests began arriving, parking their luxury cars in front of the mansion and entering the house, wearing long gowns, cocktails, and custom-tailored suits. He, too, wore a Bespoke suit that he retrieved from the storage unit that contained all of his stuff from the house he just sold.
At first, he stood by the bar to wait for Angela's arrival but instead, Charlie called him over by the front door and made him stand with him and Oliver to welcome the guests—as if he also lived there. The two introduced him to Angela's relatives, some of them he had already met last Christmas and others he'd seen from afar.
Her Aunt Linda came with her husband and daughter, Lyra. Both women looked up and down his body as if he needed their approval before they strolled towards the ballroom. Then Angela's shameless Aunt Colette arrived and kissed both his cheeks, happy to see him again. Gael admitted that the woman grew on him. The party became livelier when she joined the others.
Some business partners of the Sus also came. And Gael spotted a few men whom Angela went on a date with back when her father arranged them for her—even Jas DICKens was there. The latter glared at him but didn't say anything.
"I hate that guy," Oliver muttered under his breath.
"He's a douchebag," Gael agreed.
At last, Angela arrived fashionably late. Nina's car stopped at the front steps. Before a valet staff reached the passenger's door to help her out, Gael had already stalked towards the vehicle and opened Angela's door.
He helped her out, and his eyes roamed all over her.
Angela Su was breathtaking.
She had done something to her hair as it appeared darker on her head. She had dyed it back to her natural color, which was dark brown; it was almost black. Her hair was tied into a loose bun with soft locks of hair loose on the sides of her face, a pair of pearl earrings peeking between the curtain of strands of hair. The long-sleeved satin wrap dress the color of champagne dipped into a low V down her chest, exposing her creamy skin and the swell of her breasts.
The gown she wore was unpretentious. It fit her so well; she didn't need gaudy dresses or flashy colors for people to notice her, unlike her aunts and cousins inside the house. Most celebrations he attended, the hosts always wore something outrageous, but Angela didn't. She chose to wear a beautiful neutral-colored satin gown that flowed smoothly around her like she was a goddess. And he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid his eyes on.
Gael sighed at the sight of her. "You're stunning."
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You look dashing—as always."
There was great pride in him as he walked inside the house with Angela next to him, their arms linked together.
He reluctantly parted with her for the first half of the party as she made her rounds to say hello to the guests while he got stuck talking business with Lyra's fiancé, Josh. The man was so stoked that Gael's oil company was expected to enter Esmea in a couple of months, hopefully with no more delay. Charlie and Oliver also introduced him to some of Su Corp's business partners who were too eager to sidle up to him, having envisioned that Gael would be joining the Su family in the future.
As much as he found hobnobbing with the new people tedious, the prospect of being with Angela in the future helped him get through the night. What he really wanted was to have her next to him until the evening ended.
After dinner, when the dancing and chatter continued, Gael decided he couldn't wait until the party was over to give her something he thought would help ease her insecurity—at least, he hoped it would. He had never done this before. He never thought he'd even do it. If someone had told him his plans for tonight several months ago, he would think he had gone crazy.
And maybe he was.
And maybe that was why his heart was frantic inside his ribcage.
Gael took her hand and brought her outside of the ballroom, through one of the side doors that led to a balcony that's overlooking the quiet lake behind the mansion. A jazz rendition of "Take Care" by Drake was muffled when the door closed behind them.
~'Cause if you let me, here's what I'll do. I'll take care of you.~
Angela let out a sigh as she leaned against the railing. Her eyes slowly swept the view before her, warm lights from the posts sparkling in the reflection in her eyes.
Gael slid his arms around her waist, the smooth satin so luxurious against his hands. "I have something for you," he whispered in her ear, his lips grazing the shell causing her to shiver.
"You got me a gift?" She turned around, smiling.
"Yeah… But there's something else." He swallowed.
Angela watched as he took out a black leather-bound notebook from his suit jacket. She was confused about what it was, and when she looked into his eyes, that's when she noticed that he had lowered his guard down. A mixture of vulnerability and certainty bared in his eyes.
"What is this?"
Gael took a deep breath, gripping the notebook one last time before he let go of it so she could hold it in her hand. "It's my ledger. Everything you want to know about my world. Everything I've done.. This is all of me, Angel."
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