Hillberry Isle

The intimate wedding was held on one of the island's resorts. There weren't many guests because the Chos made sure only to invite the family and very close friends, wanting to keep their privacy—something that the couple valued a lot. So Gael was sure that whoever was in the reception was either a friend or a family.

Except for one beautiful woman who was sitting by herself at the bar, sipping on a mudslide.

She looked out of place, not because she didn't look like she belonged here—heck, her dress looked fancy and she dressed to kill—but because she seemed like she didn't want to be here. Her back faced the stage where the newlyweds, along with the guests, were dancing. And this woman didn't care to watch.

Not like he wanted to watch. What's there to like? When all he could see was Samantha Kim's neverending smile whenever she looked at her husband. They looked happy, and he still couldn't get what's bugging him whenever he thought about her and Daniel.

And then there's Becca, who felt the need to be all cupid and became his impromptu wing woman. His thigh throbbed at the memory of when she stabbed his leg. Women. If they don't cry, they stab you. He swore he'd never find another Becca. She's great and all—but he would never date another one like her.

Now, here's Angela. That's what she said her name was when she extended her hand out for a shake. Gael gave it a brief squeeze and holy shît—her hand was as smooth as silk.

It had been a while since the last time he met a woman outside of his world—someone who wasn't associated with his family or his family's business in any way. Angela was too innocent. Even her name sounded like she ate prayers for breakfast.

But there was nothing innocent in her black dress. It showed skin through the slit when she crossed her legs—it was the same on her top. However, she didn't look promiscuous in a way that left a bad taste. She was attractive and subtly alluring. It wouldn't hurt to sit with her.

"You a friend of the groom or the bride?" Gael asked as he sat on the stool next to her with his back facing the bar, and his body was angled towards the stage.

"What?" she probed.

The speaker was a few meters away from them, and so he had to lean towards her so she could hear him clearly. "I don't think you're a family of the Chos or the Kims. So I'm asking... Whose friend are you?"

"Oh… Neither," she answered. When she saw him knit his brows together, she laughed.

Her laugh was charming, and so was her smile.

Angela slightly swiveled her chair to the side, glancing at the newlyweds as she clarified, "My brother brought me here. So I'm just crashing the party. What about you? Are you a friend of the groom?"

He stared at her, his expression unreadable when she added, "I'm asking because you don't look like a Cho or a Kim. So you must be the groom's friend?"

Gael's lip twitched when he darted his gaze at Daniel Cho across the garden. Friend. He scoffed at the idea of him being buddies with the man. And then he looked at Samantha. He couldn't call himself her friend either. Taking a long swig of his whiskey, he muttered in a low voice, "Mm. Something like that."

What was he supposed to say? It was too complicated to explain to an outsider.

"Looks like I'm not the only lost lamb in this party," she said before taking a sip of her drink, licking the whipped cream and chocolate syrup from her cocktail with her straw.

He never understood when women drink sweet stuff with liquor. It's like cheating to get drunk. One wouldn't notice they had one too many drinks if they only kept drinking this kind of stuff.

"So why are you here? You could leave if you don't want to be here." He cocked a brow in question.

"We're on an island, and the next resort's too far—plus my overprotective brother wants to keep an eye on me. I don't really have much of a choice. I'll just stick to drinking whatever I can get my hands on tonight."

"I see… If this were any other day, I would have said I'd pay for your drinks. But it's an open bar, so knock yourself out. I'd probably do the same thing anyway," he stated before pulling his gaze back to the crowd in front.

"Well then, cheers to that." Angela raised her mudslide towards him. "To getting drunk and not pay a single cent."

Gael let out a chuckle, clinking his glass of whiskey with her cocktail. "The married couple is rich. I'm sure they won't mind if we empty this bar."

This woman was effortlessly likable. She had this radiance around her that drew him in. He felt as though he didn't have to put his guard up with her. But because of this, he wondered if she would act the same if she knew what kind of person he was. He doubted she would smile at him like she's doing now.

'Careful, Angel… You don't want to get entangled with me. I'm bad for you,' he spoke in his head.

He looked at her while she stared at her own drink, playing with the straw and the whipped cream. She was quiet and they didn't speak for a minute or two but the air wasn't awkward at all. It was comfortable even.

Weird. Gael never felt like this with any other woman. Not thinking much of it, he turned his gaze back to the stage.

"Do you like the bride or something?" Angela questioned, a small smile dancing on her face as she arched her brow, her lips kissing the paper straw as she trapped it between her teeth.

A crease formed when he furrowed his brows. "What?"

"You've been looking at her from time to time. You seemed like you weren't sure whether you're a friend of either of them. So… Maybe you're a wedding crasher… or… I don't know. I'm just curious." She shrugged.

Gael's stare landed on Samantha again—a beautiful woman inside and out, and she was in the arms of Daniel Cho. It took him a while to respond as he contemplated things. And when he had gathered his thoughts, he told Angela, "Samantha's not hard to like. She's... something else…"

"Tell me about it. Even my brother liked her back then." She rolled her eyes when she recalled something in the past. "But?" Angela turned to face Gael. "I feel that there's a 'but' in there somewhere."

He took a deep breath as he swiveled around and faced the bar, flagging down the bartender for a refill. "I like her… But I realized that I don't like her like that. I guess I'm just... envious."

His feelings became more apparent to him the moment he said the words. He was confused at first and had a hard time understanding what it was, but now it made sense. He was indeed envious of what he couldn't have—something that Samantha and Daniel found in each other.

Gael chuckled. He couldn't believe that he just told a stranger something that he usually kept to himself.

Glancing at Angela, he saw her quickly delete a long text message from her phone. She kept her expression straight, yet he was sure that she was furious at something—what with the way she was clenching her hand just now.

However, a charming smile ghosted her face when she looked at him and met his stare. "It's a party, Gael. How about we leave our skeletons locked up in the closet and enjoy the night?"

He didn't mind that at all. Pretty sure she couldn't handle his skeletons anyway. "I'd drink to that." He smiled back.

Slapping the counter, Angela called the bartender over and muttered, "I'm gonna need a harder drink."