Angela huffed, trying to calm herself down. She was here out of Gael's kindness so despite his teasing, she could only suck it up. Hearing some shuffles here and there, she wondered what he was doing. Then she felt something move to her left, and when she turned to see, a little fluffer met her gaze.

She gasped in surprise, sitting up and pushing the blanket off her. Honey slowly wagged its tail as it sat a foot away from her. It was probably wondering why she was sleeping on its master's bed.

'This is Daddy's bed,' it must be thinking.

"Sorry… I'll take her," said Gael as he made his way towards the bed to pick up Honey.

Angela didn't know why, but for some reason, she felt as if the dog was giving her 'puppy dog eyes'—that or she was imagining things. Whatever it was, she suddenly extended her hand out to stop him and said, "It's okay… The bed is spacious. Honey… Honey can sleep with me."

He straightened up before crossing his arms and tilting his head sideways to question her, "How come she's allowed, and I'm not?"

Angela almost instantly wanted to take back what she said, but she lifted her chin when she insisted, "The bed is enough for two. It'll be too crowded if you stay here too."

He scoffed. A hint of a smile threatened to show, but he was quick to hide it as he patted Honey and muttered something in Italian under his breath. Then he went to lie down on the floor after turning the lights off.

The room was dark apart from the bedside lamp next to her. He didn't even say goodnight to her at all—the room just fell quiet all of a sudden. Lying back on the bed, she stared at the ceiling for what seemed like forever.

Today was so long for her that it felt as if it wouldn't ever end. She didn't know which part of her day was the highlight—the fact that Gael joined her for lunch with a date whom she thought was Honey—who turned out to be his sister. Or maybe when she came home with a throbbing migraine that she puked her guts out and felt awful the whole afternoon. Or perhaps when her pipes burst that she ended up standing practically wet and almost naked in front of him because of the incident—not to mention, she was now in his bed with his dog—and with him just a few feet away.

Letting out a sigh, Angela shifted in bed and turned to her left, her eyes landing at Honey that was curled into a ball and sleeping soundly. She tentatively reached to stroke its head, and then its sleepy eyes fluttered open to look at her. Looking at the adorable dog, she couldn't help but scoff softly.

"Sorry I got jealous of you," she began in a soft and low voice. "But how could I not when you're this pretty?" She smiled. "Goodnight, Honey."

Little did she know, her whisper was loud enough for Gael to hear. He had his eyes closed, yet his other senses were always sharp—an occupational hazard. A small smile formed on his face, but it quickly disappeared as he crossed his arms and tried to get some sleep.

…

Angela twisted and turned, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did. How could she when she knew that Gael was just there on the floor? Checking the time on her phone, she bit her bottom lip when she saw that it was nearly three in the morning. Had she been suffering for hours?

Carefully rolling out of bed, she tiptoed towards the door, passing by Gael on the floor on her way out. The hallway was eerily dark, so she turned on the flashlight on her phone as she descended the stairs to the first floor. There was a faint light in the kitchen and she was thankful that the entire place didn't feel so scary. It was empty, but she didn't feel like it was a haunted place. The structure of the house didn't look new, but it didn't look worn out either, so she wondered if Gael had this place built or did he buy it as is.

Angela got a glass of water and leaned her hips at the counter. She popped a couple of pills and massaged the base of her skull where the pain was. Her migraine wasn't as bad as what she had in the afternoon, but it kept her from sleeping. She could already imagine being like this for a few more days like usual. And it sucked when that happens.

"Can't sleep?"

She flinched when she suddenly heard his familiar voice, but she recovered right away as she watched him grab a bottle of water, leane against the table and faced her.

"Yeah…" she answered briefly, trying not to stare at him. The guy was wearing a black sweatshirt, and the fabric clung to his upper arms and chest muscles. She wasn't about to drool over his physique.

Gael saw the small bottle of pills on the counter next to her water, and he worried, "Does your head hurt that much?"

"A little. I always have trouble falling asleep whenever I get migraines."

"What do you do then?"

"I mostly just read until I fall asleep again." Angela cleared her throat and apologized, "Sorry, I woke you up."

He shook his head—not the least bit bothered that he wasn't sleeping at the moment. "You didn't."

The room was quiet for a few beats, the two of them gazing at each other, having only a one-meter distance between them. Then she questioned, "Why are you really here? In Esmea. Why are you back?"

"I have some business to take care of."

Angela did not like his brief answer. It sounded real, but she could sense that it's also not all of the truth. "So… you just happened to be always where I am in your spare time?"

Gael took steps towards her. "Are you disappointed?"

Her jaw ticked at his question as she asked herself the same. What did she exactly want to hear from him? That she was the only reason that he's back? Yeah, right… Dream on.

With her chaotic mind, she swallowed when he came closer and stood in front of her, his large frame towering over her as he waited for her to answer, but she didn't.

She tried so hard to avert her gaze, looking down on the floor as he inched closer and trapped her in between his arms, and his hands planted on the counter behind her. But the moment he caught her stare, she couldn't look away anymore.

"You don't intimidate me," Angela bravely told him. Her voice was almost a whisper.

"I'm not trying to."

"Then why are you doing this?"

He held her gaze and leaned forward, his eyes leveled with hers as he noted her behavior, "You're… strange."

Her brows slightly drew together at his words, but she didn't respond.

"Why aren't you afraid of me, Angel?" Gael wondered.

He was baffled at how she could still be calm around him. Even after knowing who he truly was… Shouldn't she be throwing a fit and trying to escape? The other times they were together outside were understandable. He figured that she still probably felt somewhat safe because they were in her neighborhood and were in public. But this time was different. She was in his place—alone. And she had every reason to get away or force him to bring her somewhere else.

Contrary to what he expected her to do, Angela placed her hands on his chest and brushed them upward. Her left hand remained on his shoulder while the other slid up to the base of his head as she slowly leaned towards him.

With her lips grazing his ear, she whispered in a raspy voice, "Careful… You might want to stop calling me that. You have no idea how evil my mind can be."