A vehicle stopped a few feet away from where Gael and Angela stood. Oliver and Chairman Su came out, both looking regal in their formal suits. They glanced over to the pair, her father giving Gael a curious look. His eyes pierced as if he questioned, 'Who the hell is this asshole talking to my daughter?'

Vincent appeared from the side, quickly pocketing his phone before he greeted Chairman Su. The two conversed cheerfully with smiles on their faces as if they were old friends. Gael could see the approval in the older man's eyes.

It might be stupid, but he wanted her father to look at him like that too.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver questioned as he walked to them, his eyes narrowing at Gael.

"Hey, Oli." Angela greeted her brother with a peck on the cheek.

Raindrops suddenly fell from the sky, and Chairman Su told everyone to get inside the restaurant first. The three men strode away, but Angela refused to move, her eyes trained on Gael.

"What are you really doing here, Gael?" She opened her mouth to speak more, but Gael turned her around, his large hands curving on her shoulders as he walked her into the restaurant's lobby.

"Let's take shelter first. You'll get sick," he told her.

Her family and Rock were nowhere in sight when they entered. They stood at the reception area, brushing off the droplets of water on the sleeves of their coats. He took out his handkerchief, stepped in her space, and gently wiped her head dry. His movements were natural as if he'd done this a million times.

He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, his thumb grazing her cheek, her jaw, and the side of her neck. "I'm not here to fight. I came to apologize. I was out of line. I shouldn't have left like that." Gael lowered his hand to her elbow and looked at her in the eye, holding her gaze. "I'm sorry."

There was no more trace of anger in her, but he recognized the pain hidden in her eyes. There was something different about the way she was looking at him this time—fear, longing, anger. And it crushed him when she asked, "Am I really a disappointment that you'd rather want your dream...than me?"

Her question felt like a brick had been slammed in his chest. He slid his hands to her shoulders and lowered his head to her level. "No. That's not true. You're never a disappointment—"

"Ms. Su?" A man in a grey suit with a tag on his left that said 'Manager' interrupted them, informing her that dinner was ready.

She looked away, ready to leave. "I need to go inside."

But Gael wasn't ready to let her go yet. They hadn't had the chance to talk. He wished to take her away far from here. Bring her someplace where it was only the two of them—back to his house. To his bed.

But he didn't.

His chest heaved as if he'd been running a marathon. Rock was inside and Gael didn't want her to go there, his jaw ticking at the thought. "Your father seems to like him. It won't be hard to convince him that you two are dating," he said bitterly, his voice nearly toneless.

It didn't take her long to understand what he meant. She backed away, putting some distance between them. Confusion painted on her face. "You think I brought Vincent here to introduce him to my father as my boyfriend?"

"Isn't that why he's here?" he asked matter-of-factly.

Angela furrowed her brows, shook her head, and folded her arms across her chest. "No, Gael. When we were having breakfast, Dad thought he should invite him to dinner to thank him for helping me with the foundation—and also to congratulate him on his new project. That's the reason why we have this dinner. I told my father it wasn't necessary and that things with the foundation weren't even finalized yet, but he insisted. Vincent and I are just friends; I already told him that too. Then he talked about my dates—said that I should bring one over for the family party next weekend. You texted, and suddenly I blurted I was already seeing someone."

She breathed. "Maybe—maybe he'd stop setting up dates for me. I don't know. He asked who I was dating, and I couldn't say anything because I wasn't really. And it was stupid. I even said I'd bring him over tonight. But now, I'm just gonna walk in there and tell him that man—who doesn't exist—was too busy to come tonight. I'm nervous. I'm angry. And I'm rambling." She huffed, her glare shooting daggers at him.

Gael dipped his stare at her lips. God, he wanted to shut her up and kiss her, but she was too pretty to stop her from her outburst. Her nose flared, her chest rose, and the seconds ticked by. He kept his lips to himself, and they stared at each other without talking. She said she was seeing someone after he texted her. 'Did she think about me?'

"Ms. Angela? Your father is waiting for you and your date," this came from another man in a suit who came out of the vehicle with Chairman Su—probably the latter's assistant.

"Date?" Gael cocked a brow at her. Did he miss anyone? He quickly scanned the lobby and did not find anyone else. "If Rock isn't here for that...then who are you gonna introduce to your father?"

Angela's brows relaxed. She averted her gaze for a second, looked at him, looked somewhere at the end of the hallway, and then back at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. And then he was drawn to her lips again when her upper teeth tugged on her bottom lip. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"You." She took his hand and threaded her fingers with his.

It took Gael half a second to realize what was happening when Angela was already tugging him down the hall. His feet automatically carried him towards wherever she was bringing him. They stopped in front of the door of what seemed like a private dining room.

"Wait." He hooked her chin with his fingers, turning her head so she faced him, and looked at her intently. "Angel. Are you sure?"

She shook her head. "No. But I wanna do it anyway."