Gael had arrived at the party not too long ago, and Angela wasn't there yet. He talked to Samantha and Daniel until the latter had to greet someone else who arrived, leaving him alone with his wife who had been giving him the cold shoulder. He hadn't had the chance to talk to Samantha lately, and he thought tonight would be a good time to patch things up. "So, we good?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he glanced at Samantha.

She had a hand on her waist, furrowing her brows at him. She didn't look too mad, but still scary nonetheless. "That was a really shitty move from you—you getting back at her because she wrote that book... From what I've read, she wrote an incredible story which put you and your...kind in a good light. Why'd you had to be an ass? Most men would have been honored."

"I wasn't most men. And I get it. It was shitty move for me to even plan to get my revenge. But what was I supposed to do? All I thought about was protecting my family—"

"Your names weren't even the same. It wasn't like she wrote a documentary and exposed you. I read it and didn't even realize I was reading about you until Becca—never mind, I don't wanna talk about it. That's not even the point." She huffed.

"Fine. I overreacted which caused me to say those things I didn't even mean. Why are you so mad about it? It's not like I did it to you—" He cleared his throat, not daring to finish his sentence when he saw Samantha's deathly glare.

"Oh, you're lucky it wasn't me. I would have castrated you the moment you appeared in front of me, player."

Gael didn't know why but he laughed. Samantha never changed. She was the kind who'd speak her mind and was never afraid of him even from the start. So her blowing off at him like this only showed that she treated him as a family and not a stranger.

She rolled her eyes, seeing him laugh. "Also, I'm a woman. Okay? Even if I wasn't very close to her then, I feel protective. Women have to look out for each other. Everything can be solved with a talk. Revenge is just stupid, and so is playing with a woman's feelings. I thought I taught you right?" She drank the champagne in her hand. "Didn't you learn anything from me?"

"Oh, believe me, I took your words to heart. You're even the reason why I ended up in her book." He shook his head.

"Me?" Samantha's eyes widened, and she placed a hand on her chest. "What the fudge did I have to do with that?"

Gael cocked a brow, looking at her with an 'are you for real?' expression. "It was your wedding, Sam. And you're the one who told me not to repeat the same mistakes. Take a chance, trust someone, and tell the truth, be fûcking honest," he mockingly said, repeating some of the words that she told him the day before her wedding.

"Well, I didn't tell you to tell her you're a mob on the first night, you big dummy!"

He exhaled an exhausted sigh. And when he didn't respond, she added, "Anyway, that's in the past now, and I get that you were drunk, but you really surprised me there. Didn't think you'd slip and admitted that. Also, ghosting her for three months? And us. After leaving us that message, you just disappeared."

"Unfortunate things happened."

"Nothing too unfortunate to let a woman wait for three months. It doesn't matter if you were...recuperating. You could have called—at least texted to inform her. I refuse to believe that you couldn't spare even half a minute to let her know. That's not cool at all, Gael. I've also left in the past—not exactly the same as yours, but I regretted that already. It was a shitty move on my part."

"Alright, alright. It was my fault. I'm sorry for doing your kind—all the women in the world—wrong. I was an asshole. But she and I are… Now… Well...we're…"

"Oh, my god. Are you tongue-tied? Who are you?" Samantha laughed. "Becca told me already. You...are clearly smitten."

Gael shook his head, tossing the club soda and lime back his throat, the bubbles exploding in his tongue. Becca didn't know anything else apart from that one time when she called him to report about the Rock. He didn't have to tell them what's going on between him and Angela now. He looked around, searching for Angela, but she's not there yet.

"Mommy! I have to pee," said Ashton as he pulled on Samantha's fingers. She excused herself and brought her son to the bathroom.

A moment later, a woman came up to him. "Hi, I'm Tracy. I'm a relative of Daniel's. You are?"

He turned his head in the direction of the woman's voice. She had long black hair and fake melon-sized tits that she so proudly shoved towards him, and her hand was extended for a shake. If only she wasn't related to Daniel, he would have ignored her. But he wasn't always an asshole. So he received her hand and lightly shook it. "Gael."

"Nice name. You're friends with the Chos?"

He looked away, searching the crowd again in case Angela arrived and he just missed her. The villa was huge, and there were about fifty people inside the living room. He knew both Samantha and Daniel's immediate families but not the other guests. And this woman, shît. He forgot her name already. And did she just ask a question? "Sorry, what was that?"

She giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I was asking if you were friends with the Chos."

Was that not obvious? What an airhead. What the fûck would he be doing here if he wasn't friends with the host? "Yeah."

"Cool. You know…"

He tuned her out. Gael wasn't interested in whatever she had to say. He checked the time on his watch and took a sip of his drink. Why wasn't Angela here yet? Should he call her?

"...the pool has a nice view. Wanna check it out with me?" she proposed, grazing her fingers on his forearm.

He glanced at her, ready to shut her down, when his attention was immediately drawn to the front door. Angela just came in with her family, and a satisfied smile ghosted his lips. Without excusing himself from the chatty woman, Gael took long strides across the room until he reached her.

He was thankful that Daniel came to welcome Oliver and Chairman Su, giving him the chance to greet Angela first. She saw him coming over, and her eyes sparkled in anticipation. Respectfully placing his hand on the small of her back—you know, because daddy and brother were next to her—he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

Gael met eyes with Chairman Su, and he was obligated to greet the older man, of course. Then he and Oliver exchanged nods.

As soon as he got away from her father, he came to her side again. Then he complimented her, "You look gorgeous." This was a casual get together, and Angela looked lovely in her fluffy black skirt with black tights under it, cream long-sleeved top, and black high heels. She looked good in anything—whether she dressed up in an evening gown or if she just wore a sack.

"Thanks. You look great too, and you smell nice." She smiled, hesitantly leaning into his side. This was the first time they were together like this with other people around after last night, and she wasn't sure what was okay and what was not. They hadn't even defined their relationship yet, so she was a little nervous about how to act with him in public.