"Why wasn't I invited to this secret party?" Daniel playfully complained as he joined Gael who was with his two children.

"Daddy!" Ashton jumped into his father's arms. Sianna watched her brother and father, looking like she wanted to be carried by Daniel as well, but then she curled her little arms around Gael's neck, feeling comfortable for now.

Daniel wiped Ashton's sweaty forehead and then bopped Sianna's nose. "What are you guys doing over here? You bothering your Uncle Gael again?"

"Nah, they'd never bother me," Gael clarified. "But you could have come sooner." He lightly sighed. If his friend came earlier, Ashton probably wouldn't have said what he said. Now, what was he supposed to do? Angela looked like she was mad when she left. She even said she would turn him into a frog.

"Dad, what's a wingman?" Ashton wondered, his face looking very innocent.

Daniel peered at Gael, his brows knitting together. "Why? Where'd you hear that from?"

"Uncle Gael said I'm his wingman. I threw him in front of the bus, but he's heavy, and I didn't do that."

"Princess Angela a witch," chimed in Sianna.

Daniel exchanged looks with his friend, unsure what he was supposed to do with this information. "What have you been teaching my kids?"

"I didn't teach them anything, okay? They're too smart to remember the bedtime story I told them three months ago." Gael shook his head. He didn't know whether he was proud that the kids were smart or that they were annoying because they remembered that little thing. "And it's throwing under the bus, not in front, buddy." He poked Ashton's tummy, which made the little boy giggle.

"Princess Angela? A witch?" Daniel questioned, his voice sounding toneless like it was the calm before the storm.

"Handsome prince!" Sianna exclaimed.

Ashton's little hands held his father's cheeks and told him, "Prince Gael and witch Angela!" When his father cocked a brow as if asking him to continue, the little boy added, "The witch did very bad stuff, and Prince Gael will punish her!"

"Oh, will he now?" Daniel dragged his amused gaze towards Gael, who cleared his throat and casually played with Sianna's dress. "What else happened?"

"Uncle Gael didn't finish the story yet. He said I asked too many questions."

This made Daniel laugh. Patting Gael's shoulder with a heavy hand—partly out of little warning for spewing stuff on his kids—then he teased, "Oh, I can't wait until you have your own kids. The things I will teach them…"

The warning in his tone made Gael feel both excited to have his own little ones in the future. But at the same time, he felt a bit scared with Daniel's threatening promise.

"Uncle Oliver!" Ashton beamed upon seeing Angela's brother and father joining their little circle.

Oliver received the little boy in his arms, then proceeded to give him tickles like he always did.

Seeing her brother out of her father's arms, Sianna immediately reached out to Daniel and clung to his neck.

After pleasantries were exchanged, Chairman Su placed a hand on Gael's shoulder and addressed Daniel. "When I found out that you two were friends, that was the only thing I needed to hear to know he's vouched for."

"I'm sorry?" Daniel's brows drew up, not understanding what Chairman Su was implying.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Oliver probed, then he said in the flattest tone—almost as if he wasn't excited in the information he was about to share, "He's dating my sister."

Daniel and Gael exchanged glances. Then the former smirked as he said, "I see. Can't say I'm surprised."

***

Meanwhile, Angela joined the girls in the kitchen where Samantha, Hannah, and Becca talked about their plans for their kids' school the next year. They were all older than her by a few years, but they were the only women she knew at the party, so it was either here or with Gael who branded her as a witch.

"Why is that bimbo glaring at you?" Hannah wondered, sipping a frosty cocktail in hand while looking across the room. "I'm not sorry I called her that. I don't like her."

Samantha and Becca chuckled. Hannah always meant what she says—it didn't matter if the woman in question was a relative to their husbands.

"Gael told me she came onto him before I arrived. Who is she anyway?" Angela asked, glancing at the one who was giving her the stares since earlier.

"That's Tracy," Samantha answered. "She's currently staying with Daniel's parents. We're not close either as I've only met her twice. She's the daughter of my mother-in-law's cousin. She travels a lot."

"Yeah. Travels from one man to another." Hannah rolled her eyes.

"She's salty because Tracy flirted with Hannah's husband the first time we met her a couple of years ago," clarified Becca.

"So… You and Gael seemed to be...closer," Samantha remarked, diverting the topic as she took a sip of champagne in her hand. "You two actually look great together."

"Right?" Becca agreed. "I know it's weird coming from me, but I think it's the first time I'm seeing him look at someone like that."

"What are you talking about? You were his ex," Hannah commented what Angela had been thinking.

Becca waved her hand as if dismissing the thought. "That was eons ago. But he never looked at me like that. Sure Gael was sweet and a gentleman before everything went down between us, but I only experienced whatever that is in his eyes—while he looks at you—from my husband." She smiled. "That's how I knew my husband loves me."

Angela snorted. "No way." She shook her head. "That's too far-fetched for me," she said, but the dragons in her stomach were already having a party.

The four of them observed Gael, catching him gazing at Angela as if she was the only woman in the room. His stare was neither suggestive nor suspicious, but it was definitely making Angela feel conscious about herself.

"I don't know the guy enough, but I always saw him as someone so dangerous. Don't you feel, I don't know, scared when you talk to him?" Hannah probed.

Contemplating, Angela leaned against the kitchen island, returning Gael's intense stare with her own. "I'm not sure. It's like I know he is, yet I can't help but be drawn to him. He's actually a great guy—funny too, and his family in New York is just so thoughtful and lovable—"

"Funny?" Samantha's brow arched. She and Becca exchanged looks as if they were confused. "Are we talking about the same guy? We meant Gael De Luca, okay? That guy in a navy blue shirt next to my husband?"

Angela found the other's response strange, but she nodded anyway. "Yeah, that Gael. I mean, he's not a clown, but we joke around..."

There was silence in the group as the other three glanced between Angela and Gael as if they were trying to imagine something close to impossible.

"Is that strange?" Angela asked.

Becca folded her arms under her chest, looking curious and fascinated at the same time. "Girl, you're indeed special. I hadn't met his family in New York. Also, we can't put Gael and funny in the same category. We don't know what that looks like. It's weird. He makes you laugh?"

Angela nodded, already wondering if she was the strange one in the group or she was just lucky to see that side of Gael when the others knew him longer than she did. "It's usually just some random stuff…" She smiled when she remembered the times he made her laugh.

"Ooh… She's blushing. You're definitely falling for him. You'd make a great couple," said Samantha. "I already knew it the first time I saw you guys together at my wedding three years ago."

"Even after knowing who he is, girl, you're ballsy," Becca complimented, popping a creamy three-cheese bruschetta into her mouth. "Tipping my hat off to you."

What could Angela respond to that? She and Gael had been complicated since the start. Hearing the girls' sentiments made her think about what would happen to their relationship if they progressed. Was she really a brave one, or just stupid?