Who told Angela it would be easy getting involved with the mafia? Absolutely no one.

She enjoyed writing about the miseries of the characters in her books. Just like in her first work, Falling in Love With the Mafia Prince, Kayla said she couldn't live without Nico, and the two got married—screw the mafia family's plan to have Nico get married to someone else for convenience.

How funny was it that Angela found herself in the same boat as Kayla? In her first book, Nico did everything for his family before he met her. It wasn't love at first sight for the two. However, they also met at a wedding, had a one-night stand, but just a few days later, Nico and Kayla got entangled with each other again. While he fell for her, he began to go against his family's wishes just to be with her. The family didn't approve of her because she didn't bring "benefits" to their business. Therefore the family set up Nico with a daughter from another crime family.

See how ironic this was? It was as if Angela wrote her future. She was almost convinced that she was a clairvoyant, except if she was, she would have avoided the heartbreak and went straight to the happy ending.

But that's just how life is. You think you know everything, and then suddenly, you're being thrown into a curveball. 

Her conversation tonight with Gael didn't last long, but at least they got to talk somehow. There was still a lot to talk about, but that would just have to wait.

She watched the vehicles leaving their estate until she could no longer see their tail lights. Her chest started to burn, and she took a few cleansing breaths to brush the feeling away. "Come on, Honey," she called the little one, and they walked up to her room.

…

Angela placed Honey's soft bed next to hers and set the water bowl next to the dresser. The cute dog just looked up at her as if it was trying to figure her out. Tonight would be the first time that she'd take care of someone else's dog. It was slightly strange for her, but knowing that Honey was Gael's dog, she felt some sense of comfort that she wasn't alone.

It hadn't been that long since Gael left when she washed up and changed into a silk pajama set that he called her.

Confused, she picked up the call. "Did you forget something? Are you back?" She peeked through the window next to her bed, but the driveway was quiet.

"No… I'm still on the road. Why? Did you need me back?"

Silly. Why would she think he'd come back when he had just left? "No… I just…thought… Nevermind. Why did you call?" Angela let go of the curtain, covering the window again. Her butt fell on the bed, and a ball of fur bounced on it. She was surprised to see Honey by her hip, but she didn't have the heart to let her leave.

"What are you doing?"

She reached and lightly petted Honey's head as it laid down, looking sleepy. "I was just getting ready for bed." She imagined Gael nodding during the few seconds of silence before he spoke again.

"Have you opened it?"

Angela knew he was talking about the velvet box. She turned to look at her nightstand where she placed it and then tentatively grabbed it. "Not yet. I'm holding it now."

A long exhale was heard through the receiver. "Open it."

With one hand, she tried and managed to open the velvet box. Inside was a white gold necklace with a beautifully designed angel wings pendant that formed the shape of a heart, the bottom edges of the wings joined at the point. A four-pronged diamond sat at the cleft of the heart, and it sparkled under the light. It was simple and classic, yet also unique and heartwarming that her eyes began to water. Her fingers traced the jewelry, admiring its beauty. She couldn't take her eyes off it. 

"Gael… This is beautiful…" was all that she could say.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes… It's… wings…and a heart… I honestly don't know what to say. I love it. Thank you."

Relief washed over Gael as he exhaled a long sigh. "That's good to hear. I'm glad you do. I meant to give it to you for a while now."

"When did you get this?" She gently lifted the pendant with her fingers as if she was afraid she'd break it if she touched it. The necklace didn't look fragile or anything, but she wanted to be very careful. 

"Before coming back to Esmea."

His answer surprised her. That meant he'd gotten it when he was still in New York. "Why didn't you show it earlier?" she wondered. "You had this with you the whole time?"

"Sort of. I couldn't find the right time. It felt like it was too much to give when we were only starting—not too much for me, I'd give you anything… The price didn't matter. But I thought you'd think it was too much and you wouldn't accept it. I don't...deal with rejections very well."

Her bottom lip curled inwardly, and there was a hint of a smile on her face. "I really like it."

The line was quiet for a few beats until Gael said, "There's something else, though. I've had the necklace for a while, but I've added something just recently."

"Oh?" Angela felt some lines on the back of the pendant, so she flipped it, and her heart raced upon reading the words engraved into it. 

[ I miss you in the tiniest moments, between the seconds. ]

It was the same message she had engraved on his watch. Back then, she thought it was fitting because of her gift to him, and in a way, she did mean it. It was a bold choice of words when they weren't together at that time—she just went with her gut. But Gael added the words on this necklace now, making the message more meaningful.

Angela read the engraving in nearly a whisper and muttered, "You even added that here…"

"Oh, right… Yes, I did."

Her brows drew together in confusion. "This isn't what you meant?"

"Well, yes. I added that too, but there's another one."

"Okay?" she answered hesitantly.

"There's a um…" Gael cleared his throat. "...positioning system installed inside the heart, for um...location referencing." He sounded unsure if he was supposed to say it.

Angela blinked, looked at the necklace in her hand, turned it, and blinked again, uncertain what she was supposed to see, though her heart started palpitating.

"Angel?"

His voice brought her back to earth, and she narrowed her eyes. His choice of words made her scoff. "What? Are you saying there's a tracking device on this—"

"I know how this looks, but I'm not—"

"Why would you do this?" Angela bit out. She clasped the heart necklace despite feeling like it scalded her hand.

"Angel… Just let me finish explaining."

"What is there to explain? You're giving me a gift, but you're also monitoring me?" Her eyes scanned the floor and saw the bowl of water. For a second, she was tempted to chuck it in there.

"It's not on." Gael tried to get his words out to stop her from misunderstanding some more. "It has to be activated manually."

Angela slowly calmed down, but the doubt in her voice was still apparent. "And that makes it okay?"

He sighed, and she could just imagine how he must've looked at the moment. Gael must be feeling frustrated. "Angel… Look, I didn't want to have to do this. But after what happened to us when you saw me at that party the other night, I didn't know if you would talk to me again. I came back to Esmea because I wanted to be there for you. And if you didn't want me around anymore, I'd understand. But I at least wanted you to have the option to call for help if you needed one."

She glanced at the heart and ran her thumb across the wings. He wanted to be there for her, and she wanted to hold on to that.

When she remained quiet, Gael added, "I have the same one in all of my watches so my men will find me. Yours… The diamond. It serves as a button to activate the system. You press it, and it will send a signal directly to me so I'll know where you are."

"It won't turn on unless I press it?"

"Yes."

A few moments of silence passed, and Gael's voice came again. "You still there?"

"Yeah… I just don't know what to do with it." She swallowed.

"It's yours, Angel. You can do whatever you want, but it's there if you need it. Just one press, and I'll come to you." 

Angela took a deep breath, her chest a mixture of heavy pressure and relief. She couldn't tell whether she was thankful for what she just learned or be wary of it. Gael gave her a choice to trust him through the necklace.

A muffled sound in the background came through the receiver before she heard his voice again, "I'm at the Chos now. I'll be heading straight to the airport after. I'll call you in the morning. Good night, Angel."