New York — a few minutes ago

Along the Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, Gael exited a bridal shop with Lauretta behind him. This was the third high-end store they've visited today in the last few hours. The Fifth Avenue was known as Millionaire's Row where New York's best shopping street and most expensive retail spaces are located.

The dresses that Lauretta liked ranged from six thousand to twelve thousand dollars. She surely adored luxury and designer brands. He didn't comment on anything and barely even said a word to her since she arrived. When she asked him how she looked after trying out a dress, he'd told her, "If you like it, buy it."

At one point, she said something to the staff which hinted that he would pay for her chosen gown. 'Like hell I would!' he thought. It wasn't that he couldn't afford it; he'd buy the whole store if he wanted to. But no way would he buy her a dress. Besides, what was she going to do with it when there wouldn't be any wedding?

With that in mind, he almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

He checked the time on his watch. It was two in the afternoon. When he woke up this morning, one of his men picked him from his house as they had to fetch Lauretta at the airport. She came alone; no other Morellis in sight.

He'd wanted to contact Angela, but he thought it was best to call her afterward instead. Telling her where he was or what he was doing, knowing that he was with Lauretta, he knew she'd feel uncomfortable. So Gael wanted to finish this early and be done for the day.

While waiting for the car, they stood outside the bridal shop. He was browsing through his emails on his phone when Lauretta suddenly hooked her arm with his and said, "Smile!" He raised his head and saw her taking photos of them. Feeling annoyed, he wordlessly retracted away from her and walked towards the curb. The car was taking too long. Today was so frustratingly slow.

A few minutes later, he began to feel exasperated as the car still wasn't there. His phone buzzed, and the notification at the top of his screen showed that Angela had sent him a message. Warmth spread in his chest as he tapped on the screen, hoping to see a text from her that would lighten up his mood. However, what he saw only enraged him. It was a screenshot of what looked like Angela's private message, and Lauretta sent her a photo she posted on her social media account.

Without thinking twice, Gael immediately called Angela, but she didn't answer. Turning around, his face hardened, and his voice was cold when he snapped at Lauretta, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Lauretta flinched at his tone. She brought her hand that was holding her phone to her chest and snapped back, "What!"

"Who the fûck said you can post that photo and you even fabricated a story?"

As if realization dawned on her, a wicked smile cast on her face and she folded her arms under her chest. "What a bitch. Did she report it to you already? How pathe—"

"Say that one more time about her, and you'll regret it. I don't care if you're a woman!"

"What are you so mad about? It's just a picture! And it's not like I'm lying. You are my fiancé!"

Pain traveled from the base of his skull to his temple, and the vein on his neck twitched. He briefly shut his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze became icy. "Give me your phone."

"No!"

"Hand it over, or I'll force it out of you and smash it on the ground."

Seething with anger, Lauretta's face contorted and her nose flared as she harshly held her phone towards him. Gael swiped it off her hand.

The phone was unlocked, and Instagram was opened. If his sister hadn't taught him how to use the damn application, it would've probably taken him time to navigate through it. He found the post she just made which already garnered hundreds of likes and comments. Without hesitating, he deleted the post. Then, he went to the phone's gallery and checked the camera roll where he found several photos she had taken earlier today. He cursed in Italian as he selected the ones where he was in the frame and deleted those as well, and emptied the bin folder.

Lauretta gasped when she saw what he did. "How could you!"

Giving back her phone, Gael warned her, "Don't ever take a photo of me without my permission again."

She gripped her phone tightly, seemingly afraid of his warning but also trying to look unperturbed. "Or what?"

Tilting his head to the side, a glint shone in his eyes. He looked like he could kill with just a stare. "Test me, and you'll see."

Just then, a car parked next to them, and the driver opened the backseat. Lauretta swallowed as she cautiously stepped away from Gael and then got inside the car. She scooted to the leftmost side and waited for him to get in. However, Gael remained outside.

"Send her to the hotel," he ordered the driver.

"What? But I still want to visit more shops," said Lauretta.

Gael did not look at her and kept his stare at the driver. "Drive her to the stores and then send her to the hotel."

"Gael! You can't make me go alone. You have to come with me!"

He shot her a glare. This woman was so thick-skinned. 'Who does she think she is?' he thought. "No. I'm done for the day. I have work to do." He nodded at the driver, turned around, and walked away. The car sped off into the traffic.

There was technically no work. Giovanni was at The Phantom Club, and he could take the day off if he wanted to. But Gael had to get away from that woman. As Gael walked along the sidewalk, he considered going to his club, so he flagged a cab and got in it.

Staring at his phone screen, he was anxious to call Angela again. She'd only sent him that screenshot and didn't even say anything. Was she mad? Of course, she was. Why wouldn't she be? He clenched and unclenched his hand while he stared at her phone number. It took him fifteen minutes before he finally called her again.

His first call was ignored, so he tried again. Ignored. And then another. This time, he was about to give up when the ringing stopped, and he heard her voice on the other line.

"Angel…" he muttered as he straightened on his seat.

"Yeah… Hi…"

He let out a long sigh of relief when he noticed that there was no hostility in her voice. "Sorry about that. She took the photo without asking, and I didn't know she would make it public like that. I deleted her post already."

"It's not why I sent you the screenshot. I didn't ask you to delete it."

His brows drew together. "Would you have wanted it to stay up?"

"No!"

"Good, because I hated it."

There was silence on the other line before Angela spoke again in a gentle tone, "Me too… Thank you."