New York

"I told you I was gonna call," said Gael as he slumped on the bed.

His room still looked the same as it had been when he was still living here. Whenever he comes to New York, he would always choose to stay in this house. Because despite having to remember that his mother was no longer with him every time, many good memories still outweighed the bad.

The other line went silent that he wondered what happened. Pulling the phone away, he checked the screen only to see that the call was still connected—the caller I.D. said: Angel.

'Why isn't she speaking?' he wondered.

He pressed the phone back to his ear and waited for a few beats, trying to listen, yet all he could hear was the faint sound of what seemed like an AC running in the background.

"Angela, you there?" he probed, his brows slightly furrowing.

"Y-Yeah…" Angela finally answered.

Taking a deep breath, he placed a hand under his head and stared at the ceiling, imagining what she was doing. The curtains softly fluttered, and the moonshine shone on his bare torso. "I thought I lost you," he muttered. 'No, Asshole. You never had her,' he told himself right after.

"You didn't…"

"..."

The way she answered made him think about something else entirely. However, she quickly clarified herself.

"I mean—I'm still here. I just—I didn't expect that you'd really call," she added. Her voice sounded relieved though slightly weak.

Gael scoffed at her words. "What kind of pricks have you dated before—promising to call but not following through?" Shaking his head, he couldn't believe that he was disappointed with men. He had always been a man of his word—everyone around him knew that.

But he wouldn't deny to himself that earlier on the plane, he nearly didn't want to get her phone number. It was a mistake that he knew he was making, but he still did anyway. They should have ended then, yet his selfishness made him act so relentlessly. At this point, he didn't even know why he was calling her when he was certain that this—whatever this was between them—would never work.

Hearing her soft chuckle caused his chest to feel full. It felt like it had been a long time since he had talked to her—when in fact, it had only been three hours.

"You landed?" she asked.

"Mm. Arrived a few minutes ago and went straight home. You got home just fine?"

"Yeah..."

Gael waited for several beats, but Angela didn't say anything else. His brows knitted together, and he couldn't help but worry if she was okay. She had been chatty back on the island, but ever since they were on their way to the airport, she hadn't talked much.

His eyes darted to the clock on the wall and realized that it was already several minutes past three in the morning. "I was gonna call you in the morning, thinking that you may have already been asleep. But I couldn't find my phone charger… And I have an early appointment—"

"Happy birthday," she interrupted.

"You heard that huh?" Slightly taken aback, he pursed his lips into a thin line. "Thanks..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier that it's your birthday tomorrow—I mean today?"

"There's nothing to celebrate. I stopped doing that for years now." Gael took a deep breath. Come to think of it; he could no longer remember the last time that he had celebrated his birthday. He was thirty-three this year, and he already felt old.

A shuffling noise sounded from her line before she said, "If I had known…"

"What would you have done, Angel?" he asked, the corners of his mouth curling into a mischievous grin. He was definitely curious about what she would have done if she knew.

It took her a few seconds until she managed to utter her response. "I don't know. Buy you a gift or something."

"A gift? What kind of gift?"

"Well, what do you want?"

Nothing. He had all the money—enough for one to live for decades. Heck, he had enough money that even his great-grandchildren's children could live comfortably without having to work. So any material things didn't appeal to him anymore.

He thought for a second—just in case he would think of anything, but he came up with nothing. Until…

"The truth," he said. "You've gone back home, and I've left. Still, you haven't told me what I asked you. Do you intend to keep it a secret?"

"Gael…" He heard her let out a sigh. "What's the point? It's not like you're here, so there's no reason for you to even know. Will you just let it go?"

She was right. He wasn't even in Esmea, and he could never stay there. The De Lucas and the rest of the six Italian-American Mafias weren't allowed to settle in that state. That was off-limits because of the Parks—currently headed by Frederick Park, CEO of Park Group, who also runs his underground business. They were allowed to visit, but never reside.

However, Gael was still adamant about knowing. "I wouldn't know the people involved, so you don't have to worry about me snooping for more answers. Just like what you said, I'm not there anyway. So, it shouldn't matter if I knew, right?"

"You're relentless," Angela muttered under her breath.

"So I've been told."

"Fine. I'll tell you the next time I see you. I don't like telling it on the phone, so if you happen to swing by, I might spill."

She was so determined not to tell him anything; it almost gave him a headache. Closing his eyes, he clenched his jaw and told her, "You're so stubborn."

"Yeah. So I've been told."

The two chuckled at her words when she copied him. Then, they began to talk about their plans for the week. And she told him that she wasn't sure what Nina's news was about, but she would be busy for weeks because of the new project. Not wanting to talk more about her, Angela asked Gael about his grandmother. So, he told her stories about his grandma when he was still young, and when his mother was still alive.

He didn't usually have long calls, but this time, he didn't want to end the call at all. Several minutes later, he noticed that Angela had been yawning for a while now.

"You should go to sleep," he said. "I'll call you again tomorrow."

"Mm…" was all she could sound. It was apparent that she was already so tired.

Meanwhile, he was still wide awake. But because he didn't want to keep her up, he had to hang up. "Good night, Angel."

"G'Night…" Angela's voice was so gentle that he had a hard time putting the call down after that last word.

Gael decided to keep his phone pressed to his ear for a little longer, just listening to her breathing. However, his battery died on him, and it ended the call.

Then, a knock on the door caught his attention, and one of his men came inside. "Boss, Giovanni's downstairs."

"Bastard," Gael cursed as he got up from the bed and walked out of the room. "Does he not sleep at all?!"

It looked like his visit to New York wouldn't be so easy this time. Giovanni seeing him at this hour would only mean that he was here for business.