Angela's Living Room

After taking care of the publication matter, it took almost two hours for Angela and Nina to have a chat where everything was laid down in front of them. Their conversation was emotional that a lot of things ran through Angela's head—it was overwhelming. All the realizations and regrets rushed through her thoughts that she almost wished this day didn't happen.

When the air was silent again, Angela reached to touch the back of Nina's hand as she whispered, "I'm really sorry, Ninz…"

Staring back at her friend, Nina hugged her. "Me too…" She sighed and handed a bottle of water to her friend. "Are you sure you're okay? After… all that?"

Pursing her lips into a thin line, Angela grimaced as she received the bottle. "I'm an idiot, huh?"

"A little bit. But he's a jerk too."

Angela drank some water and pictured Gael in her mind. Even after not hearing from him for a week, she couldn't deny that she was still very much bothered… and worried… and pissed… It was baffling. "He is. He really is."

"Well… forget about him, Anj. You have to move on now. I'll deal with the royalties, so you don't have to think about that anymore."

"How would you even know how to give it to him? He doesn't even—"

"I'll set it aside until I know where to find him or send it to him so that he wouldn't have a chance to reject it. I know someone who knows someone who can find people—whatever. I don't know. I'll think of something. This is a mess, but we'll start from here."

Angela let out a small sigh, lowering her gaze so that she didn't have to look at her friend.

However, as if Nina could see right through her, she asked, "You're not that sad about the book, are you?"

When Angela didn't answer her question, she added, "Have you… actually fallen for this guy?"

Angela's eyes swiftly snapped towards her friend the moment that she heard the question that she dreaded to ask herself. She refused to even think about it. "No," she answered flatly.

She could sense that Nina didn't believe her. Heck—she heard herself and she didn't think she would believe her own voice either.

"Riiight…" Nina drawled, studying her friend's expression. "You're saying 'no', but you don't look like you want to say no."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Okay, let's forget what we just talked about for a second. I want to hear from you honestly." When Angela looked at her as if waiting for what she had to say, Nina probed, "Do you miss him?"

Angela turned away and slumped on the sofa. Her voice was almost a whisper when she answered, "I'd be lying if I say no."

Nina sighed. "Well, I'm not condoning it because as far as I know, he's bad for you. But you clearly miss him, so why don't you call him first? At least then, you'd know what's up with him—"

"Don't you think I have tried?!" Angela's voice rose an octave higher, evidently frustrated at her situation.

"You called him?"

She nodded. "I didn't want to. After all, he was the one who promised. But after not hearing from him for two days, I decided to call. At first, it just kept on ringing, and he didn't answer. I thought… maybe he really was swamped. But couldn't he at least—I don't know, text me or something?!"

"And did you text him again after that day?"

"Of course, I did. Believe me; I thought of all the lame excuses just to send him a message. Look Nin, I know I made mistakes in the past. But you also know I'm not a damsel who just waits like a dummy for her prince to show up." Angela clenched her jaw, and her brows furrowed as she recalled the times that she texted him. Now, she just felt silly.

"I know. You're not a dummy…" Nina smiled apologetically. "It must be frustrating."

Groaning, Angela grabbed the nearby throw pillow and hugged it as she buried her face into it. Her voice was muffled when she bit out, "It's infuriating. You know I hate it when people don't keep their promises. He shouldn't have said that."

"Yeah… You're right. He is an ass."

Her hands clenched the pillow tightly. She raised her head, and her eyes landed at the clock on the wall above the television. 'One hundred and fifty-four,' she thought. 'Damn it. Stop it, Angela.'

Her mind and her heart were in an ongoing battle, and as of now, she honestly didn't know which side she was taking. This was insane. The more she tried hard to get over him, the more her subconscious mind kept on showing her snippets of their time on the island.

"Hey..." Nina placed a hand on her shoulder, calling her friend's attention. "How about we go out tonight?"

"I don't really want to go out…" Angela lazily answered as her body fell sideways on the sofa. She had no energy to do anything and just wanted to do nothing.

"Well, tough luck! You're going with me whether you like it or not." Nina pulled her by the hand until she was on her feet. "Now, go take a shower. We'll have dinner and buy some new clothes for you to wear for the meeting."

"What meeting?" Angela turned her head to the side as she was being pushed by her friend towards her bathroom.

"Have you forgotten already? We have a meeting with the chief of Love Tales in a couple of days. Don't you want to look presentable?"

"Wait—why is there a meeting?" She was confused. "It's stated in the offer that they want all the books as a package deal, putting the first book as the highlight. So, without it, there's a slim chance that they would still continue with their proposal. Nina, they only want the first book, and we both know that's not happening anymore."

Nina knew that already, but she also knew that this opportunity was too good to pass up. "We're not giving up. We'll figure something out later. Let's talk about it during dinner."

A yelp escaped Angela's mouth when Nina turned the shower on, the water splashing on her clothes—she was immediately soaked. "Hey!!!" she protested, yet she could only strip her wet clothes and take a shower.

As soon as her best friend left the bathroom, she exhaled a long sigh, closing her eyes as she let the water fall onto her face and letting it cascade down her body. She calmed herself down, the words of S.C. Lourie giving her courage as she reminded herself with it, "Breathe, Angela. This is just a chapter. Not your whole story."