Monday — December 10

At exactly six in the morning, Angela was already awake—sort of.

She hadn't had much sleep last night—thanks to Gael's words. After telling her that he would be waiting for her downstairs early in the morning and then saying goodnight, he hung up the phone.

He hung up!

She didn't even have the chance to protest and reject. Her heart rammed against her ribcage at the thought of seeing him very early the next day. And this kept her awake until the wee hours of the morning.

What was supposed to be a relaxing night for her, only ended up with her worrying about today. Begrudgingly rolling out of bed and then washing her face, she sighed in front of the mirror when she saw that she had dark circles under her eyes. Ugh!

She quickly changed into her running clothes and checked herself out in the mirror. Today, she wore a light grey hoodie and dark grey workout pants. She let out a small sigh upon seeing her tired face. Maybe she could skip today?

No. Angela slapped her cheeks with both hands to wake herself up. She couldn't skip on her routine or else—if it happens once, it would happen twice, and then thrice, and she would be lazy again. It's got nothing to do with the man who could be waiting for her downstairs. Of course, not.

She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, glad that her hair had already grown. Grabbing a tinted lip balm, she glided it across her lips. At least she didn't look like a corpse now that her lips had a faint pinkish color.

As she headed out the door, Angela's heartbeat began to race. Why was she getting nervous all of a sudden? She was only going to do her usual morning run, just like any other day. She refused to believe that it was all because Gael told her he would be waiting downstairs.

It wasn't as if it was his first time joining her for a run because he had invited himself to her schedule every morning last week. But while she was adamant about ignoring him before, she was low-key giving him permission now... Wait. No. She didn't get to decline because he had already hung up on her last night!

While waiting for the elevator, she noticed that she was tapping her foot as though she wanted to hurry. Angela immediately stopped the movement. She needed to relax. She wasn't in a hurry to see him!

The door opened, and she took her time getting inside and pressing the button. 'That's right. Just move, nice and calm,' she told herself.

It was a quick ride, and she wished that it had lasted longer. However, now that she was about to reach the building's main door, her eyes scanned the front and did not see him anywhere. The only person outside was none other than their doorman, Arthur, whose smile reached his ears as he sipped his take-out coffee.

Ha! Just like what she had thought. He wasn't here. A man of his words? Pft. Gael De Luca—a big liar.

Not that it mattered. She didn't care. Whatever.

"Good morning, Angel."

Gael's smooth voice startled her just as she stepped out of the building. He had been leaning against the wall by the door, a charming smile plastered on his face while he held two take-out cups.

"Cappuccino?" He tilted his head. He wore a white t-shirt and black joggers.

Angela eyed the coffee cup in his outstretched hand. Then her gaze darted to his smiling face. He urged her to take it. She hesitated for a bit before receiving the cup—it immediately warmed up her palm. "Thanks."

He was friggin' smiling. And it wasn't just a simple smile. It was a handsome grin, and she was sure that he knew how ridiculously attractive he looked.

"Anytime," he replied, then took a sip of his drink. "Figured you wanted to start your day with your favorite drink."

Angela began to walk, and he walked alongside her. "I prefer to have it after running. Not before. Otherwise, I can't run."

"Right." Gael only realized this now. How could he miss it? He knew it should have been after the run, not before. He face-palmed himself in his mind. Perhaps he was too excited to see her and give her her favorite drink that he forgot about other stuff. "Duly noted. Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm too tired to run anyway, so I'll just walk this morning." She drank her cappuccino, and the familiar taste was welcomed in her mouth. Mmm… A small smile threatened to show on her face, but she suppressed it by pursing her lips together.

"Did you stay up late last night? Something bothering you?"

'It's not something. It's someone. You. You caused this. How could you just hang up after saying that?' she spoke bravely in her head.

"Nothing. Just… thinking of how to get rid of a character in my book."

Gael's brows furrowed. Why did it feel as if she wasn't really talking about a character in her book?

They crossed the road and headed towards the park. He switched sides when crossing, making sure he was on the side where the cars were coming towards them.

It wasn't until they started walking a path in the park when Angela spoke to him. "Why are you here?"

Gael took the last sip from his drink before he threw the empty cup into a trash can. Then he looked far ahead, and then glanced at her as he responded, "I want to be honest with you."

"Why?" She threw her cup too and continued to walk. "Why now?"

"I want to do it right. I want you to trust me. It's not fair… What I did. So I want to make it up to you."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I'll tell you what you want to know. I'll answer your questions. Maybe not everything—just the things that I'm allowed to tell you." Gael took her hand, and they stopped walking in the middle of the long path. "And I'll do whatever I need to do until you believe that I did not play you, Angel."

A slow whirlpool began to spin inside her, and she caught herself holding her breath when he squeezed her hand gently.

Angela hesitated as she opened her mouth to answer. She looked up at him, silently wishing she was taller so she could at least see his beautiful grey eyes better.

"What if I don't want you to? I'm not interested in… whatever this is between us."

A cocky yet charming grin cast on Gael's face when he saw her swallow. "Then I'll just have to change your mind."