The buzzing of her phone interrupted her thoughts. Angela swiftly checked the notification and saw Lauretta had sent her a direct message from the social media app. When she tapped on it, a photo of Lauretta and Gael loaded on the screen. They were in front of a bridal shop. Lauretta's smile was wide, and Gael, who stood behind her, had a neutral expression.

The photo was a post from Lauretta's page, and she forwarded it to Angela's inbox. The caption read: "Wedding dress shopping with the fiancé. NY is cold today, so we're heading somewhere warm."

Lauretta sent the message without context, but it was obvious what she was trying to do. Angela thought the woman got to her this time. Her pretending to have a call with Gael wasn't nearly as hurtful as seeing them actually together right now.

She gripped her phone tightly until her knuckles turned white.

"Is that her? Why would she send that?" Samantha asked when she peeked at her phone. "I'm not usually vulgar, but she has a bitch face. The audacity!"

Angela didn't respond. Her thoughts were chaotic at the moment, and her fingers were quick to move even before she was aware of what she was doing. Her brows drew together as she took a screenshot of the private message and sent it to Gael.

She blinked, and blood rushed to her cheeks as she watched the indicator turn from sent to read. Her heart drummed in her chest, and her hands lightly shook. She couldn't tell if it was because she was too pissed to see that picture, too embarrassed to have forwarded it to Gael, or too worried what he'd think upon seeing what she sent.

Samantha gasped beside her when the screen flashed with Gael's caller ID. Angela didn't know what to do. Her thumb hovered above the accept button and then the reject and then back to accept again. Then, she pressed the lock button and tossed her phone on the counter behind her.

"You okay, Anj?" Samantha hesitated.

Bringing her hands to her face, Angela exclaimed, "What was I thinking sending it to him? That was stupid!"

"Well… Not what I would have done, but that wasn't so bad. At least now he knows what that witch was doing."

"What would you have done then?" she wondered.

Samantha shook her head slowly. "Honestly, I don't know… I'd probably be so pissed, I'd hack into her account and delete all her posts, replace it with something scandalous, broadcast it, and change her password."

Angela knitted her brows and stared at the other. "Why do I feel like you've done something like that before?"

Clearing her throat, Samantha tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled. "Not really… But I could do that for you if you want."

"Sounds tempting, but thanks." Pushing herself away from the counter, Angela grabbed two cups from the cupboard and started making coffee for the two of them. She wanted to take her mind off it, so she changed the subject. "The stew looks amazing. Thank you again, Sam. I'm sure Dad would love that tonight."

"Eh. I didn't make it by myself. You did well cutting the vegetables and meat."

"If by well you mean uneven sizes, then thank you."

"Trust me. You did well. Just make sure your knives are very sharp next time. It's safer if you use sharp knives to avoid any accidents like slipping and then cutting yourself or something."

"Yes, Chef."

Angela was thankful that Samantha didn't force her to talk about the matter. Right now, she just wanted some distraction and not think about Lauretta, or her blood would boil. She didn't pick up Gael's call not because she was mad at him—rather, part of her regretted sending it to him, and now they had to talk about it. She was unsure how to talk to him at the moment. Feeling all sorts of emotions inside, Angela wanted to avoid possibly saying something she'd regret even more. She had to cool down first.

"This is such a cute little plant," Samantha commented as she looked at the Christmas plant that Angela decorated a few nights ago. It was on the dining table. "Is it okay if I see the pictures?"

"Sure." Angela smiled. She brought the cups of coffee into the living room and set them on the coffee table. Samantha sat at the dining table across the room to see the pictures one by one, making sure she didn't touch anything so roughly. Sipping her coffee, Angela glanced at her phone that was still on the kitchen counter.

"Oh… You even have your books and the digital covers for Love Tales! They're so beautiful! It's like a miniature Christmas tree. Ours is also full of pictures this year. Sia particularly loved hanging her artworks in our tree." Samantha laughed, her eyes twinkling as she continued to check the objects.

When Angela didn't respond, Samantha turned to check and saw the other looking at her phone on the kitchen counter. Her phone's screen was flashing as if someone was calling.

"You can't stop thinking about him," said Samantha.

"I don't know what to tell him, Sam. That was embarrassing."

"I'm sure he preferred that you told him. What would you say to her if you replied?"

Angela shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe something sassy."

A sigh escaped from her lips before telling Samantha about what happened yesterday at Nina's. "I can't be too rash. Yesterday, I couldn't help it. But now, I don't want to provoke her and cause her to do something that would put his family in a difficult situation."

"You really like him a lot, huh?" Samantha moved to the sofa to sit next to Angela. As she took a sip of her coffee, her eyes went back to the Christmas plant, and she contemplated for a bit. "I have something to tell you…"

When Angela shifted her gaze to her, Samantha bit her bottom lip and took her sweet time before speaking again. "Anj… I'm not sure if Gael told you. He made me promise not to tell you, but… I feel like you should know."

"What is it?" Angela hesitated, uncertain what this was about.

"After we signed the contract for the project, Becca told me that she spoke to Gael when we were on the island. It's about your first book…"

Angela's eyes widened in surprise. "You both knew then..."

"Not exactly… I didn't know you were the author of the first book until our meeting. Anyway, Becca told me that apparently, Gael knew it was you. He was against the project the first time, and he expressed that while we were still on the island. Only the two of them talked—I didn't know about this until after our meeting. However, he called her on the 30th of August and told her to give you the project as planned."

Listening to Samantha, Angela's eyes shifted to the side as she recalled the events that happened a few months ago. Gael knew about her project with Love Tales? "What do you mean? Are you saying I wouldn't have gotten the project if it weren't for him?"

"No, no, no…" Samantha raised a hand. "Don't misunderstand. You were chosen because of your work. Not because of him. We were ready to give you the project—although we would have asked you to write a different story if you could. But Gael called and told us to proceed as planned."

Angela's mind churned as she tried to process things. "What?"

"Yeah. He said to produce the project using your first book. We did end up signing for three stories, which is amazing for us. But that's what happened." Samantha placed a hand on Angela's arm and squeezed. "I don't know if knowing what he did matters to you. But that's something you can also consider and think about."