Whatever Giovanni had to say must be important that he had to come to Manhattan when he knew Gael asked for a few days to be with Angela with no distractions. They spoke on the phone yesterday, and it didn't seem like there was an interruption in their movement. So Gael wondered what his visit meant.

Closing the door behind him as they walked into the spare room of his apartment that he turned into an office space, he flicked the lights on and walked over to the shelf where he kept a decanter and a couple of crystal glasses. Pouring a finger of golden yellow liquid into each of the crystals, he handed one to his uncle and nodded. "What is it?"

Giovanni took his time, glancing down at the glass, throwing back a slosh of the liquid as he leaned against the desk, and then setting down the crystal next to his hip. "Good news and bad," he said, but his face was devoid of any emotion.

This was probably more serious than Gael thought. "Tell me."

"Good news is... Fabiano's back. He landed a few hours ago."

Relief washed over Gael. Fabiano was their father's consigliere, his father's right-hand man, and their trusted adviser. He'd been away for a few weeks because his ninety-year-old mother was sick. If Alessandro hadn't forced Fabiano to go home, he'd have stayed, refusing to leave the De Lucas in the middle of the war between the two families. As much as Gael empathized with Fabiano, they needed more people right now. It was selfish, but Gael thought Fabiano's presence could boost their people's morale, on top of being able to help them deal with their problems.

Fabiano was a lawyer, a damn good one at that. He'd kept their family away from being sent to jail more times than Gael could remember. Perhaps his coming back would shift the odds to their favor.

"That's good." He nodded.

However, Giovanni's expression didn't match the good news he just told him. "You're not gonna like the other one."

When Gael arched his brow and waited for him to continue, Giovanni told him, "The Morellis are getting antsy that we haven't given them a date yet. So as a compromise, they insisted on having Gabby's wedding with Mariano first to be held two weeks from now, then yours happens another two weeks after that."

"Oh, hell no!" Gael nearly threw his glass against the wall, but he gripped it tightly in his hand, not wanting to scare Angela in the living room just several meters outside of his home office. He spoke under gritted teeth. "I'm not handing over my sister to them!"

He tossed back the whole shot and poured another into his glass, refilling Giovanni's without asking. "First, it was agreed that we set the date. Then they insisted for the wedding to happen in a month. Now this? They've lost their goddamn minds!" Gael seethed.

Wordlessly, Giovanni picked up his glass that was now half full and took a swig.

"Don't tell me you agree with them?" Gael questioned when the other didn't say anything.

"What? Of course not! But at the moment, we don't have anything else to offer. We're backed up in a corner. They don't seem to take my brother's illness as an excuse for the weddings not to happen."

Gael slammed a fist on his desk. He wanted to break things, preferably the Morellis' faces.

Silence engulfed the room for a moment while Gael tried to calm himself down. "What did Dad say?"

"I stepped out when they needed to talk alone. It seems like Fabiano has a plan that could hopefully get us out of this."

Gael straightened up, trying to grip the hope he felt after the last news. But Giovanni's words didn't secure his distress over the matter.

"But I'm not sure his plan is anything better." Giovanni finished the whole drink in one gulp. He was usually the more reckless one, and this should aggravate him, but his expression was more unreadable than furious. Gael was afraid that Giovanni might do something out of frustration.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Gael let out an exhausted sigh. "We have to act sooner."

"We will."

***

Gael tried to let go of the fury that's boiling inside him. The past few days with Angela had been fantastic. But tonight, it was like the calm before the storm. And the fucking storm was coming at full speed, heading right at him.

He could deal with carrying the burden and stress of what's about to come. But he couldn't let Gabby face this family's burden. She was supposed to live her life the way she wanted without being tied to this side of the family that's rotten. Just the thought of her being with any of the Morellis sickened him.

Giovanni headed to the door where Angela said goodbye to him. He kissed her cheek chastely before leaving, and a tiny part of Gael wanted to smack his uncle's lips for doing that. Gael knew it was innocent and friendly, but he couldn't help himself feeling a little jealous still—even if Giovanni was family.

The door closed, and Angela walked back inside the apartment to where Gael stood, in the middle of the living room. They held each other's gaze for two seconds before he turned around and headed to the bedroom, not wanting her to see through his eyes how pent up he was. He couldn't let her worry about what Giovanni came here for.

Peeling off his shirt to change into loungewear, he asked without facing her, "You wanna eat?"

"Not hungry anymore. Maybe you can ask Miss USA. She seemed hungry."

The disdain in her voice was apparent when she mentioned the woman from the lobby. He'd thought Angela had already cooled off from earlier because he had already forgotten about Yasmin until she brought her up again. His brows drew together when he turned around. "Your dark brown eyes are turning green from jealousy, Angel."

Gael caught Angela's gaze drift down to his abdomen as he stood shirtless in front of her. Then unconsciously, she ran her tongue along her bottom lip before she raised her chin, suddenly looking pissed with her brows knitted tightly. It all happened in just a second, but he caught it all.

"I'm not jealous." She folded her arms under her full breasts. She had changed into a thinner shirt, and her nipples jutted against the fabric, certainly defiant against her stance of being mad at him over someone unimportant.

His jaw ticked, and the crease between his brows deepened as his eyes darkened with need. He'd been pissed before Giovanni interrupted them earlier. He'd planned how he would take her against the wall as soon as they arrived back here. And now that he had pent up anger from the Morellis' bullshit, Gael wanted—no, needed release.

"Take your clothes off," he commanded while unbuckling his belt.

Angela was taken aback by the sudden shift in his mood. Though it wasn't really a shift, he'd been hard for her since a while ago, and their angry fornication only got postponed. The irate look on her face was replaced by surprise. "Excuse me?"

The belt made a swoosh before he dropped it to the floor, and he saw her eyes dilate in anticipation. She liked it. No doubt. His Angel liked it rough.

"You heard me." He took a step towards her, and she didn't move.

"And why would I undress for you?"

Gael swept his eyes down her lips and noticed her breathing had quickened. Then he raked them lower until his heated gaze landed on the two erect pearls poking against the fabric of her shirt, directed at him, begging to be sucked. She followed his stare and realized what he was looking at. Her face flushed, but she did nothing to hide her arousal.

Despite the obvious, Gael told her in a voice so low and rough, it made her shiver, "Because no matter how angry you are, Angel, your body can't deny how much you want me right now. And I meant what I said earlier. So. Take. Your. Fûcking. Clothes. Off."

A small gasp escaped Angela's lips before she crossed her arms and reached for the hem of her shirt, peeling them off her. Her breathing became ragged, her heart wanting to jump out of her chest at his command. But his dominance didn't scare her one bit.

It turned her on.