"I'm supposed to go to Brooklyn today." Gael glanced at the window. It wasn't snowing, but he bet there were a few inches of snow on the ground. He checked his phone for news for a bit, and it was dangerous to drive today. The streets would get cleared, but he thought it would be better to call his father instead of going over.

He turned to Angela. "I'll just work from here for a few hours. You don't mind. Do you?"

"Of course not." She shook her head. "I have some reading and emails to catch up on anyway."

"Okay. I'll go make us some breakfast." He sat up and started to move away, only to be stopped when she held his arm. She bit her bottom lip, looking hesitant for whatever she wanted to tell him. "What is it?" he asked.

She swallowed, keeping her gaze low instead of looking at him. "Aren't you going to ask me? You know… About last night—er, I mean at dawn…in the kitchen?"

Gael studied her face and thought that if this was her opening up to him, he sure as hell wouldn't stop her. But he trod carefully. "I'm not gonna lie. I've been curious since back on the island." Her hand clutched the blanket. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Angela finally looked up, but instead of speaking, she only nodded in response.

Taking a deep breath, he positioned himself so that he was sitting up on the bed and his back was leaning against the headboard. "Come here." He pulled her to him—or more like lifted her and sat on his lap, so she straddled him while facing him.

Her cheeks heated at the position she was in. Gael was half-naked, wearing only a pair of cotton lounge pants with nothing underneath while she was still on her white robe and no underwear. He placed her directly on top of his hard length. "W-Why did you make me sit like this? How can I talk?"

A devilish smirk formed on his face. "What do you mean how? You move your mouth. Your tongue and lips do the talking. What's the problem?"

Angela's brows furrowed at him as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Your dick is a distraction."

He chuckled. "It's morning. I can't help that."

She rolled her eyes.

Tilting his head to the side, he couldn't pass up the chance to tease her. "Unless you want to take care of it first?"

Huffing, she scooted upward until she was no longer sitting directly atop his erection—which wasn't a hundred percent successful because not only was he big, he was also longer than average, so the tip of his cock was still pressing her ass. He had to shift his shaft a little, or her face would scrunch up further for being annoyed at him.

Angela was silent for a few beats as though she was contemplating how or where to start. Then she took a deep breath and released it, fiddling with the tie of her robe. "I actually don't remember everything. I feel like whenever I experience something bad, my brain would just…literally erase it from my memory so I can't be hurt by it anymore. It's the same from three years ago… And it's the same from over twenty years ago."

Gael lightly rubbed her arms, letting her tell her tale at the pace she was comfortable with. He watched every movement of her eyes, nose, lips, fingers, and the way her chest rose and fell when she breathed, not wanting to miss any changes.

"I was…seven or eight… I think, when my mom left. It's so long ago." She looked down, almost as if staring at his abdomen, but she wasn't really seeing. Her eyes moved slightly to the side like she was trying to recall the events from the past. "Oliver was inside the house while I was playing hopscotch on the driveway with our butler, Elias. Then I heard Mom and Dad fighting at the door. I watched them from a distance. They rarely fought, and I thought they'd make up like the other times…you know?"

He nodded but still remained silent as he let her continue.

Her chin wobbled, and she swallowed when she spoke again. "But then suitcases were brought out by the servants and put in her car. Their voices got louder as they yelled at each other. I wanted to go near them, but Elias stopped me. The sky rumbled…and I didn't know which was louder… Their voices or the thunder." A harsh breath escaped her lips. "The next thing I know, Mom got in the back of the car, and it sped off."

Tears well up her eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to let it get to her. Gael wanted to tell her that it's okay to let go of it. Then she sniffed and shifted closer until she laid her head on his shoulder, nuzzling against his neck. Her arms went around his back, and she took a few cleansing breaths. She was hiding, and he knew it's because she didn't want him to see her getting weak. He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back. It was all he could do then to comfort her.

"Elias tried to stop me, but I slipped out of him, and I started chasing Mom's car." She softly chuckled, though he was certain there was no humor in it. "You wouldn't believe how fast I ran... The gates closed after the car passed through it, and I took a detour and crawled through a hole that Oliver and I dug up near the garden one time to escape and play outside. I even scraped my knee. I don't know how long I ran after her car… I just kept running and crying…and screaming...pleading for her not to leave me, not realizing the rain was heavily pouring down. I must have slipped a few times." She shook her head.

"I don't know what happened or how I stopped chasing after her. Oliver told me that they found me under a big tree, and I was crouched down while covering my ears. I got sick for a few days, I guess. And ever since then, I've been…afraid of thunder."

Angela was quiet for a minute, and Gael thought that was all she had to tell him. He felt so bad for her. Though she might not have remembered everything, she was undoubtedly traumatized by the way her mother left. "I'm sorry," was all he could tell her, then he kissed the side of her head.

She tightened her arms around him before she pulled her head back and looked up at him, her eyes filled with sorrow that gripped his chest. "She looked at me, Gael. While I was running after her… She saw me, but she didn't stop. Why didn't she stop?" Her lips trembled.

Oh, fuck. It felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest. He wanted to punch something—or maybe hurt her mother for making Angela feel this pain. Losing his mother from cancer hurt like a bitch, and he was still feeling the grief and emptiness like there was a void in his heart ever since she passed away. He knew how it was to lose someone.

But what could Angela's mother's reason have for leaving her children behind?

Gael had a lot of questions but settled for one. "Do you know where she is now?" When she shook her head, he asked another one. "You didn't try looking for her when you're older? Or asked your dad maybe?"

"I did want to find her. I cried for days…months…begged my father to bring her back. Then I guess one day I…I got used to not seeing her around that I stopped. Later on, I started thinking… If she loved me, she wouldn't have left. Dad didn't want to talk about Mom. She was taboo in our house."

"What about now? Do you…want to find her?"

Angela scoffed, biting her bottom lip as she shrugged. "It's been twenty years. I miss her, but… I think I'm afraid to find out where she is and know what has happened to her." She lowered her head again, hiding against his chest. "I don't know. I also feel like I'd be betraying Dad if I do."

Tightening his embrace around her frame, he whispered to her ear, "Whatever you want, Angel. If you decide you want to see her, just let me know. I'll do everything I can to find her."