Gael decided to use the stairs instead of the elevators. He needed the walk to clear his head. On his way down to the cafeteria, he noticed the sign that pointed to the morgue. He hadn't gone there yet—he didn't want to, unsure if he could look at J's corpse without losing it. At the same time, he thought his sister was down there. In the end, he headed towards the morgue.

When his mother was still alive, she used to work in the same hospital. Gael spent some time exploring the whole place while waiting for her shift to end. It creeped him out, but he found it oddly interesting all the same. The hospital was a place where people come and go—to live and die. The last time he ventured the eerie hallway to the morgue was when he was eleven. He thought he'd see ghosts. He didn't. But he sure felt cold. What else could he expect from the path towards the dormitory of dead bodies?

"Five minutes," said the staff who let him in to see Jino. Then he left through the double doors. Gabriella wasn't here, so Gael was alone with all the corpse in the room.

And there he was. Jino. Gray, cold, not breathing, hard as stone. Something sharp gripped Gael's chest as he continued to stare at the kid who once stole food at the mart many years ago. J looked younger now. It was strange. It was as though Gael could see him as a seventeen-year-old again. It had been nearly ten years since they met, and he could not believe this was how they would part ways. He thought he would die first.

Gael regretted the things he hadn't told Jino. The latter wasn't really his child, but it felt like he was. He had already lost a parent, and it had terribly hurt, now he thought maybe he was still in shock for J's death because there was this ache in his chest, but it was blanketed with numbness.

Or maybe he was losing his mind because, at that moment, he wished Angela was there with him. He tried brushing the thoughts of her away, thinking that he didn't deserve to long for her. No matter how much he missed her.

After staring at J for a while, Gael couldn't bear it anymore and had to leave. He leaned over and kissed J on the forehead. "Rest in peace, son. You're always loved, and you will never be forgotten."

When he reached the cafeteria, Gael looked around searching for his sister, only to find Rick and Trigger at a nearby table.

"Are you hungry, Boss? I'll get you something." Rick was already standing while Trigger was about to put his phone away but not before Gael saw his screen. It was a text from Angela.

"What was that?"

Trigger swallowed. "Miss Su asked how you were doing."

"What have you been telling her?"

"Nothing. I haven't responded to her yet. I just received the text."

Gael's jaw ticked. She hadn't reached out to him, and he thought she wanted to cut their communication completely. He had been too preoccupied dealing with everything right now despite the temptation to call her. "Did you tell her about Jino?"

Trigger shook his head.

"Good. Don't."

"What if she asks?"

"Don't tell her anything. She went home because she was upset. This will only upset her more. She's already going through a lot. She doesn't need this to add to that. Inform Santiago and tell him not to say anything to her either. Let's keep it that way for now."

"Got it."

Taking a deep breath, he scanned the room once again. "Have you seen Gabby? She said she was coming here to get us coffee. It's been an hour."

Rick exchanged looks with Trigger. "No. We've been here since. Gabby hasn't stepped foot in the cafeteria."

Gael drew his brows together, trying to think where she could be. She wouldn't just leave without telling anyone. And certainly not when J was in the morgue and Mika was upstairs.

He gave his sister a call, but it went straight to voicemail. She could be somewhere in the hospital with a dead spot. If Gabby wanted to be alone, she might have gone somewhere quiet. But Gael started to worry. "Check the whole building," he told Trigger who was already on his feet. Then he turned to Rick. "Let's go check the security cameras."

Gael began to feel restless. He was afraid that his sister would do something while she was depressed.

***

Mayne City, Esmea

On the night that Angela came back home to Mayne, she cried herself to sleep, thinking that she had made a mistake for leaving. Then she reminded herself that she was only sad for missing Gael and that it would have hurt more if she stayed in New York.

She believed when Nina told her that it was a brave thing to do. That what she did was smart. And slowly, her best friend let her see that she left because of self-respect.

It didn't matter that Gael's heart was with her. Because the truth was, he was engaged to someone else whether they both liked it or not. Wasn't that how some mistresses were? Their lovers were married while telling their mistresses that they loved them more than they loved their wives.

Angela wanted to believe that Gael loved her too. She felt it even though he didn't tell her. But just the thought of that alone didn't pacify her lonely heart. She needed him.

The next day was uneventful…sort of. Nina skipped work and decided to stay home with Angela. So the pair spent the whole day watching movies and ordering a bunch of junk food until their stomach was about to burst.

Nina seemed to be okay and her normal self, so Angela thought she didn't have anything to worry about from last night. She tried asking her again why she was crying but Nina dismissed her with a laugh, saying it was no big deal and she already moved on from it. Angela let it go, knowing that if Nina wanted to talk about it, she would.

Despite wanting to forget about Gael, there were little reminders about him everywhere. He hadn't even been to Nina's, and many things reminded her of him.

The shower. The tub. Her clothes. COFFEE. Bacon. Eggs. The table. The bed. The couch. Some scenes in the movies. EVERYTHING. She thought she was going insane for associating every little thing with him.

In the end, Angela couldn't help it, so she sent Trigger a message. She thought she'd text Gael instead but decided against it. She stared at her phone for hours, but Trigger didn't reply. He read the text, though, but no response at all. Maybe they were busy. Or maybe Gael told him not to.

Friday — January 18

This morning, Angela woke up at seven, and the first thing on her mind was Gael. She missed him so badly that she could imagine his face smiling at her while they rolled around in his bed in his apartment. God, she was beggining to sound pathetic.

There were still no calls or texts from him, and that annoyed her a little. Even though she was the one who didn't tell him it was okay to do so when he asked. But didn't he want to call her? Even one simple message would do. She sighed, her pride getting the best of her so she didn't reach out to him too. Then she consoled herself that she shouldn't expect as they all might be swamped at the moment.

Angela decided that she would stop wallowing in depression or she would go crazy faster. So she rolled out of bed and got ready to go out of Nina's apartment. Her best friend had already left for work, and there was only toast on the table. Angela thought it would be good to go outside to get some fresh air and grab some food and coffee at a cafe.

Cool air hit her face as she stepped out of the building. It wasn't freezing cold but it still reminded her of New York City.

She saw Santiago across the street. He was sitting on a bench with a book in hand, though Angela could tell he wasn't really reading and instead was keeping guard. She smiled and waved at him then continued to walk down the block to the nearest cafe.

After Angela got her order, she walked back out and found Santiago leaning against the wall outside the cafe. He had his eyes on his phone, his jaw jutting out like he was pissed at something.

"I got you coffee." She handed him one of the cups she was holding. "Everything okay?"

Santiago straightened up and put his phone away, and then his expression turned impassive. "Oh, thank you. Yeah. Everything's good."

Her brows slightly furrowed as she tried to read his face but he didn't give away.

"Are you going somewhere today? I can drive," he offered.

She began walking back to the building with the coffee and pastry bag in hand as she contemplated. "Actually, yeah. I'm going home to Oakwood." It had been two days since she came back home.. Angela needed to have that much-awaited talk with her father.