Chapter 469 - In Which We'll Take It

As soon as the vehicle that carried Angela arrived at the curb, Gael climbed into the backseat to join her, kissing her on the corner of her lips. He immediately noticed the weak smile on her face, and her brows drew together.

"What happened?" he asked.

Leaning back, she looked down, her fingers fiddling the edge of her dress. "Cynthia brought her two children and expected us to get along like nothing's wrong." She rolled her eyes, scoffing a little. "She said she told me to leave the last time we met to save me from possible harm. Then she realized that I'm not leaving you, seeing as I'm still here—though she wouldn't know I'd already left and come back. So instead, she thinks it's better to…learn to live with the inevitable."

"Inevitable what?" Gael wondered, his gaze soft as he studied her weary expression.

"That someday…my grandfather might see me in any future social gatherings that would involve your family and theirs unless I could avoid going to all of them. She wanted us to get acquainted so that if we meet each other one day by chance, we could act accordingly and not freak out or anything. Or that one day, when we get married, my grandfather will know about it because he keeps tabs on his allies—your family included. For once, I thought she actually wanted to make amends, but it seems every time she comes to see me, she manages to piss me off. It's frustrating."

For a few beats, no one spoke, and his silence got her whipping her head in his direction. She found him staring at her with an intense gaze; she couldn't get a read on him. "What?" she asked.

Little did she know, Gael was stuck at the phrase she casually threw in her speech. When we get married, not if. He liked the sound of that very much, but today was not the day to talk about it.

When she thought he'd answer her once he opened his mouth, confusion settled on her face as he briefly addressed Trigger, "Stop the car." There were no questions asked. The vehicle came to a stop and was parked on a curb—luckily, a spot had opened. They were still somewhere in Manhattan, and the street was busy, filled with honking yellow cabs and private cars. His soldiers got out, leaving Gael and Angela in the backseat for some privacy.

Gael took a deep breath before he reached for her and lifted her by the waist. One second, she was sitting next to him; the next, she was sitting sideways on his lap. Keeping an arm around her waist, he rested the other on her thigh, caressing the skin just beneath the hem of her dress.

Angela didn't protest at the sudden intimacy. She felt at home with him like this, and honestly, she needed to be as close to him as she could. Leaning comfortably against his chest, she looked him in the eye as she held his bicep—for the sole reason that she just wanted to hold him.

"Angel…" he started. "I've already said this many times, and I will keep saying it if I have to. I won't let them get to you."

"I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about my father and my brother."

"Do you want me to arrange security for them?"

She looked down. "They already have one, considering their status. But it's different when it comes to these…organized criminals." She tentatively peeked at him for the phrase she used.

A tiny hint of a smile peeked from his lips. He didn't care about the term. He couldn't be insulted with the truth.

He nodded. "I'll have someone keep an eye on them. Now, tell me what else happened."

Angela smiled, her way of saying thanks before she began recalling what happened in the restaurant where she met her half-siblings. After that, she let out an exhausted sigh. "Sorry to dump everything on you. You shouldn't have to worry about this on top of your busy work."

The hand that's resting on her thigh squeezed her. "Hey… That's what I'm here for." He smiled and pressed a kiss on her lips. She nuzzled against him, not caring about the heavy traffic on the road outside their little world, then she asked about his meeting.

It was his turn to tell her, but not before he started with a frustrated sigh. "It's Ivan Volkov."

Her brows rose in surprise. "I can't believe it…" she muttered as she tried to make sense of the information in her head. "Is that why my mother is here? Because Ivan was coming to meet you?"

"Maybe. They always seem to travel together."

"Do you think she knew he was going to meet you?"

Gael shook his head. "I have no idea. All I know is that Perry may have already contacted Ivan."

Angela felt a buzz against her side where Gael kept his phone in the inner pocket of his suit. He retrieved it and swiped the screen, answering the call and then tapping the speaker button. It wasn't lost on her that Gael was really showing her everything now, even keeping her in on what was supposed to be a private conversation.

"Gio," was all he said as a greeting.

"Turn on the TV!" Giovanni's voice rang from the receiver which got both Angela and Gael's eyes to snap at each other, their worried expressions flashing on their faces.

"We're in the car. What's going on?"

"Cazzo di merda!" Giovanni cursed loudly, causing Angela to flinch at his tone. Gael instantly stroked his thumb on her skin to soothe her. "Perry's just announced that he is buying the 2% share in KMH, making him the major shareholder."

"What?"

"Just what I said. I'd like to wipe that smug look on his fucking face with my fist. This motherfucker… Where does he get his confidence?"

"Calm down. He's just announcing his intent—which we already knew about in the first place. Nothing has been set in stone yet. I'm positive I got Volkov's attention today."

"Still. With the way this is going… All this publicity stunt he's pulling, everyone's looking at him now. We can't have him already running around loose. Ah—shit. I have to go. Bye."

The line ended before Gael could even respond. Both he and Angela released a sigh after the phone call they just had.

It was Angela who spoke first. "How badly do you need this share?"

Gael laughed. "Honestly? I didn't care much about buying out a company like KMH until this fell on my lap."

"Then… What do you care?"

He was thoughtful for a second before answering, "Making my mother proud—wherever she is. Making you proud, making myself worthy of you."

Her brows knitted. "I don't care about your money."

"I know… But I'm also doing this to…I don't even know what to call it." He ran a tired hand down his face and threw his head back against the backrest. "When I came to live with my father, I've always felt guilty, knowing my mother must be so disappointed with all the things I've done. She had wanted me away from this life, and what did I do? I basically waltzed in it as soon as I had the chance.

"At some point, I've decided to make it my mission to legitimize all of my family's businesses—like it's my responsibility. But who am I kidding? They've been doing this since before I was even born, and they can't just stop cold turkey. It doesn't work like that." He shook his head. "Then my father gave me an out—not that he'd chained me down, really. We agreed upon this when I started working for the family. That if I want to leave, I could. But I'm way in too deep; I'm fooling myself by thinking I can simply uproot and let go. I can't."

Gael met her patient gaze and added, "Apart from taking Perry out, I want something my mother would be proud of—something that would also make your father think I could be worthy of his daughter. Something that's clean…ish, not associated with any of my father's businesses. This started with the money my mother saved for me—the one I got when she was gone. I've worked hard to cultivate it and made it to what it is today. But somehow, I still feel like it's not enough. That no matter how much I try to…do good in her eyes, I still feel that I failed her."

He swallowed. "So yeah. I need this…and whatever else I might think of in the future."

A soft smile grew on Angela's lips and her gentle eyes on him fell on his lips before she leaned in and kissed him tenderly yet surely. "We'll do whatever we have to do.. We'll take it—and whatever else you might think of in the future."

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