The alcohol tasted bitter on Angela's tongue—as if the bomb shot was protesting. If the drink could talk, she could imagine that it'd probably tell her: "Girl, you're being dumb." But she couldn't help herself, unaware of why she couldn't answer his question.
Gael locked his gaze on her face and asked, "Why can't you answer? It was just a simple question. Was it that hard?"
Brushing her thoughts aside, she put the glass back on the table and shrugged. "You don't get to ask another question. I drank the shot as per the rules of this game. Now, it's my turn… Truth or dare?"
Letting out a sigh, he clenched his jaw and replied, "Truth."
"You said your best vacation was in the Netherlands. What happened there?" she asked in all seriousness. He didn't tell her the reason why earlier and it piqued her curiosity.
However, when she thought that he would answer her, he grabbed a glass and took one swig to finish it all. A mischievous grin slowly formed on his lips as he looked back at her. She was right. This was indeed a game and he was only following the rules.
Angela's mouth fell open but she couldn't complain at all, so she sunk in her chair and pursed her lips into a thin line. Now she was dead curious. She had visited the country once in the past and it was a very interesting visit for her.
"Truth or dare?" he asked.
When she answered 'truth', he continued almost immediately, "Has your family ever pressured you to act a certain way?" Gael didn't really mean anything by this. He was just curious—or probably he was trying to see how similar they were.
Angela took a deep breath and averted her gaze to the side before answering, "My father. Well, it's not that exactly that… I mean… I don't know if you call it that, but, he wants me to choose: either I work in the company or get married. I've already told him several times in the past that I had no interest in the company and I don't want to get married either, but he's pretty much insistent on marrying me off."
"Why would he do that?"
"He doesn't know that I'm writing novels. I actually told him in the past that I wanted to write, but for some reason, he doesn't want me to. He told me that it was a waste of time and it wasn't a secure career or something, I don't know… I stopped listening to his scolding." She rolled her eyes when she remembered a certain memory. "For all he knows, I'm just lazing around."
"And so you agreed to—"
Without blinking, he readily answered, "Not answering my questions and stopping me mid-sentence."
She could only stare at him. Why did it seem like his answers were all geared towards 'hating' her? She clicked her tongue and crossed her arms over her chest, but all he did was offer her a knowing smile.
"So, you agreed to be set up for marriage?" he probed.
"Wha—I haven't even chosen truth or dare yet!" She shifted in her seat, surprised at his abruptness in questioning.
"Alright, truth or dare?" he asked in a lazy tone as though he already knew that there was no point in asking anymore.
"I… Ugh… Fine… No, I didn't agree to be set up for marriage. I've said 'no' several times, but he's determined and told me that he's already asking someone to set up dates for me or something. It's ridiculous. If he was dead set on marrying his children off, shouldn't he start with Oliver? I don't get him at all." A frown painted Angela's face, her mouth curved down and there was a crease forming between her brows at the idea of her meeting men on dates that were set up by her father.
Gael couldn't tell if he was relieved upon hearing her answer. The thought of her meeting different men made him feel uneasy.
"Truth or dare?" she asked him when he did not have further questions. She was thankful that he did not press the matter anymore as she didn't want to think about what was waiting for her once she goes home.
Feeling a little adventurous, he picked "dare" this time. The night was still young and they could continue asking each other questions. The light in her eyes was evident as soon as she heard him and she clapped her hands together in excitement—she looked quite adorable. Oh, what the hell. What could possibly go wrong?