Chapter 128 - Playing House

The way he said the phrase "there's nothing there" didn't help Angela to feel okay about staying here. All she could think about now was the story she told him back on the island. How could she feel scared about a story she made up? She huffed, feeling a little frustrated about herself.

Gael continued showing her around the house. It was quite a huge place. Though empty, it was clean. The interior was made of stone—it looked natural and beautiful. 

She subconsciously thought of a cozy and warm color scheme for the living room—a comfy cream-colored sofa in front of the fireplace and a reading nook at the window on the opposite side. Catching herself with these thoughts, she pinched her thigh and cursed in her head, 'What the hell were you thinking just now? You're not playing house here!'

Following him, they walked past the living room and entered the kitchen. It had a long table with several chairs, a double-door refrigerator that's fully stocked with food—she wondered if he ever cooked.

The other spaces were empty too—she thought they could probably be a dining area, an office space, or whatever he decides to do with it. 

He pointed at the door to his right and said, "There's a toilet here, and a bathroom inside the bedroom upstairs."

"What about that? What's behind that door?" she asked, nodding at the closed brown wooden door.

"That's… You don't need to know." He smiled and walked past her, heading towards the refrigerator.

"Saying that only makes me curious," Angela muttered under her breath.

"You must be hungry. You haven't eaten anything, have you?"

Her eyes darted to the side, recalling what happened to her before the pipe incident occurred. She had planned to eat a light dinner after taking a bath to cool off her aching head, but that didn't happen. "Y-Yeah… I guess not…"

"I'll heat up something then. Here. Take a seat while you wait." Gael handed her a bottle of water, which she received with both hands.

"Thanks." She sat at the table and watched him check the refrigerator for some food. He grabbed a container covered with foil and began heating it up in the oven. She looked around the place once again and realized how big it was for him to be living alone. She was certain that they were outside of Mayne, and it seemed like they were in the middle of nowhere, making her baffled. 

"You live here by yourself? I would have thought your… bodyguards… would be with you," she wondered.

"They're at the cottage outside. You don't see them all the time, but they're there."

Angela looked out the window, but it was raining and too dark outside to see the cottage. Technically, they weren't alone. But oh my god. They were alone… in this big house. Well, Honey was there too. But that didn't make much difference.

The two were quiet while waiting for the food, occasionally catching each other's glances, but neither spoke. Was she really going to stay here tonight? Wasn't it dangerous to be alone with him?

…

"Did you make this?" Angela probed, looking at the slice of lasagna in front of her.

He shook his head and urged her to eat as he took a seat next to her. Then he watched as she tasted a piece of the food.

"Mm…" The flavor danced in her mouth, and she was surprised. It reminded her a little of the lasagna that the chef in their mansion would cook. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was different from what they would eat in restaurants. "Not bad…"

"Rick made that early this morning. You saw him on the island."

"Is he your assistant or something?"

"Sort of…" He began eating with his fork. 

How oddly satisfying this night was. Despite the events that happened during the day, tonight didn't seem so bad. How could it be when she was right here?

"Today..." Angela hesitated for a while, contemplating whether to talk to him about lunch that day or just forget about it. She was growing tired by the minute—as if the adrenaline from the pipe incident had already worn off, and she was suffering from it.

However, just as she decided to let it go, Gael muttered, "I'm sorry."

She looked at him, baffled at his sudden apology.

He set his fork down and faced her. "I'm sorry about earlier… at lunch. I didn't mean to—" He sighed and softly chuckled. He wasn't used to saying apologies so often. But he seemed to be doing a lot of that recently to her. "I did reserve that table, but I wasn't going to use it anymore. Gabby went there without me knowing. I didn't want her to cause trouble or something—she can be really unpredictable."

The crease in between her brows deepened, and she tilted her head, turning her body to face him. "So… you planned to ruin my lunch date… but ended up keeping your sister from ruining it?"

Gael rubbed his jaw and softly chuckled at her question. "That's… pretty much the gist of it."

"She knows who I am? Why would she do that?"

"Not really. She thinks I'm hiding someone from her. Gabby's resourceful when she's really very curious about something. Anyway... There's no excuse for what I did. So… I'm sorry."

Angela gazed at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Not wanting to dwell on the matter, she nodded before answering, "Okay."

…

She insisted on washing the dishes after dinner. He attempted to stop her, but she was adamant, saying it was the least she could do. 

Gael stepped out for a bit, telling her that he had to check in with his men at the cottage. So Angela stayed inside while waiting for him to come back. Curious, she looked out the window from the kitchen. The heavy rain had turned to drizzle, and she hoped that it would stop soon.

The stone cottage was several meters away from the house. Yellow light lit up the interior but she couldn't see what's inside because of the curtains. But she saw outlines of figures of men talking.

"Who are you?" 

A man's voice startled her that she gasped when she turned around. The man in an all-black outfit stood a few feet away from her. He was tall but not as tall as Gael. His expression was fierce as he looked at her suspiciously. 

"Oh… Hi… I'm Angela." She swallowed, thinking he must be one of Gael's men. Where the hell did he come from? How could she not have seen or heard him come inside?

His brows relaxed as if he realized who she was. "Where's Boss?"

She jerked her thumb behind her, pointing at the cottage. He shifted his gaze at it and without saying anything else, he turned around and left through the back door.

Angela saw the man heading towards the cottage and entering it. A few seconds later, Gael came out with the man whom she met just now. He gave the man a brown envelope, then the latter left in a black car. She stepped away from the window when she saw Gael coming back to the house.

"Is everything okay?" she probed when he entered the kitchen.

"Yes. You must be tired… Come, I'll show you where you can wash up." 

He led her the way to the bedroom upstairs. Honey lifted up its head when they entered the room. She was still on the bed where they left her.

Gael showed the bathroom where Angela changed into a comfortable loungewear outfit—white pants and a white hoodie. She took her time doing her nightly skincare routine—mostly taking her time, thinking about why she unknowingly agreed to this arrangement.

When she stepped out of the room, he had already changed into black joggers and a plain black sweatshirt. He threw a pillow on top of a mat and blanket on the floor at the foot of the bed. 

She looked at him with a confused expression. And when he met her stare, he questioned, "What?" 

"Is that where you're sleeping?" she asked in a careful tone.

"No. You."

Angela arched a brow at his serious tone. He asked her to stay in this huge house, but he wanted her to sleep on the floor?!

Then a broad smile ghosted his face as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I'd sleep on the couch downstairs, but I doubt I would fit… Unless you want me to sleep in the bed with you. I don't mind that at all."

She clicked her tongue. With his height, he'd never fit on that couch, and she wouldn't sleep on it even if she fits. How could she sleep in the living room alone? There were no other rooms in the house that had a bed. So many useless spaces! Well… At least, he offered to sleep separately.

"Are you sure you're okay there?" she probed when she sat on the bed, feeling guilty that she'd let him sleep on the floor in his own house.

"Either you sleep on the floor instead, or I join you in bed. Your choice." He looked at her with a poker face.

Angela frowned at Gael before she laid on the bed and pulled the blanket over her head in frustration.