"You''re an idiot, do you know that?"mented the woman next to Gael at the backseat of the car. She rolled her eyes and busied herself with her phone.


    He didn''t respond to her remark, but his jaw ticked from annoyance. He already knew he was being an ass, and he was too pissed to argue with her. They had left the restaurant soon after Ang left, and now they were parked several meters away from her apartment building.


    Gael stared out the window and watched as the Rock opened the passenger''s door and helped Ang alight the car.


    …


    The Luxe Residences


    Vincent had a hand on the small of her back, and she didn''t seem to mind. With a bouquet of roses and a purse in her hands, Ang walked towards the front door. She looked slightly pale, but she formed a smile when she turned to face him.


    "Thank you… And I''m sorry…" she muttered.


    "You''re wee." He smiled a gentle one, but the concern on his face was still there. "You don''t have to be sorry. You''re clearly not feeling well. Are you sure you don''t want me to bring you to the hospital?"


    Waving her hand and shaking her head, Ang reassured him, "Don''t worry about me. I''ll be okay. I usually get the asional headaches on days when it''s too hot or too cold, or when I''m just tired. I''ll sleep it off, and I''ll be fer."


    Vincent studied her face, reluctant to leave her by herself, but he didn''t want to impose, so he could only nod. "Alright… I''ll call youter to check on you if that''s okay?" He tucked her hair behind her ear.


    "Okay. Thank you, Vincent."


    He inched closer and kissed Ang on the cheek. Then he gestured for her to go inside the building, in which he made sure she got inside the elevator before he left.


    The ride up to her apartment on the 40th floor was horrible. The moment the elevator car moved and ascended upward, she started getting really sick. She ced a hand over her mouth as she leaned against the cold metal wall to her right and back. Apart from her, there were four other residents in the car with her—there was no way she would puke in here.


    The waiting was dreadful as the car had to stop twice before she finally got to her floor. Ang scurried towards her door, punched the code to the lock, and mmed the door shut. Tossing everything to the coffee table, she sprinted towards the powder room—and then she hurled a whole cow and a whale into the toilet bowl.


    Feeling awful like she was about to die, she flushed the toilet and cleaned her face at the sink. When she got to see her reflection in the mirror, she wondered what caused this, but her head was pounding so hard that she couldn''t think properly.


    Ang managed to get to her bedroom and change into a thin white shirt and a ck gym shorts—something that wasfortable for her to sleep on. It felt as if she was drunk when her vision got blurry—she did drink about two sses of wine, and she wondered if that was what was making her feel so sick like this. She was restless in bed until she fell asleep several minutes past two in the afternoon.


    …


    Gael''s House outside of Mayne at half past seven in the evening...


    It had been more than five hourster, and Gael was still thinking about Ang. He regretted what happened in the restaurant, and he wished he hadn''t totally blown off his chance.


    Wearing a in ck shirt and jeans, he paced back and forth in the living room. For the past hour, he had been trying to call her, but as expected, she didn''t answer.


    It was understandable that she would go back to ignoring him, so he wanted to kick himself in the head for making their situation even moreplicated—just when things got better.


    "Is she not picking up yet?" A woman''s voice caught his attention.


    Gael turned around and saw his younger sister sitting in the armchair, browsing through her phone for god knows what.


    "Where''s Honey?" he probed when he saw that his sister was alone.


    "In your room. Sleeping," Gabby answered without looking up.


    Sensing her brother''s stare, she added, "You should keep calling her—"


    "I already am!" he spat in a sharp tone.


    Her gaze shifted to him, and she was apologetic. "I''m sorry…"


    "Why are you still here? Your flight is in two hours. You''ll get stuck in traffic if you don''t leave now."


    "I reeeally don''t want to leave. I barely sat my ass in Esmea, and you''re already driving me away. It''s beautiful here. Can I please stay for a few more days?" Gabrie pouted, pleading with her hands pressed together.


    Letting out an exhausted sigh, Gael responded in a stern voice, "You can''t do that, Gabby. You always meddle with my affairs. Haven''t you learned from what you did to me about Ba? I''m warning you. Do not interfere with me and Ang." He pointed at her in all seriousness.


    "Ooh, is that why you saved her name on your phone as ''Angel''? I thought you were being cute…" she remarked with an adorable smile on her face, totally ignoring his warning. But it did nothing to ease her brother''s anger.


    Gael was exasperated. Women were so hard to deal with!


    He turned his back on his sister and started calling Ang again. He closed his eyes as he listened to the familiar rings, and when he thought that it was another ignored phone call, the line went through.


    His eyes shot open. "Angel…" he called.


    "Nggghhh… What… time… Aw—Ssss." She groaned; her voice sounded groggy and tired.


    Gael''s brows drew together, wondering what was wrong with her. "Are you okay?" he worried.


    "I''m… yeah—no…"


    Already grabbing his keys from the table, he headed out the door as he asked, "You don''t sound well. Are you at home?"


    "Yes. I''m home... I feel terrible. Dizzy... I think I''m—"


    "Hello? Ang?" The line got cut off all of a sudden. He tried to call her again, but this time, she could not be reached. "Sh?t."


    Gael rushed out to his car. He was just about to get inside when Gabrie called him from the front door.


    "Where are you going?" she questioned.


    "I have to go see her." He tentatively got inside his car, and then he told his sister in a loud voice, "You better not be here when Ie back. Rick will drive you to the airport."


    Closing the door, Gael started the engine and sped off, leaving Gabrie feeling dejected.


    …


    Gael ignored the signs as he drove recklessly towards Ang''s apartment. He remembered how she looked when they were in the storage room of the restaurant. Then he felt his stomach burn from worrying so much. With his heart beating so fast, he feared that something happened to her.


    He managed to arrive in front of her apartment building in twelve minutes, not caring about how many traffic vitions he made while getting there. Gael dashed inside and headed towards the elevator, passing by a few personnel who greeted him by hisst name.


    He was panting when he rode the elevator, and he got more anxious every time it stopped on a few floors before finally arriving on the 40th.


    He read the signage on the wall that indicated where the residential units were located. He took a left, and as soon as he stood in front of Unit 402, he pressed the doorbell.


    "Come on." He pressed it again a couple of secondster. And he pressed it some more.


    "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!" A sharp cry came from inside the apartment.


    "Ang!" He banged on the door. "Ang!" He banged and doorbelled several times as he continued to hear shrieks from the other side of the door. "Damn it! Open the door! What''s happening?!" His heart rammed against his chest as he repeatedly called for her.


    Then… the door swung open, stopping his fist mid-air from banging the heavy wood once more.


    Gael''s jaw dropped to the floor when he saw Ang standing in front of him in soaking wet clothes. Water dripped from her face, hair—her entire body. And water pooled immediately around her feet. Her thin white shirt clung to her skin, shaping her breasts—and her hard nipples jutted against the fabric.


    With a dispirited expression, she sniffed before uttering, "Help."