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The last time Angela saw William Park was last month during Nina\'s family Christmas party. It was the same night that she learned about the marriage arrangement between the De Lucas and the Morellis—well, more like they were forced into it. William was there to act as a mediator from the Park family who owned more than half of Esmea—the only state that\'s supposedly untouchable by any other Mafia families all over the country.

The Parks were insanely rich—richer than the Chos in Mayne—especially William\'s cousin, Damien Park, who owned the Crown Hotel and Resort chains amongst other businesses. They weren\'t the kind of family anyone would want to mess with if they wanted to continue living in Esmea.

Angela\'s eyes briefly ran down William\'s naked torso. The man was fit like he took gymming seriously and his skin was fair with some faint scars here and there. His slightly damp hair fell over his eyes and the curve of his smirk pulled her out of her trance. William was a handsome man but she still preferred Gael\'s tanned and tattooed skin. God, did she have to compare everything to him?

Some movement behind William caught Angela\'s attention and she met her best friend\'s shocked expression. Wearing only a bathrobe and fluffy slippers, Nina\'s hair was wet, her eyes slightly puffy like she had been crying.

"Oh, my god. Anj! What are you doing here? When did you fly back? Is Gael with you?" Nina craned her neck to see if anyone else was outside with her.

Angela glanced up, meeting William\'s knowing smile at the mention of Gael\'s name. He cocked a brow at her as if understanding something, but he kept his mouth shut. "No. Just me. Sorry, Ninz… I didn\'t know you had someone over. I\'ll just call Oli and—"

"No! Don\'t be silly!" Nina grabbed her hand and her suitcase, pulling them both inside her apartment fast as if she was afraid Angela would run away. "Will\'s just about to go home."

"Wow. So much for a \'Thank you\'. I\'ve never been kicked out like this," responded William. Angela couldn\'t see his face as he walked behind her, but she could hear the scoff in his voice like he found this unbelievable. She almost felt a tiny bit bad for seemingly intruding on whatever the two were doing before she came.

"Then congrats on your first." Nina turned around, looking haughty with her fake smile as she faced William. "Want a cookie?"

William—the cocky bastard that he was, laughed. He was clearly enjoying Nina\'s banter. "No, thanks, Sweetheart. But I\'ll cash this in as a favor. I\'ll come back to collect." He winked at her as he strode past them and retrieved his clothes in her bedroom. When he came back, he was already buttoning his shirt close. His shoes were somewhat wet and he didn\'t bother with the socks when he slipped his feet into them.

Angela peered at her best friend who seemed entranced at watching William dressing up. Nina realized that she was staring, so she lifted her chin and told him, "Well, don\'t hold your breath."

Standing up in his full height, a wicked smirk plastered on his face as he leaned down to Nina\'s level and whispered to her ear. "I don\'t forget favors. For you? I\'ll go fasting and drink you in, Love." He leaned back and shoved a hand into his pocket while the other held his suit jacket. "Night ladies." William smiled at Nina, and then he winked at Angela.

They watched him leave and both of them released their breaths when the door closed. Angela looked at her best friend. Antonina was blushing—and Antonina never blushed. 

"Antonina… Seriously? You and William Park?"

Nina marched into her bedroom and Angela followed. Her friend began searching for clothes in her closet and then she dropped her bathrobe. They had seen each other naked thousands of times, they weren\'t shy to each other about it. "There\'s nothing between us," Nina explained as she quickly wore a pair of panties and then a satin nightie. 

"Why do you look like you were crying? Are you okay? He didn\'t hurt you, did he?"

"No. He was…a gentleman, actually. It\'s nothing. I was just upset about something before we met. You know how I am. I easily cry not like you. Anyway, he was just giving me a ride. That\'s all."

Angela arched a brow. "O…kay? Did he do that shirtless? And did giving you a ride require his clothes in your bedroom? You do know nothing in what I saw would make me believe he was just giving you a ride." She folded her arms under her breasts and grinned. "Unless… He was giving you a different kind of ride, or maybe you…"

Nina was still giving her her back. She stiffened for a second before turning around, her face devoid of any expression. "Nothing like that happened. It\'s a long story. And what\'s wrong with William? He\'s…okay."

"He\'s a grade-A asshole and a womanizer—you even said so yourself, remember?"

"That was…. That was before. He\'s been single for a while—at least from what I\'ve heard. Forget about him. Tell me what\'s wrong." Nina pulled Angela down with her to the bed so they were both sitting.

"Nothing\'s wrong."

Nina did not say anything but she raised her brow as if calling it "bullshit". Then Angela let out a long sigh, her lips curling downward. "Everything…"

"Ohhh, Honey… Come here." Nina pulled Angela into a tight hug and the latter nuzzled into her shoulder.

She inhaled her friend\'s scent. Nina smelled like strawberries, her usual scent. "You smell nice… Can I stay with you for a few days?"

"Of course! Though, you\'d have to sleep in the same bedroom where Lauretta stayed. Don\'t worry, I\'ve disinfected the whole place three times when she left. You can sleep with me too, but you know I sleep with the lights on and you can\'t sleep with it."

Angela laughed. "Your spare room\'s good enough for me."

"Okay. So what is it? Tell me what happened."

For the next several minutes Angela told Nina about the contract that Gael and Lauretta signed. As if she wasn\'t already upset about it, her best friend saw the pictures Lauretta sent her and Nina said it was a blood oath—which only made her feel terrible—crappier than she was already feeling. 

"He told you they had a plan. Do you believe that?" Nina asked.

"I don\'t know. He never told me what it was—more like I didn\'t ask. I just wanted to get out of there right away. For the first time since I was there, I felt like I didn\'t belong. Do you know how that sucks?"

Nina nodded, though Angela wasn\'t sure if her best friend really understood how she felt. But then she asked, "You really love him, huh? I\'m so proud of you, Anj."

Angela furrowed her brows in confusion. "You\'re proud that I ran away?"

"Not that, silly." Nina rolled her eyes. "And you didn\'t run away, okay? You came home because you needed to take care of yourself. That\'s not selfishness. That\'s being smart. What I meant was… I\'m proud that you finally admitted it and told him. You\'ve never said that to anyone. I actually thought he\'d tell you first and you\'d take longer to say it back—the idiot that you are sometimes." She smiled and Angela gave her an eye. "This is good, Anj… Sucks that he didn\'t say it back though, but still… You were so brave to tell him that. So I\'m proud of you."

Angela\'s lips wobbled. She didn\'t think that her best friend would say those to her. "It means a lot that you say that, Ninz…" Taking her best friend\'s hands in hers, she squeezed them and smiled. "I miss you. It\'s so good to be home," she said, though that might not be entirely true.. Because deep inside, Mayne City was no longer her home no matter how much she told herself repeatedly.