亚洲日本韩国国产

Over the next several days, Angela and Gael went about their week, working together in the library in the mornings, hanging out in the estate and the nearby places in the afternoon, dinner with the family in the evenings, and sneaking into each other\'s rooms in the middle of the night.

The two came to an easy harmony and Angela thought things were finally looking up for both of them. They had businesses and work mostly handled but also still had time to be with each other. She didn\'t think she\'d ever reach this point where she would enjoy having her boyfriend stay at her father\'s house and even spend time with her family most nights and have actual fun.

She learned a lot from Gael and even from her family whom she thought she had known all her life. Like for example, the other day, she learned that Oliver learned magic tricks from a professional magician and that Charlie actually knew how to draw and was very good at it. This happened after Angela received Gabriella\'s gift, which by the way, was nowhere near "small" like she said it would be.

Gael\'s sister shipped one of her paintings to the mansion—a colorful piece of modern impressionism with a man in a suit and a woman wearing a flowy pink dress. It was sexy and bright as the man dipped the woman low and kissed the base of her throat.

In a small card, Gabriella wrote that this was a painting she made a few years ago and she thought it suited Angela and Gael best. Seeing the painting made Angela\'s heart flutter. It was strange how something so colorful evoked a sensual feeling inside her, especially once she imagined that the people in it were her and the man she loved.

Learning more and more about Gael and his family\'s businesses over time made her realize many things. Gael hadn\'t judged her for all the things she did and the things that happened to her. Knowing what he did and what he had to do should be a big deal—and it was, but she gave him the same respect of not judging him. Angela knew him well enough now to know what his priorities were and that he would do anything to protect those he cared about.

She really must have been built differently because instead of being afraid of him, she wanted to be with him now more than ever. Angela felt safer in his presence than she was without him.

***

Saturday — February 2

Charlie and Oliver left the house after lunch today and drove to Harbor City, each with a suitcase in hand. They were supposed to attend an engagement party before flying out to the South of France for a few days.

Angela didn\'t go with them. Firstly, because she had a deadline to catch up with her packing and shipping out signed copies of her books. And secondly, the engagement party belonged to a power couple: Mr. Damien Park and Ms. Katherine Young.

She didn\'t know them personally, although she met both separately when she was just a child in a social gathering. Angela saw a few articles about them online and the two were both so tall, attractive, and a match made in heaven.

However, Damien Park was William\'s cousin. And the Parks owned half of Esmea, and other crime families were pretty much not allowed here unless it was a friendly visit. Angela showing up with Gael to their party might not be the best idea. She didn\'t want any trouble and that meant staying out of their radar. Besides, their grand engagement had a strict guest list. Her name should be there but not Gael\'s.

Also, there were rumors about how the Parks crushed their competitors to a pulp, she didn\'t want to wait and see what they would do if they decided Gael overstayed his welcome. 

Gael had to meet some people, his contact and aid here in setting up the oil company, leaving Angela at home. He told her it would probably take the whole afternoon and possibly evening as they had to check out the neighboring towns. She didn\'t mind as she would be busy anyway.

Angela packed and labeled the packages for hours. When three o\'clock struck, she realized that she needed to get more books from her apartment to fulfill the remaining orders. So she grabbed her purse and wore a coat over her shirt and jeans, then headed out the door.

Santiago was chatting with the gardener when she reached the steps and he immediately went to her side. "Where are we going?"

"You\'re okay driving a van, right? I need to fetch a lot of boxes from my apartment."

"Sure." He nodded, and then they strolled towards the garage where all the Sus\' vehicles were parked. Several four wheels, a few of Oliver\'s race cars, and a couple of bikes lined up the space, all shiny and sparkly. Santiago whistled as they passed by a yellow Lambo, muttering something to himself.

They first picked up some packing materials and sharpies that Angela was running out of before driving to the apartment. She decided to just move all the boxes she had in her office to her father\'s house. Now that Charlie knew about her writing novels, there was no need to hide them. Plus, it would save her all the trouble of traveling back and forth to this place.

She still had no luck at finding a house for herself. However, she didn\'t fret. Her forever home would be worth the wait, she thought.

"That\'s the last of it," Angela said as she placed a box on top of another on a platform push cart that they borrowed from the front desk. It would be the third trip Santiago would make from her apartment to the van downstairs. While he was out on the first two, she decided to start packing some books from her shelf into boxes as well for the move later.

The two of them headed to the elevators. When the car arrived, there were already four people inside from the upper floors. They kindly moved to the side to let them in. Santiago got in first, rolling the cart backwards into the car—his back to the wall and the cart in front of him, facing the door. Angela stepped forward to get in the tight space too, but then she realized she left something on the kitchen counter.

"Crap. I left my purse inside. You go ahead. I\'ll just see you downstairs in a minute." She stepped back and waved at Santiago who hesitantly nodded in response as the door began to close between them.

Angela hurried back to her apartment. She punched the code in and walked inside, the door closing behind her.

However, the lock didn\'t click and she turned around to check, gasping when a gloved hand reached in and pushed the door open. "Stop! Stay right there," she warned as she grabbed the nearest thing—a vase—on the console next to her. It was instinct, and her heart rammed against her chest as she stared wide-eyed.

Angela raised the vase in the air, ready to hurl it at the person when he didn\'t heed her warning. She hadn\'t seen the man before. He looked to be in his twenties, clean-shaven, had long hair, and tattoos crawling on his neck and arms under his rolled-up black Henley shirt. When he stepped inside the threshold, she threw the vase at his head. He smirked as he easily blocked and flung the vase aside, the porcelain smashing into pieces when it crashed the wall.

She dashed to the kitchen, thinking she could grab a knife or something. He seized her by the hair and yanked her backward. Pain burned on her scalp and she cried out, trying to scratch him everywhere she could reach.

"You\'re coming with me," he growled in her ear and started dragging her outside.

Angela thrashed, kicking and clawing at him. His arms were raw with her claw marks. She managed to knee him in the nuts and he instantly let go of her hair.

"You fucking bitch!" He doubled over.

She didn\'t stay to watch him nurse himself. Angela ran towards the kitchen, hearing hurried footsteps hot on her heels and she knew he was already onto her. Her purse was on the counter like she left it, next to a stainless steel knife rack. Angela reached for it, her hand closing in on the steel handle.

"Ahh!!!"

Strong arms circled around her and she struggled against him, twisting sideways. Without hesitating, Angela gripped a utility knife and swung it towards his body.

"Mother fucker!" He grunted when the blade sliced the side of his abdomen. Blood dripped down the floor, she was stunned to see it happen so fast. He pressed his hands on it to stop the bleeding.

Angela had never hurt anyone like that before. The sight of the blood gushing through his fingers made her want to puke. The knife slipped from her grasp as she was in shock, thinking he would die from all the blood coming out of his side. 

And then a bloody hand came crashing down her face so fast, she didn\'t have time to think.. The force was so strong, her entire body whipped to the side and her forehead exploded in pain before her vision went black.