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Saturday — March 2

"Wow…" Gael gaped as Angela descended the stairs, a slow smile building on his lips. She wasn\'t even surprised to see him look so breathtakingly handsome in his bespoke suit—like he always does—but her stomach still fluttered anyway. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, gazing into her eyes as he added, "Baby… You look…absolutely stunning."

She smiled back, glancing down at her black evening dress. He picked it for her the other day; A gown that brought equal parts elegance and sass with a little bit of sexy and sophistication with a scoop neck, thin straps, a showy back detailing, and a fluttering thigh-high slit. Oozing with confidence despite the nerves hiding deep within her, she turned around, giving him a show of what he got for her. "Thank you."

"Is it too late to cancel?" Gael drew her close, a sly smile ghosting his lips while his arms circled her waist. "I\'d rather just take you back upstairs…or on the stairs if you\'re feeling up to it."

Angela chuckled at the proposition and locked her arms around his neck. While the thought of him pounding into her on the stairs was hot, they needed to get over tonight. "As much as I want you all to myself tonight… Gael, you need to be there. You said so yourself; the senator needs to know you got his back so he\'ll return the favor."

"I can\'t believe I\'m marrying a sensible woman."

"I can\'t believe I\'M being sensible right now."

He laughed at that, and then she added, "I\'m so proud of you. You\'re already achieving your goals."

"And I couldn\'t have done them without you."

She knitted her brows together and chuckled. "I don\'t know what you mean. I haven\'t done anything to get you to where you are now. Gael, you now own KMH—well, almost half of it, but you get what I mean. That\'s all you."

Gael swept her hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. Then he pressed a kiss on her lips. "Baby, you\'ve done a lot more than that. You just have no idea how much. I\'m not going to neglect the things you do for me every single day. You\'ve been making sure I\'m eating when God knows I\'ll forget to if you hadn\'t made breakfast or brought me food for lunch. Sometimes I forget important stuff, and the fucking tiny notes are there to remind me." They both laughed. "If I haven\'t told you enough… I appreciate you a lot. Thank you, Angel."

Angela agitatedly stomped her foot to stop the tears that gathered in her eyes from falling. She only did those things because she wanted to and did not expect him to make a big deal out of it. But there he was, making her all emotional and stuff. She clicked her tongue and slid her arms around his midsection to hug him tightly. That exam he underwent a couple of weeks ago still scared the shit out of her until now, and that was why she needed to take care of him more.

"Now I don\'t want to go…" She whined against his neck. Just the thought of seeing her estranged maternal family at the party made her chest ache and stomach burn.

Gael was quiet for a few beats, and his voice was cautious when he spoke, "I can tell Cindy you got a stomach bug or something. She\'ll understand."

Cindy was the birthday girl—a sweet teenager she met several days ago. The two were out shopping around the mall while the men were busy in a meeting at a restaurant. Cindy was a little shy and a lot reserved, but once Angela got to know the girl, she was actually quite inquisitive. Angela couldn\'t forget the look on the teen\'s face when she invited Angela to her 18th birthday. Apparently, Cindy didn\'t want this celebration, saying that she didn\'t have friends to celebrate it with anyway. His father arranged all the invites, and the guests that were her age were schoolmates she didn\'t get along with.

So if Angela didn\'t show up tonight, Cindy would be disappointed. Plus, there\'s that thing about honoring invitations in the De Lucas\' circle. It\'s like: Show up, and I\'ll know we\'re friends. Don\'t show up, and I\'ll know you\'re up to something I don\'t like.

Standing straight, she shrugged off her nerves and shook her head. "No, I\'ll go. But can we stick to our agreement?"

"Of course. We\'ll only stay there for an hour—two max, and then we\'re out."

***

Cindy\'s 18th birthday was at The Grand Ballroom at The Plaza on 5th Avenue. Compared to KMH\'s corporate party last night, tonight\'s party was different. The birthday celebration was extravagant, with more than five hundred guests milling and mingling about while dressed in their most elegant evening clothes.

Angela had never been thankful with this many guests to conceal herself in the crowd. It helped that she wore a black dress and easily blended in the crowd. However, she couldn\'t stop herself from fidgeting. Gael squeezed her hand and handed her a flute of champagne. "For your nerves," he said.

When she took a big gulp, he instantly cautioned her to slow down, saying, "Small sips. You don\'t want that to go in your head."

"What is taking so long?" she muttered low so that only the two of them could hear. 

They were all waiting for the debutante to come out, and they had already been there for thirty minutes. Gael\'s parents arrived together with them—so did Giovanni, Gabriella and Mariano, and even Sebastian. The latter had only arrived in New York a few hours ago after leaving the country for a few weeks. All of them were seated at a round table. 

The Russians were nowhere to be found yet, and part of Angela wanted to think that they probably won\'t show up.

Aurora, who sat across Angela, smiled to give her comfort. She didn\'t hear what Angela said, but most of the people present at the table were aware of Angela\'s connection with the Volkovs and the Novikovs.

Before they entered the venue earlier, Alessandro had told Angela, "Don\'t be nervous. They won\'t be able to get to you as long as you\'re with us. Just be yourself and try to relax. You\'ll draw more attention if you look anxious."

Angela tried that—not to look anxious. But she didn\'t know if she did a good job because her thighs and back were sweating. Good thing she wore deodorant, or she was sure that would very much draw attention to her right now.

The host brought the guests\' attention to him as he stood in the middle of the ballroom, announcing that the debutante was about to come out. Angela released a deep breath as she thanked the heavens.

While the host talked about Cindy\'s upbringing in elaborate detail, photos and videos of her younger self were displayed on a white screen for everyone to see.

The side door opened and several men in suits with tattoos crawling up their necks entered the hall, grabbing everyone\'s attention. The host faltered a little, but he didn\'t allow the distraction to hinder him from doing his job, and instead, he continued his spiel.

Angela sucked in a breath as her eyes followed the imposing figure who entered the ballroom with the tattooed men. There was no mistaking it. The man was Matvey Novikov—her grandfather—and the Bratva\'s Pakhan.

Behind him was Ivanovich Volkov, followed by Angela\'s mother, Cynthia, and her half-siblings, along with other possibly high-ranked men judging by the scary-looking expressions on their faces. 

Unlike Gael\'s family, who exuded sophistication and subtle elegance, along with their power, the Bratva appeared fierce and brute while wearing luxury clothing and apparel. Angela couldn\'t fathom how her mother could live with those people around her.

Alessandro shook his head and chuckled to himself. "Novikov and his grand entrance."

Thankfully, the Bratva was seated several tables away from theirs. Angela felt Gael squeeze her hand, and she forced a smile at him before facing the host once again.

Cindy finally came out, and the nervousness was apparent on her face as she walked towards the dance floor with her father. She looked beautiful in her pink princess gown, and for a few minutes, Angela forgot about her own worries.

A little while later, Cindy sat on a large royal armchair. She scanned the crowd as if she was looking for someone. When her eyes landed on the De Lucas\' table, Cindy\'s lips curled into a genuine smile, and then she mouthed: "Thank you."

Warmth spread in Angela\'s chest, realizing that Cindy was addressing her. They merely spent a few hours together that one time and the young lady was already thanking her for coming to her 18th birthday. Angela could only imagine how Cindy would\'ve felt if she didn\'t come. Why was everybody so sweet tonight? She felt like she didn\'t really do much.

Returning the smile, Angela mouthed back, "You\'re beautiful," causing Cindy to blush.

When Angela leaned back on her chair, she felt a strange pull from her periphery.. She instinctively turned her head to check, and Matvey Novikov was staring right at her.