No one could see how wide Angela’s eyes were at the moment. And only she knew how frantic her heartbeat was. It was so loud that she could hear the beating in her ear and feel the pulse in her throat. So loud that she was afraid Gael would hear it and tell her to shut it up.

When he suddenly snapped at her, she thought he was going to get mad and lash out. But he unexpectedly grabbed her hand, and now she didn’t know whether to pull it away or just let him continue holding her. She didn’t want him to think that she liked it.

Because she did. She just didn’t want him to know it.

Since the electricity was still off, they had to take the stairs all the way down to the ground floor. They met a few other guests on the way who were also headed to the lobby. Her palms started getting sweaty and she worried, but he didn’t let go of her even though she knew he noticed it.

Arriving at the lobby, Angela heard him mutter a curse under his breath, seeing that it was filled with so many guests—a lot of them were families, others were with friends or couples. Everyone had gathered there when the lights got cut off and did not come back on. Just as they walked near the reception, the staff announced that the generator broke down and they were still fixing it. They assured everyone that everything would be okay and because of the inconvenience, the resort prepared dinner for all of their guests at no charge.

“I’m gonna kill you, Daniel,” Gael murmured, and she heard it.

“It’s not like it’s his fault that the generator broke down. You said it worked earlier, didn’t it?”

“It’s his resort.”

There was no point arguing with a man who wanted to insist on himself, so Angela just kept her mouth shut.

She turned to look at the beach and saw the large and angry waves. It was horrifying to watch so she immediately looked away. Unbeknownst to her, she had squeezed Gael’s hand and so he saw her reaction when he turned his head in her direction.

“Let’s go,” he said and dragged her with him.

The staff ushered the guests towards the restaurant. Luckily, the area was spacious and they had also opened the function room next to it to accommodate everyone. The chefs were still preparing the food and the guests were in a queue to get settled. It was crowded inside but there were enough emergency lights.

A running child bumped into Angela as they stood in line, causing her to hit her shoulder against Gael’s upper arm. She gasped but quickly straightened and regained herself. “Sorry,” she said.

Gael’s brows knitted and his eyes narrowed as he watched the child run to someone several feet away. The child had shoved other people on the way as well.

“It’s okay… Just let him go,” Angela stopped him when she noticed that he was about to scold the kid who looked to be about seven years old. She understood what he wanted to do and she wasn’t totally against it, but everyone was already stressed about this whole situation, so she thought to just let it go.

He let out a sigh and they continued to wait. They were silent for a couple of minutes until she said, “You can let go…”

“What?” Gael asked, his brows slightly creased in confusion.

Angela raised their hands that were now intertwined. At first, he was the one holding her, now, their fingers were locked—she didn’t know how that happened.

“My hand. You can let go of it now,” she repeated.

He dragged his gaze to their hands and he swallowed. The next second, he released her and cleared his throat. Then, he went back to ignoring her.

Before they were seated, they passed by the bar where everyone could request for any drinks that they wanted and bring them to their table. As usual, Angela ordered a cappuccino.

While she waited for her order, she noticed Gael giving her a look. “What?”

“Who orders a cappuccino at five in the afternoon?” he questioned. If they were in Italy, she’d be frowned upon or laughed at if she ordered that at this hour.

Angela thought his question was weird. So what if she wanted a cappuccino? What was up with him? Was he just picking a fight with her? She had decided to keep it civil but it seemed like he wanted to annoy her for no reason. She didn’t know how to answer his strange question, so she just raised her brow at him.

Meanwhile, Gael contemplated whether he should tell her that or not. Nah. Why bother? He wasn’t her father.

Seeing as he didn’t add anything to his question, Angela shrugged and said, “I just woke up after a very long sleep. I need my coffee and I like cappuccino.”

His expression softened. She wasn’t technically ‘wrong’. Since she just woke up, this would be her ‘breakfast’—only it was already five in the afternoon. So, probably a cappuccino would be okay… Fine. Whatever. Why did he even care? Why the hell was he even bothered about what she ordered?! ‘Since when did you care, Gael?’ he asked himself in silence.

While Gael was having a mental debate, Angela thought he was acting weird as his grey eyes kept staring at her but he didn’t say anything. She started to get conscious, so she turned her back to him to avoid his gaze.

And she fanned her face because it was getting hot and she was flushed.