Chương 17: A Spark

"No, no, no… Wait! Wait!" Angela pushed through despite her aching ankle, trying to catch up with Gael's long strides. She whisper-shouted as she tried to chase after him in an attempt not to catch other guests' attention.

Gael was already several meters away from her and he easily maneuvered his way towards the rooms while she hastened her shaky steps, struggling to avoid bumping into people along her way. All the while, she continued to call his name but he continuously ignored her and walked even faster.

She almost crashed into a drunk man but had evaded at the last minute, causing her to slip and almost fell on her face.

"Ah!" she yelped and barely managed to set her balance straight again.

Hearing her cry, Gael briefly halted his steps, turning his head to the side just enough to see what happened to her and when he saw that she was fine, he turned his back and kept going. He shouldn't pity her. He deserved to be chased after what she did to him.

He raised an imperious brow at the image of Angela in his head, feeling so superior about himself. He's Gael De Luca—why should he pity the likes of her?

She already called him an ass—so he might as well play the part.

Meanwhile, Angela ignored the swelling on her ankle. She didn't put her weight on her left foot that she had twisted that afternoon and so she walked a little funnily but that didn't deter her from going after Gael.

She didn't think that her story would be this huge. How would she have known that Gael was even going to find out about that novel she wrote? It was like one in a million! Okay, probably not... but still!

There were a good five meters between them and when she saw him enter the elevator and closing it before she could even reach the landing, she gritted her teeth and cursed him when he flashed her an amused smile just before the elevator door closed.

"Damn you, Gael!" she bit out before heading towards the stairs. It was a good thing that their rooms were only on the third floor and she could manage to walk up the stairs or she would probably die of exhaustion if it were any floor higher. Each step caused her left foot to twinge and she grimaced every single step, but she ground her teeth and gripped the railing as she endured the pain until she reached the third floor.

As soon as she landed, she raced towards the direction of their rooms and was relieved to see his wide, impressive back as he was about to open the door to his suite.

Angela finally caught up to him. She held him by the arm and snarled, "Will you just—wait…" her voice trailed off at the last word and her hand slightly shook before recoiling.

'What the hell just happened?!' she screamed in her thoughts. When her hand made contact with his muscular arm, she felt a spark! And no, it wasn't the friggin' static electricity kind that some people's bodies' had. It wasn't a shocking kind of shock. It was a different kind of electric current that she had never felt before. Something… oddly nice and foreign.

And with the way that Gael curiously glanced at the spot on his arm where she had just grabbed him, she was certain that he felt it too.

Clearing her throat, Angela composed herself, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and flicking it. She was tense and she didn't know how to convince him. Her heart skipped a beat when Gael shifted his gaze to her. His expression was unreadable but his eyes obviously showed contempt.

She should be insulted by the way he looked at her but instead, she found herself liking the intimidation as if she wanted to be controlled by his dominance. "P-Please… Can we talk about this?"

"Talk?" Gael's brow twitched up, looking arrogant and unapproachable like the man that he wanted to be in front of her. "What's there to talk about?"

Sighing in resignation, Angela wanted to get this over and done with so she confessed, "Fine! I used you as a character reference and even used that… that night's experience to write the book but—"

"I'm no lawyer," Gael interrupted because, at this point, he believed that there wasn't any excuse in the world for what she did. His brows squinched together as he continued, "...but I'm sure you can be sued for… I don't know, Right of Publicity? Defamation? Hmmm… Invasion of Privacy? Whatever it is, I will make sure that you pay and you can't convince me otherwise."

He turned around, disappointment reflected on his face. He couldn't quite figure out why he was so damn pissed about what was happening.

Inserting the keycard on the door lock, the indicator turned green and a click was heard at the same time that the door opened. Just as he pushed the door, he felt a tug on his shirt, making him turn towards her. Her delicate hand was clutching the hem of his shirt and when he looked at her face, he saw her brows sag and her mouth slightly trembling.

He almost felt sorry for her.

"Please… Let's talk about this. If this goes out… my identity… I can't… No one can know who I am or what I do…"

She looked pitiful and he was a bit torn between hugging her to stop her from looking so sad and brushing her hand off his shirt because he was pissed at her. Damn it.

And because he was already so confused at the swirl of emotions that were coursing through his body, he snapped, "How the fûck is that my problem?!"

Angela was taken aback by his harsh language. Yes, she could curse from time to time and she could tolerate hearing it from people too, but the way Gael scolded her just now made her take a step back. She swallowed, trying to convince herself that she should not back down.

A part of him regretted that he got so worked up just now after seeing her flinch at his tone but he stood his ground and remained to look vexed.

"Why are you so mad?" she slightly quavered with confusion, feeling a prick in her chest as she looked at him being angry at her. "It's not like those stories you told me were real anyway. We can settle this amicably… You don't need to bring this to court."

He was right. This woman didn't believe any of the things he told her that night. The one night that he actually tried to be honest and upfront with someone about who he was and yet he was treated as a joke. How pathetic.

When he didn't respond, Angela added with a hopeful voice, "I'll give you a percentage of the royalty I earned from the book. What do you think?"

He cocked his head to the side, his condescending stare traveling up and down her figure before he let out a soft, mocking chuckle. He almost felt sorry for her earlier but now she was only making things worse. Did she think she could do this to him? 'Who the fûck did she think she is?'

Inching forward, all six foot two of Gael De Luca towered over Angela and his abrasive voice cut through her like a sharp knife when he told her, "You think I need your money? I can buy you, Angela Su." His jaw tensed and his gaze turned icy. "And I can ruin you."

Gael left her out in the hallway and entered his room before she could even recover from his aggressiveness.