Gael's Naughty Angel: A Mafia Prince Romance

Before noon, Angela and Gael were back home in the mansion. And just like Charlie promised, two young female nurses were already waiting at the front door.

Gael felt uncomfortable having other people—strangers—constantly hovering over them. Gael didn't like the attention, having used to tending himself with minimal help from others whenever he was injured. He disliked not being able to do things by himself without the nurses trying to do their job, and he could tell that Angela was also uncomfortable.

She admitted that she was still in pain, but she wasn't disabled and could do things independently. They were probably the most reluctant patients the two nurses had to work for. Angela and Gael slept the whole afternoon because of their pain medicines. She didn't protest when he insisted he slept on the bed next to her. He was determined not to leave her side.

Gael sent the two nurses home by six in the evening and told them not to come back. The nurses looked at each other and almost cried, thinking they did a terrible job and getting fired on the first day, but Angela reassured them that it wasn't the case. And when he handed them a check with a generous amount, the nurses were appeased, and their frowns turned into smiles.

Gael and Angela were finally relieved to get them off their backs. She didn't like the extra glances the nurses gave him anyway.

The mansion was solemn in the evening with only the two of them upstairs. The butler made sure the servants didn't disturb them during the day, so they stayed away from Angela's bedroom where the couple were cooped up the whole day. Charlie and Oliver wouldn't be home until the next morning.

When it was time for dinner, only Elias came up to wheel in a tray of healthy meals prepared by the kitchen and set up a dining table by the window. Gael wasn't too hungry so he only ate half of his food. Angela didn't have an appetite upon seeing his exhausted state so she didn't eat much either. She was worried for him. Even after sleeping long hours, Gael felt weak. She knew he was hurting and wanted him to rest more tonight.

While Angela stepped out of the room, Gael went to the bathroom to wash up. Even washing his face and brushing his teeth felt like a nightmare. His whole upper body was sore. Most of his back and shoulders felt rubbery—like a firm lump, swollen and so annoying. He could only lie on his side when he was in bed.

He wiped his face dry after brushing his teeth and stared at himself in the mirror. Then he peeled off his shirt to check the state of his back. Yep. It was still all black and blue all over. The swelling on the wounds on his face had subsided, thanks to Angela's insistence on putting a cold compress on them. His back, though, he hadn't shown her yet. He didn't want her to see it because he was sure she'd feel bad and guilty like it was her fault, though he never blamed her.

Gael grabbed a new pack of elastic bandages, wincing when his back muscles flexed from the movement. He should have asked the nurse to wrap him up before they left, but with Angela's eyes on him the entire time and the warning stares she gave the young nurses whenever they assisted him here and there, he dropped the idea. His lips twitched at the thought. His little Angel was so territorial.

The bathroom door swung wide, and Angela came in. Shit. He hadn't actually closed the door. Now, she gasped in horror as she took in the sorry state of his back; her eyes instantly watered. He couldn't move. Even if he turned away, the mirror was right there, and she would still be able to see it.

He sighed. "I'm okay, baby. Really. It looks worse than it actually feels. I heal pretty fast, you know."

She swallowed and dropped her gaze. Wordlessly, she walked towards him and collected the bandage from his hand. Gael was about to stop her but she gave him this look that said: "Please let me." So he did.

Despite her dainty fingers, Angela moved deftly as she covered his torso with the right pressure, occasionally glancing at him for assurance that she wasn't wrapping him up too tight.

He could really kiss her right now.

When she was done, she carefully put a fresh shirt on him and went back into the bedroom. Gael followed after her and found her sitting at the foot of the bed. She looked distressed like something had been weighing on her shoulder. He could guess what it was.

They hadn't broached the topic they had in the morning again. He waited for when she'd do it herself. But tonight, she still hadn't tried to even bring up the elephant in the room, and it was starting to make him anxious.

With his jaw taut, he crossed the distance between them and sat next to her.

"Angel… We need to talk about it."

She squeezed her eyes shut and then slowly looked up at him. Then she let out a heavy sigh and nodded. "I'll tell you everything."

"Okay."

"I'll understand if you'll hate me after."

"I could never hate you." His brows furrowed as if the idea insulted him. "But I need to know what happened. I'm going crazy just speculating."

Angela took a deep breath. Her hands on her lap curled into fists as she lowered her gaze on them.

She felt sick to her stomach just recalling the events in her head. It felt as if she was reliving it all over again. This time, it was because she had to tell the man she didn't want to hurt, but there was no other way around it. Gael would hurt. That, she knew for certain. And that would break her heart.

Angela didn't even know where to start. And then she decided to start at the time she found out.

"After that Evan thing, the drugs in the warehouse, my family's possible involvement, I found myself lost. I was always out with friends, drinking and partying. One day, I woke up feeling nauseous. I was out with Nina the night before. I thought I was experiencing a hangover, but I only had a couple of sips of vodka. I wasn't drunk at all when I got home, so I thought it was just a bad case of stomach flu or food poisoning.

"Nina came by to bring me some food. I couldn't keep it down. It was horrible. Everything just made me want to vomit. She joked that… If she didn't know I've always been careful, she'd think I was pregnant. Nina laughed. I didn't."

Angela glanced at Gael. He was staring at her intently, waiting for her to resume, his jaw tight. She looked back down on her lap and continued.

"I wanted to laugh with her, but that's when I realized I haven't had my period in a while. I've always been regular. I was so out of it…and stressed that…I didn't notice until then. So I took a test. Two actually. I already knew what it was before I even saw it."

She got to her feet and walked over to her closet. When she came back, she had a craft box in her hand. With slightly shaky hands, she opened the lid and took out two sticks with blue caps, among many trinkets inside. Two pregnancy kits with a plus sign on the window on each stick. Then she handed them to Gael. "Even after seeing these, I still didn't believe it."

He swallowed as he tentatively looked at them in his hands. He hadn't said anything, and that made her even more nervous but she didn't stop.

"So I went to see a doctor. She, of course, told me what I already knew. I was over five weeks pregnant. I wasn't showing yet. I didn't feel anything until that morning. But it was there. I…" She choked up. "I even heard the heartbeat. The doctor said some couldn't hear a fetal heartbeat until six to seven weeks, but not mine. It was… It was like tiny little flutters…" She cleared her throat and then blew out a breath. 

"Angel…"

She ignored him calling. "When I left the hospital, I remember being so happy. I didn't even ask for it and all of a sudden, it was the only thing that mattered. I told myself I'd be more careful, be healthier…live better. The days before that... I've been drinking, and I felt so...so guilty. It took me days to really think things over and plan what I needed to do next.

"Growing up with only one parent, I told myself I'd never let my child grow up fatherless. It didn't matter that I was single and that the…baby daddy was nowhere near me—that I wasn't even dating him. I had to tell him."

Angela bit her bottom lip, hot tears slipping down her cheeks. "So I went to see Daniel Cho…"

"What are you…"

"…to ask him about you." She met his surprised gaze.. "I figured he and his wife were the only ones who could tell me how to reach you… It was your baby."