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Present

"I won\'t apologize for telling her if you\'re waiting for that. I don\'t regret anything," said Becca unapologetically, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Why did you tell her in the first place?" Gael questioned. He was clearly confused as to why she did what she did because he knew what kind of person Becca was. She\'s a carefree woman, but she would never ruin anyone\'s relationship. Though there was never an official relationship between him and Angela, there was still something.

Taking a deep breath, Becca faced the city below them and looked far ahead, recalling a particular time several weeks ago. "I wasn\'t going to. Whatever you do with your life, that\'s your business."

"Then, why?"

"Knowing that she was the author we were talking about blew my mind, okay? It was shocking to me. Especially after recalling what you said back on the island. You already knew it was her, but you didn\'t give me a heads up." She huffed. "After my first meeting with Angela for the contract signing, I overheard her on the phone. I was just passing by, and I didn\'t mean to, but… I heard her say your name and it sounded like she was leaving you a voicemail or something—"

"When was this?" His voice sounded gentle. Hearing about Angela trying to contact him caused his chest to throb. He swallowed the guilt that was in the form of a lump in his throat.

"Around the second week of September? I didn\'t stay long to listen. I just knew that she was looking for you. Look, I didn\'t want to get involved in whatever you two had… But I met her again weeks later when she came here with her agent to discuss some important stuff regarding the project. And after the meeting, I saw her talking to Samantha. She was asking about you, Gael. The poor girl didn\'t know where you were… It was hard to look at her, okay? I feel so bad that she was waiting for you, but you were clearly ghosting her. You\'re a jerk."

"So you told her?!"

"Hey, I felt the need to save her from her misery so she can move on. You could have told her that you didn\'t want anything to do with her anymore because of your revenge or whatever it was that you did to her. Why did you make her wait? I didn\'t think you would be so cruel."

Gael raised his head and stared at the ceiling, taking deep breaths to calm himself down at the dilemma he was in. "I didn\'t. I couldn\'t do it."

"What?"

"At first, I wanted to. I did start… but I couldn\'t go through with it."

"Well, you\'re an ass for even thinking it. I didn\'t know what you planned to do at that time, but it made sense to me now. I understand that you were pissed because she invaded your privacy—believe me, I do, but there are other ways to settle the matter, and you know it, Gael. You shouldn\'t play with a woman\'s heart. You\'re better than that." Becca glanced at him and saw the state he was in. It was pretty obvious now that he was very much bothered by this mess. If he didn\'t care about Angela, he wouldn\'t be here.

He didn\'t say anything as he leaned forward, resting his lower arms on the railings as he buried his face in his hands.

Becca whipped out her phone and checked the time. It was almost four in the afternoon, and she was supposed to meet someone soon. "I would have told you then, but I also couldn\'t get a hold of you. The last time I heard from you was months ago before you flew her back here."

Gael lifted his head and looked at her. He remembered that time very well. An hour before his flight back to Esmea with Angela, he sent Becca a text message.

"I reckon things are going well with her?" he probed.

Becca gave him a faint smile as she nodded and told him, "She\'s a talented writer. We made the right decision."

A weak but genuine smile broke his face. He was proud to hear her compliment about Angela that he felt something flutter in his chest. It was as though he was the one receiving the praise.

Patting his shoulder, she gestured for him to move. "I am going to meet someone soon. You should leave."

Gael followed Becca back into the small room, and almost instantly, he was reminded of the naked men in the floor below them, and he grimaced. "You should consider putting up a sign in your studios. No one wants to see what\'s happening inside. Take it from me."

The two laughed as they descended the stairs. The look on his face when he saw the scene earlier was priceless. "There was a sign. You just didn\'t look up."

"If the sign was big enough, then I shouldn\'t have to look up." He shook his head. "I can\'t believe he allows you to do that kind of thing." Gael didn\'t have to clarify that he was talking about Becca\'s significant other.

"I told you. It\'s a special project for a magazine, and we need diversity. Also, it\'s work, and I don\'t do it every day," she responded casually, not the least bit bothered by his questioning. 

They landed on the first floor, and she began to hasten his leave, pushing him on the back until they almost reached the front door.

"Why are you in such a hurry to make me leave? I\'m already going," Gael protested as Becca practically pushed him out of the studio.

Just as the two stepped out, a car parked right next to his car. They turned their heads and saw the car door opening, and then a woman came out. She was wearing a casual outfit—tattered jeans, a grey knitted long-sleeved sweater, white sneakers, and an oversized beige coat.

She hadn\'t looked up yet when Gael stopped in his tracks and stared at her. Then his heart started to race as she slowly walked towards them. Boy was he glad to see her. \'There you are...\'

"Angela…" he murmured in a gentle and affectionate tone.

That\'s when the woman looked up and met his stare. She was surely not expecting to see him there that day.

Seeing them like this, Becca could feel the air thicken in the atmosphere. It got even colder than it already was. She sighed and whispered to the man next to her, "This is the other thing I warned you about for coming here…"

It had only been two days since the last time Gael and Angela saw each other, but he felt as if it had been weeks. He wondered if she was still furious at him. For two days, he had only seen her face on his phone. So being able to see her again eased his worries. He partially expected her to look away, but she was so brave to stare right back at him.

What was he supposed to do? Should he go and say hi?

He had wanted to contact her, but he didn\'t want to seem pushy, so he gave her some space. But now that she was just a few steps away, all he wanted to do was dash forward and pull her to his arms. 

\'Yeah… You know that\'s not gonna happen,\' he told himself.