Angel and Eric couldn’t wait to meet Leo the next morning when they got to work early with Mr. McDonell. Before the work hour began, Angel went over to Leo’s office. His secretary hadn’t arrived yet. She was worried that he might not actually be there. Standing at the door of his office, she hesitated at first to knock. When she finally had the courage to do so, she waited for a response, feeling anxious. Leo’s voice inside the room made Angel’s heart beat quickly. She took hold of the doorknob and opened the door to Leo’s office.
Leo stood in front of his desk in a white shirt, working on tying his navy blue tie. When he looked up and saw Angel, he brought out a shy smile. The smile made him look as handsome as ever.
“Morning,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to come here. Did you just arrive?”
“Yeah, a few minutes ago,” said Angel as she closed the door behind her. “Eric will be here soon. We’ve been so worried since you took off last night.”
Leo finished working on his tie and buttoned up the top button of his shirt. He started to tighten the tie at the top. “I figured,” he said. “I’m sorry to have worried you.”
“You should apologize to Eric,” said Angel as she approached him. “And also Oliver. Those two barely ate anything last night because of that stunt you pulled. Diana and I literally had to force their mouths open. And I haven’t heard from your mother since last night. I asked your father this morning, but he didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I apologize, but I simply couldn’t stay in that house anymore.” Leo tried to straighten his tie. “How is Carly holding up?”
Angel sighed. “I haven’t had the chance to talk to her either. She decided not to attend classes today; she says she has a stomach bug.”
“She shouldn’t blame herself for what happened. We all knew my mother wasn’t going to agree. How does this tie look?”
Angel brought herself closer to him. “Let me straighten it out for you.” She held the top and bottom of his tie. “I know you don’t want to blame her, but she was just too reckless this time.” She looked up at Leo. “Did the two of you plan to tell the family this early?”
Leo shook his head. “No. We thought we would give ourselves time till maybe December. When she told me, I wasn’t happy about it, but the damage had already been done. What disappointed me is my mum. She said so many hurtful things that I wasn’t happy about.”
Angel finished straightening his tie. “I’m guessing that’s what drove you out of the house. Still, you shouldn’t have left like that.”
“Are you angry with me then?” Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course, I am. What do you think?” Angel’s voice raised a little higher. “Amanda said to give you a slap for leaving like you did. She’s hurt, but in a way, she understands and thinks it was the right thing to do.”
“Then why don’t you slap me then?” Leo smirked.
“I have decided not to, so don’t tempt me.” Angel’s eyes glared.
Leo chuckled as he looked at Angel’s angry face. Her furrowed eyebrows made her prettier to look at. Leo couldn’t help but smile a little as he noticed a strand of her hair fall out of place in front of her ear. He raised his hand and tucked the strand behind Angel’s ear. That little gesture caught Angel by surprise.
“Maybe you should slap me,” he said. “I might actually think of coming back.”
Angel blushed at the comment. “What? You don’t mean it, do you?” she asked.
The two of them stood in silence. Leo now realized that he shouldn’t have said it. He sucked his teeth as he gave Angel an apologetic look.
“Maybe not,” he said.
“I figured.” As she continued to look at Eric, she started to wonder if now felt like the perfect time to tell him about Carly. But she thought twice about it, looking at the situation he was already in.
A knock came at the door, and Leo, for once, wished for the person at the door to go away. He told the person at the door to come in. It’s Eric.
“I see Angel already beat me here,” said Eric as he closed the door behind him. “I really wish I didn’t see those emails.”
“Hey, you,” said Leo as he went round Angel to approach Eric.
“Don’t hey me,” said Eric. “You simply just left the house without even giving me a proper goodbye. Not cool, man.”
“I know. Angel here told me you had a hard time eating yesterday.”
“Well, yeah. What do you expect? I should punch you right now.”
“A slap and a punch. Mm, I really have a lot going on, do I?”
“And a hell of an explanation about the conversation with your mum. Sit down and tell us what happened.”
For a good ten minutes, Leo sat behind his desk telling Angel and Eric about what really happened last night. Angel could only imagine how angry Leo got, especially when Mrs. McDonell talked about Carly. It was obvious now that Mrs. McDonell didn’t approve of Carly being Leo’s girlfriend. She even told Leo to date anyone else and dump Carly. Angel made a mental note to trade carefully in front of Mrs. McDonell from now on. She might be angry with Carly, but Carly is Angel’s sister. In a way, she might try to direct her anger at Angel when she felt like it.
“She sounded pissed,” said Eric after Leo finished telling his story. “But now we’ll be the ones in her crossfire since you’re gone.”
“Most especially me,” said Angel. “But Carly will take most of it if the two ever get to meet. I hate to say this, but I think we should also move out of there as well.”
Eric and Leo turned to look at Angel, surprised at those words.
“Are you joking right now?” Eric asked. “First Leo leaves, and now you’re planning on doing so too? Why do you people want to leave me alone in that house?”
“You won’t be alone, Eric,” said Angel. “I’m just simply saying maybe it will be best to do so. We need to keep the peace, and Mrs. McDonell’s heart isn’t going to settle the longer Carly and I stay there.”
“As much as I agree with you, I think you shouldn’t leave,” said Leo. “Yes, she’ll attack you and Carly in any way she can. Moreover, my dad won’t allow you to. Your salary here might be good, but don’t forget the money you have to pay back for your mother’s mortgage. If you and Carly decide to stay on your own, you’ll barely survive. New York is a rough place to live in. And if by any chance you and Carly decide to live with me, we’ll be talking about World War Three.”
“Leo has a point,” said Eric. “If there’s anyone who has to be the bigger person here, it’s Aunt Bertha. She can’t keep getting away with things always going her way. If she can’t handle it, then she’ll have to leave instead. Maybe a bit of self-reflection in some meditation camp will do her good.”
“You know, I once tried putting her on that, and she didn’t talk to me the whole day.” Leo gave Eric a bored look. “But you’re right. If there’s anyone who has to change, it’s her.”
“If she does, will you decide to move back home?” Angel asked.
Leo shook his head. “Not even a chance. I’ve made up my mind. I think it’s time I spent time by myself for a change.”
“And it will also mean more private time with Carly,” said Eric as he raised his eyebrows at Leo. “That’s if your mum won’t show up one day when you least expect it and Carly happens to be there. Now that will be bonkers.”
“I can only imagine. You two better be getting to work now.” Leo looked at the time on his silver wristwatch. “People are going to start wondering where you are.”
“Damn, I forgot we had to get back to work. Oh, and expect a long talk with your father, Leo.”
“I’m expecting it actually. It’s only a matter of time till he calls.”
Angel stood up from her seat first, and soon Eric did the same. The two of them said they would meet with Leo later, and they walked out of the office. It was strange how after the workdaywas done, they weren’t going to be in the same car heading home together.
Angel and Eric walked down the hall together, and they soon parted ways, Eric going back to his office and Angel heading back to the pool office. Most of the cubicles were occupied, including Sabrina’s, who yelled a greeting when she saw Angel approach. It was just like any other ordinary Monday morning, and after a few people had their breakfast, it was time to get to work.
It was around ten when Angel decided to get a cup of water by the dispenser in the pool office. When she went to the dispenser, she heard footsteps coming behind her. When she turned, she saw the receptionist leading two people—a man and a woman—dressed in black suits. Judging by their ethnicity, Angel concluded that they are Mexican. The man was shorter than the woman beside him, and his hair had a wet look. The woman beside him had luscious black, curly hair that she tied in a ponytail, and she seemed to be studying the room as she walked by. She didn’t notice Angel by the dispenser as Angel stood aside to let them pass. A chill ran down her spine as she watched them leave the pool office. Who were they? She wondered.
As soon as Angel sat down at her desk, Sabrina came sliding into her cubicle. Angel frowned at her as Sabrina bumped into her chair, almost making her spill her cup of water.
“Do you have any idea who those people are?” Sabrina asked.
“Not even a clue,” Angel answered her. “But judging by their clothes, they seem like law enforcement. Not sure which one, though.”
“Could it be about the hack? Maybe they found a lead.”
“Maybe.” Angel remembered that the authorities did say that they have found something that would require further investigations. Could this be why those people are here? Angel wondered.
“Let’s see how things go,” said Angel. “Let’s get back to work, shall we?”
Sabrina didn’t protest as she pushed herself back into her cubicle. Angel went back to facing her screen after taking a sip of her water. She couldn’t help but worry, though. That chill she felt earlier only meant something big was going on and that those two people that came in might actually be at the center of it.
It was lunchtime when Eric had asked Angel to meet him in his office, for he planned to have a lunch out with both Angel and Eric. Angel could only imagine that he wanted her in his office because something was up. He and Leo would simply have passed by her cubicle like always and invited her out for lunch. Angel took her bag. Many of her colleagues, including Sabrina, had already left for lunch. She made her way to Eric’s office. His secretary had stepped out as well. She went on ahead to knock on his door, and he told her to come in. In the room, Angel found Eric sitting behind his desk, and Leo was facing the window, his back facing Angel. As soon as Angel entered the room and closed the door behind her, Leo turned to face her.
“What’s up?” Angel asked as she noticed the seriousness on Eric and Leo’s faces.
“I don’t know if you’re aware,” said Leo as he walked away from the window. “But we received two visitors this morning. You most likely must have seen them.”
“Yeah, I saw them,” Angel answered. “What about them?”
“They were from the DEA’s office.”
“D.E.A.?” Angel couldn’t believe it. “I knew the moment I saw them that they were law enforcement, but who would’ve thought that they were D.E.A.?”
“It surprised me and Dad too. We were together in the office when they came. It turns out the authorities who were investigating our hacking incident found something that they had to report to the D.E.A. The USB that they used on our computers was also used two years ago at an oil company. And it turns out the person who carried out the hack was a drug lord, who had recently been declared dead in a house fire in Mexico.”
Angel’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing those last few words. “A drug lord from Mexico?”
“Crazy, right?” Eric asked. “Even I couldn’t believe it. Remember that crazy news story we saw on TV once about the house that caught fire in Mexico? It’s the same story.”
Angel felt her heart shatter into a million pieces as she tried her best not to give in to her already weak knees. She also had to control the expression on her face as her worst fear hit home upon hearing the news. Could all of this have been Carly’s doing?
“Wasn’t this drug lord declared dead a month ago after a long forensic investigation?” Angel asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
“Yes, so it didn’t make sense that he could hire someone to hack us,” said Leo. “But it turns out there has been a person of interest in their investigation that they haven’t been able to find. A woman, I believe, who happens to be the drug lord’s lover. After our hack, they realized that the USB belonged to the drug lord, and the only explanation as to how it got here is that it was stolen from the house before the fire.”
“So this woman they are looking for is probably the one who stole it?”
“Most likely. The authorities have been trying to find her, but she disappeared. And they believe she might have been at the party or simply had given this unknown person the USB to hack us.”
“That’s nuts.” Angel shook her head, trying to act surprised.
“I know,” said Eric. “That’s completely mind-blowing.”
“I’m guessing they will want to start with us and see who amongst us might be the culprit.”
“We had HR join us to ask if there had been any employees who might have left for Mexico two months ago,” said Leo. “So far, it hasn’t yielded any results, so they might want to take a look at our guests that were invited to the party.”
“Wait a minute,” said Eric as he rubbed his chin. “I don’t want to burst people’s bubble here, but Carly was also in Mexico at the time.”
Angel’s heart did a somersault. Was now the time to tell them about what she had discovered?
“Yeah, but it simply can’t be her, right?” Leo asked. “Why would she want to hack us? And she was at her student seminar, remember?”
“You’re right.” Eric scoffed. “Well, it could be any one of the guests. We don’t want the employees to panic, so when the authorities come by to ask questions, people need to be aware. I suggest we let those that invited their family and friends ask them if they had been to Mexico recently. But they shouldn’t give away the notion that an investigation is going on.”
“Dad says he will handle it with HR and Mrs. Lance,” said Leo. “And he has warned that we shouldn’t let anyone back home know what’s going on.”
“Even Carly?” Angel asked.
“Sadly, even her.” Leo looked up at the ceiling. “This is a lot to take in for a Monday.”
“I know,” said Eric as he stood up from his desk. “We need to go eat first before I lose my appetite.”
Angel didn’t even know if she wanted to eat. This was not the news she was expecting, but when she thought of what she had discovered on Carly’s phone and the story from the D.E.A., it was all connected. Carly was definitely the person they were looking for. What should Angel do now? Reveal the truth? Even if she were to go to the D.E.A., pictures of the text messages weren’t going to help. Now she wished she had taken photos of Andre and Carly together. She did have that message in the envelope. But was it going to be enough?
As the three of them left the office and were making their way out, Angel stopped in the hall and pulled out her phone. Eric was the first to notice her stop, and he also did the same to look at her.
“Everything okay, Angel?” Eric asked.
“I have just seen a message from a friend of mine,” said Angel as she looked up from her phone. “I’m afraid you two will have to go on without me.”
Leo also stopped in his tracks when he heard Angel say that. He also stopped to look at her.
“Why? Is it an emergency?” Eric asked.
“It’s nothing much. I’ll just go and meet her wherever she is. She says she needs my help with something.”
“Shame. It would’ve been nice to have lunch together, though.”
“Sorry, maybe another time. We can still go downstairs, and I can take a cab.”
When the three of them got downstairs, Angel had found a taxi right on time. She informed Eric and Leo that she would come back to the office a little late. As the cab she got in drove off, Eric and Leo went on ahead a few blocks from where they were to a restaurant.
***
Red Lion had gotten off a very distressing call from Matilda last night. The D.E.A. had managed to connect the dots that the USB they had used to hack The McDonell Construction Company was the same one that had hacked an oil company years ago. This was bad, and he knew it. It wouldn’t be long until the authorities discovered that Carly happened to be one of the guests at that Halloween party and also had been in Mexico two months ago before Andre’s house caught fire. Though there was enough evidence to show that Carly had attended the seminar, Red Lion felt he didn’t need so much pressure on him in the first place.
He stood in front of Carlos and Hugo in the tiny office of his warehouse. The two had distraught looks on their faces after Red Lion had told them the news. Now they had to figure out a way to get the DEA’s attention elsewhere, for it might cause unnecessary problems.
“I’m guessing Matilda isn’t too happy that all of this is happening right now,” said Hugo.
“No, she isn’t,” said Red Lion. “I don’t blame her, though. But this was bound to happen the moment we failed to get that USB back.”
“We should also warn Carly about this,” said Carlos. “Maybe it’s about high time we got rid of the phone she was using to contact Andre and us. That might be our weak link and what could incriminate us all.”
“Already on it,” said Hugo. “We should come up with anything that might be a loose end. The sooner we tackle them, the better.”
“And how are things going in Mexico with Veronica and the others?” Red Lion asked.
“So far so good. I can tell them to speed things up,” Hugo answered. “Looking at the urgency.”
“Fine, you handle that. I don’t want any of us to panic, for we might slip up. So be careful with what you tell them.”
Carlos stood up from his seat. “I’ll go check to see if the merchandise is ready for transport. Will there be anything you need from me, boss?”
Red Lion waved his hand away. “No, you can go. If anything comes up, you’ll be informed immediately.”
“Don’t stress yourself over this. This isn’t the first time the D.E.A. has gotten hot on our tail.”
“Well, every test comes with its own challenges.”
“You’ll see. Once this plan of yours in Mexico pans out, the problem will be as good as gone.”
Carlos turned around and made his way out of the room. Hugo turned to look at Red Lion with an eyebrow raised.
“Matilda must definitely be thinking that you’ve made a huge mess by involving someone like Carly in your plans,” said Hugo.
“Well, I’m well aware of what she thinks.” Red Lion took his seat behind his desk. “Let’s tie up those loose ends and turn the D.E.A.’s focus elsewhere. Also, I would want those close to Carly to be watched carefully.”
“Well, Chang’s men are already on Angel, though so far nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Would you like Leo and Eric to be watched as well?” Red Lion gave a nod of his head. “Why?”
“If any one of them suspects Carly of doing some shady business with us, it might be a problem. I want to avoid that at all costs. I might be overthinking things here, but my intuition tells me that we need to take such a step just to be sure.”
Hugo scoffed as he raised the corner of his lips. “Aye, aye, captain,” he said as he slowly stood up from his seat. “I’ll start working on whatever we discussed.”
Hugo also took his leave, and when he closed the door behind him, Red Lion couldn’t help but lean against his chair and look up at the ceiling. He soon realized that he needed to make a phone call. He needed more people on board if he wanted to solve things quickly.
***
Angel got out of the cab after she paid the driver. She turned around towards the wide open gates as the cab behind her soon joined the road and drove off. Now that she was here, she didn’t even know where to start. She slowly made her way into the college campus, her heartbeat quickening with each step she took.
She had lied to Eric and Leo earlier about meeting a friend of hers. After she heard the news, Angel knew she had to act quickly if she was ever to reveal the truth about her sister. She was still debating on the matter, though. If she revealed her sister’s lies, what then? The D.E.A. would gladly take her in for questioning, but what kind of picture will that paint for Angel or the McDonell family? As Angel walked further into campus, bypassing students in the parking lot, she now started to wonder whether what she saw in Carly’s other phone was nothing but an illusion. No, she told herself as she was reminded of the photos of her sister with another man. It was no illusion. Carly had been seeing someone, and that someone had to be the late drug lord Andre.
If that was the case, then why was she walking around a student campus if she knew all this? In a way, she still needed answers. She needed more clarity on this Red Lion. That’s why she needed to see Robin. Maybe he could’ve had a clue in what Carly’s really been up to, Angel thought.
As Angel left the car park and headed towards the buildings, she knew she was in for a tough quest. She wasn’t too sure on where to start. She didn’t know which courses Robin took. She must have forgotten—that’s if Carly even mentioned it to her. And Angel can’t call Carly to ask for she would know something was wrong.
Looking at the buildings helplessly, Angel couldn’t help but make a silent prayer, hoping that she will find Robin. Before she could even take a step forward, approaching in her direction with a blue backpack over his shoulder was Robin. He walked beside a girl with dirty blonde hair and pink-framed glasses. The two of them seemed to be in serious discussion. Angel couldn’t help but feel relieved as her prayer had been answered. She slowly made her way towards him, but it didn’t take Robin a few seconds to look up and see Angel.
“Angel, hi,” said Robin as he and the girl beside him stopped in their tracks. “What brings you here? Did you come to see Carly?”
“No, I didn’t,” Angel replied. “Carly didn’t come for class today. I came here for you.”
“For me?” Robin looked confused. “What for?”
“Is it okay if we can talk in private?”
Robin noticed the urgency in Angel’s face, and he turned to address the girl beside him that they would discuss their assignment later. The girl agreed and went on her way. Robin told Angel to follow him as he led back the way he came. He led Angel in between the two buildings in front of them. In between were lawns and stone pathways. It being lunchtime, there weren’t many people on the lawn. Robin and Angel went to an empty stone bench under one of the trees.
“I hope you don’t mind,” said Robin as Angel sat down first on the bench. “I didn’t know where else to sit where we can talk privately.”
“This place is fine since there aren’t many people around,” said Angel. Robin soon sat, facing her. “I’m sorry to come down here at such short notice, but there’s something I need to talk to you about that has got me concerned.”
“I’m guessing it’s about Carly.” Robin raised an eyebrow.
Angel gave a thin-lipped smile. “Yes. And I’m afraid it isn’t entirely a pleasant thing to talk about.” She looked down at her hands. “I wanted to ask you about your time with her during the student seminar in Mexico.”
“Okay. What about it?”
“I fear Carly wasn’t just going there just to attend the seminar. I fear she used it as an excuse to meet someone. Did you notice something out of the ordinary with her? Was she acting weird, or would she disappear at times when she shouldn’t?”
Robin looked at Angel, and for a moment, Angel thought he might not answer because he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. It wasn’t until he sighed that he finally spoke:
“So you also know that Carly has been deceiving us all then?”
“You already knew?” Angel looked surprised.
“I happened to stumble upon such information by accident at the club a few weeks ago.”
“At the club? The same club Carly was working as a… you know?”
“The very same. I work at night since it’s the only hustle I have that manages to pay my bills. But yes, I happened to know about it from an unlikely source.”
“From whom?”
“There’s this girl called Miranda who works there. It so happens that she had also been in Mexico, and she talked about not letting anyone know about what Carly and she had been up to there.”
“Who was she talking to?” Angel couldn’t help but feel the name Miranda sounded familiar.
“She was in the boss’ office, so I’m guessing it was him. A good part of it feels like he knew and was involved with whatever Miranda and Carly were up to in Mexico. How did you find out?”
Angel went on to explain that her suspicions were aroused when she first saw Carly with another phone and saw Andre’s name on the caller ID. Suspecting that Carly was probably seeing someone else, that’s how she learned of Andre and that he was a drug lord. Angel didn’t forget to mention Red Lion.
“You really did a lot of digging,” said Robin. “This doesn’t sound good. If Carly really is involved with a cartel, it won’t end well with her.”
“I haven’t approached her about it yet. So much has been going on back home that I haven’t had the chance to talk to her.”
“My advice: don’t get involved, Angel.”
“What? Why? Carly is my sister. She has to know that what she’s doing has to stop.”
“If she wasn’t involved with the cartel that might be headed by one of the most wanted criminals, then it wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve heard stories about this Red Lion, especially at the club. Walters is afraid of the man. I hear no one even knows what he looks like. That’s just how dangerous he is. I bet if he were to catch a whiff that someone like you or me was looking into him, we’d be done for. It’s when I realized that Carly was up to no good in Mexico that I cut all ties with her. But I never knew about this Red Lion business, so it’s good I kept my distance.”
“But she’s lied to me and the McDonell family that took us in. She’s lied to Leo most of all by cheating on him with someone else. You can’t expect me to keep quiet about it and let it be.”
“It’s hard, I know. In one way or another, you just have to find a way to confront Carly without triggering any alarms. If she gets the feeling that something is wrong, this supposed cartel will do anything to keep things quiet.”
Angel felt like her head was going to explode. “Will reporting to the authorities be wise?”
“I don’t think so. The thing is, it’s hard to know who to trust at the moment. Let the whole thing play out on its own, and if Carly gets arrested, then it would’ve been done through the proper channels. That’s if she somehow gets away with it. Plus, if you tell the authorities, they would be wondering why you didn’t report this in the first place, and you would need hardcore proof. If you took those pictures of Carly and Andre, that would’ve been better. They simply wouldn’t accept the pictures you took of the messages. They would think it’s all fabricated.”
“Are you telling me to sit and do nothing while my sister goes on ruining our lives and hers?” Angel asked as she now had a worried look on her face.
“If there’s anything that I’ve learned in this life, it’s that karma has a way of rewarding you. Carly will receive her karma eventually—that’s if she doesn’t get caught in all this fiasco. But if you do get involved and try to expose Carly and Red Lion, just know there’s a hefty price to pay.”
Angel sat there for a moment contemplating what to do next. This was going to be tough. Expose Carly, get her arrested, and maybe even Red Lion, which might put her and many other people at risk. Or simply lay low and let the investigation unravel on its own. What made everything so difficult was the fact that Angel knew what Carly had been up to, and she didn’t know if she could just sit in the background without saying anything. This was going to be tough for sure.
***
It was ten minutes after two in the afternoon when Angel walked back into the workplace. She had a hard time rushing back from the college. Robin was kind enough to give her a ride, as he was done with his classes for the day. But they were stuck in traffic as it was still lunchtime. Angel didn’t even bother to get herself lunch. She didn’t have the appetite. Her brain’s pulleys had been working non-stop, so when she entered the pool office, she didn’t notice that something was afoot as she went right for her desk and sat.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, Angel didn’t realize that Sabrina stood behind her. All of a sudden, Sabrina startled Angel as she held Angel’s shoulders, scaring the life out of her.
“Geez, Sabrina,” said Angel as she turned to look at Sabrina. Angel looked annoyed, as she wasn’t in the mood for goofing around.
“Calm down, will you?” Sabrina said as she folded her arms, but she had a wide smile on her face. “You have a lot of explaining to do. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?” Angel looked confused.
“Are you seriously going to act dumb right now?” Sabrina asked as she rolled her eyes. She went over to her desk to grab her phone. She unlocked it and showed the screen to Angel. “About this?”
Angel looked at the screen, and slowly her mouth fell open. She took Sabrina’s phone as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Are you kidding me?! She screamed on the inside.
“How long were you planning to keep this a secret, huh?” Sabrina asked. “So all this time you knew Leo was dating your sister, and you didn’t bother to tell us?”
This is all going wrong, Angel thought to herself as she continued to look at the Instagram post Sabrina had showed her. It was a picture of Leo and Carly in a restaurant together, sitting across from each other at the table and looking at each other. No doubt they happened to have taken the photo a long time ago. When she checked who had posted it, it was from Leo with nothing but a caption of a beating heart. He did so an hour ago. At the time, Angel hadn’t even had the time to look at her phone. The post already had a thousand views, and so many had already commented on it. She could only imagine what people were saying. This was all too soon, and now Angel felt like someone had tripped her over before she could even realize what was going on. Why is he doing this? She wondered. And at this moment in time, for that matter.
“Hello, earth to Angel,” came Sabrina’s voice, making its way into Angel’s mind. “Hey? Are you okay?”
Angel blinked for a moment. She realized that she had been looking at the photo for so long while her head continued to spin trying to figure out what to do next. She gave Sabrina back her phone.
“Well, why didn’t you tell me this?” Sabrina asked. “You really know how to keep juicy stories to yourself, do you?”
“Most of us only got to know about this until recently,” Angel answered. “We didn’t want to say anything, as we wanted them to reveal themselves to the world.”
Sabrina looked at Angel. “Well, here we thought you and Leo were perfect for each other. Lucky for you, now that Leo is off the market, you have Eric and Derrick to choose from.”
Right now, all of that wasn’t any of Angel’s concern. She soon excused herself, saying that she needed to go use the restroom. Sabrina went on ahead to join a few of her gossipmongers to talk about the latest news.
Angel left the pool office as though she was making her way to the restroom, but she took a detour heading elsewhere. She found herself standing in front of the door to Leo’s office. His secretary wasn’t at her desk, and when she knocked at the door, Leo had told her to come in.
Angel opened the door and found Leo and Eric in his office. Angel closed the door behind her, doing her best not to shut it with force, as it would draw attention to those outside.
“Angel, you’re back,” said Eric. He sat in front of Leo’s desk while Leo sat behind it. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
“No, I’m not okay,” said Angel as she looked at Eric, then she turned her gaze to Leo.
“What is it?” Leo asked.
“I’m just from seeing your post on Instagram,” Angel answered. “Did you really have to announce it to the whole world so soon?”
“You’re angry because of that?” Leo raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.
“No, no,” said Angel as she closed her eyes and held the temples of her head. She felt so stressed out, like her head was going to blow off. “All I was trying to ask is why you’ve announced your relationship so soon? I mean, it was one thing when Carly told the family, but now this? It’s a little too much for a lot of us to handle in a short period of time, don’t you think?”
“Whether I wanted to post it or not doesn’t concern you, Angel. Why are you even mad? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Angel wanted to yell at him and say this wasn’t what she wanted. Not after what she just found out about Carly. But she kept her mouth shut as she tried to look for the right words. Sadly, those right words were taking a lot more time to do so.
“Look, I’m sorry that this came out wrong,” said Angel as she tried to calm down. “But this is all too sudden.”
“I know,” said Leo. For some reason he could tell that something wasn’t right with Angel in the slightest. “But Carly and I talked about this. It’s time the whole world knew about us. Yeah, it’s sudden, but I don’t think we should be hiding any longer.”
“Aren’t you worried that people will find out about her past? Too much is at stake here, Leo, and some of us can’t afford that.”
“Angel, what’s going on?” Eric asked as she looked at Angel with a worried look on his face. “I thought you were okay with Leo and Carly revealing to everyone about their relationship, despite all that.”
“Not like this, Eric,” Angel answered. “You two should’ve taken your time. Drop little clues or whatever without revealing your faces, I don’t know.” Angel sighed deeply. “This is all too much.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re against us telling everyone the truth, Angel?” Leo asked.
“I’m not against your relationship, Leo. I just feel you’ve rushed things.”
“Really?” Leo folded his arms. “Then why does it feel that way? You sound like this wasn’t even supposed to have happened at all.”
“Are you serious right now?” Angel couldn’t believe this. “I agreed on you two telling the truth, but I thought you would stick to the plan and do so working with time.”
“And you’re upset because you don’t have a say in all this. I am in a relationship with Carly after all, so you can’t make us do what you want.”
“Is this where all this is going? You think I plan to control you two?”
“It sounds like it. You want to control how this relationship goes, just like my mother.”
“Whoa, Leo, you’ve gone too far here,” said Eric as he looked at Leo.
Angel scoffed. “I’m just trying to look out for two, and this is what I get?”
“Well, Angel, it takes two people in a relationship to make such decisions. If you’re inserting yourself in it, you’re nothing but a third wheel.”
“Guys, chill out,” said Eric as he stood up from his seat. “Can we talk this calmly without saying such things?”
“I have had enough for one day,” said Angel as she shook her head. “This is going to put a lot of us in jeopardy. And if only you—”
Angel stopped herself before saying if only Leo knew that Carly had been lying to them the whole time. Now wasn’t the time, she told herself. Leo was already starting to look angry himself. He wasn’t going to listen to a thing she would say about Carly.
“I’m leaving,” said Angel, and she took off. Eric and Leo watched her go. As soon as she calmly closed the door behind her, the two cousins looked at each other.
“What was that about?” Leo asked.
“I don’t know,” said Eric, looking worried. “I know the post must have upset her, but something tells me there’s more to this than she is telling us.”
Leo knew Eric was right. But still, her coming in like that made him upset. She was the last person he expected to be reacting like she did.
Angel now stood in the restroom as she washed her face by the sink. Luckily enough, she was alone. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked awfully as though she had a sickness that was eating her from the inside. She knew what this was. All the things she was keeping inside her were eating at her like an illness. She didn’t mean to lash out at Leo like that, but there was just so much to handle that she didn’t know how to deal with it.
She took a paper towel nearby and tried to dry her face with it. Angel knew that Instagram post would only bring about trouble, especially from those who bring ill will upon Carly and Leo. How right she was when, at that very moment, those individuals—some she wasn’t aware of—saw it.
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and then Add to home screen.