Settled inside the limousine, Samantha kept staring at Gael who was casually leaning back, his hand hovered over his side. His st.i.tches opened and it bled, it was pretty obvious that he was in pain yet he kept quiet about it as he tapped nonstop on his phone. "You need to get that checked," she said in a soft voice. Her kindness surprised Gael, making him turn his head to her abruptly. She bit her lip, knitted her brows and a crease formed on her forehead, worried that something serious might happen to him in the car. Seeing her like this, Gael"s heart skipped a beat.
"I"m okay. I"ll send you home." He turned his head away and recalled what happened just earlier. Truth be told, Gael hesitated back at the restaurant. He could easily finish them off but he held himself back because he did not want to frighten Samantha.
The limo moved forward, joining the traffic in the capital.
Samantha"s brows furrowed at how stubborn he was. Ignoring his response, she ordered his driver, "Take us to the hospital."
The driver only looked at them from the rearview mirror, unsure what his master was thinking as he only stared at Samantha when she spoke.
"Are you hesitating? Your boss is bleeding in here. Are you going to wait until he loses so much blood?" Samantha spat.
Gael nodded lightly to the driver, giving him the go signal.
He did not say anything as he continued to watch Samantha"s concerned expression. "Why are you so worried about me? I thought you hated me…" A teasing smile formed on his face. Samantha wanted to wipe the smugness on him, "Did you expect me to just leave you bleeding? I"m not a bad person." She s.h.i.+fted her gaze to her side, avoiding his stare.
"I didn"t say that you were," he responded. Observing Samantha, he noticed that she wasn"t wearing any make-up yet her cheeks were rosy and her skin was soft. She didn"t wear any heavy pieces of jewelry too — only a small diamond stud earrings. She looked quite dainty. She was so different compared to the women he met in the past.
Noticing himself, Gael cleared his throat and looked out the window. Why was he looking at her like this? Suppressing his thoughts, Gael kept his eyes on the scenes outside to divert his attention.
Soon enough, they arrived at the hospital. Nathan Yun checked on him and was ordered not to move around so much to avoid it from happening again.
Just as Nathan left, Samantha who had temporarily forgotten the conversation that she heard, could no longer stop herself from prying when she remembered. Facing Gael, she boldly asked. "Are you and Yanovich working together?"
Gael who had just finished putting on his coat, turned to her stiffly, his hands stopped briefly before he stared at her. His face darkened as they exchanged glares and wondered how she knew about the spiteful old man but before he could even ask, Samantha understood his silence. "Yes, I heard you two talking. So tell me, are you and Yanovich working together?"
Gael did not like discussing business matters with her especially because Yanovich was a dangerous man. So how in the world did she know him? He brushed past her, his mood had gotten sour and he did not know why. "You"re asking dangerous questions. You should be careful with your words."
"Why are you ignoring the question? Is it true then? Are you-"
Gael turned about and with his hands in his pockets, he questioned, "What is it to you? Why are you so curious? You don"t answer my questions and then you want me to answer yours? Isn"t that unfair?"
Samantha swallowed. He did ask her a few earlier but she refused to answer him. So why did he have to answer hers? She debated with herself if she should tell him about what happened to her. What if he and that man worked together? She had already doubted it as Daniel never mentioned Gael.
Seeing her hesitate, Gael smirked before he started to walk away. However, Samantha caught his arm rather quickly, "Wait… I"ll… I"ll tell you." She looked down, unsure how she was going to tell him about what happened to her. "Can we talk in private?"
Gael signaled his men not to accompany him while Samantha left Ashton to Philip before she followed Gael to an empty hallway.
..
After Samantha told him everything that happened to her because of Yanovich, Gael remained silent. His unreadable expression made it difficult for her to know what was on his mind.
The truth was, Gael was actually enraged about what he heard. He did terrible things too but he believed that what he did were all necessary and he also had not harmed any women. And what Yanovich did to Samantha was just horrible. Unconsciously, he scanned his memories if he was ever this cruel before.
Indeed, Gael killed. But the people he killed were mostly traitors who crossed his family or people involved in underworld battles just like what happened a couple of nights ago. Since he did those things, was he just like Yanovich? So many questions ran through his mind and did not notice that Samantha was looking at him, waiting for his response.
"Gael…" Samantha called.
Hearing his name from her, he turned and saw her anxious state. He tentatively moved his hand to touch her face but he stopped mid-air and curled his hand away, keeping himself from doing something he should not do.
Putting his hand in his pocket, he started, "We"re not working together. That man from the restaurant was one of his trusted men, we had a business transaction that night but due to an unexpected turn of events, the transaction was not fulfilled. It ended up in a gunfight."
Samantha already figured what he was referring to when she recalled what she heard earlier. Learning that Gael was not connected to Yanovich in a way that might complicate things, she stared at him intently. Her heart drummed in her chest, she was obviously nervous about what she wanted to ask from him. "Gael… I… we need to find Yanovich."
Gael furrowed his brows. He had already concluded what she wanted while she was telling her story. But did she really plan to find Yanovich herself and exact revenge? She must be insane. "What makes you think I will help you do that?"
"What do you want? We can make this like a business transaction. I can pay for your services!" She attempted.
Gael tried to suppress his laugh but the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up in a slight smile. He thought she looked adorable at the moment. "You"ll pay for my services?" He probed.
"You said you"re a businessman… this is what I ask from you and I"ll pay for it."
"You think I want your money?" Gael found it laughable.
"Well then what do you want?" Samantha wrung her fingers. If Gael was their only hope, then she would most likely take it. She would owe him.
Just as she asked, one of Gael"s men arrived. He bowed before he whispered something to his master.
Gael b.u.t.toned his coat and glanced at her, "We need to go." He said before he walked away.
"What about our deal?"
"I"ll think about it, Ms. Kim," he answered without looking back at her. He had to think things through since it was not his problem. He never meddled into other people"s things if it did not concern him, so why should he bother himself with this mess?
Samantha felt uneasy. Could Gael be the solution to their problem? Could he really help them? Excitement ran through her while her heart raced as she imagined being with her one true love Daniel.
Following him from behind, she kept on thinking about what could possibly happen and she began to hope. Just as they were about to turn on the corner, Samantha saw a familiar figure approaching their direction a few feet away. Her eyes widened and she was momentarily frozen before she suddenly grabbed the back of Gael"s coat and hid behind him as Logan walked past them slowly in a hospital gown.
"What is he doing here?" She frantically looked around him but saw no one she knew. Why was she hiding then? Samantha also did not understand why she became nervous as if she had to hide from Logan. She had wanted to approach him and ask about Daniel but half of her was holding her back.
Confused by her actions, Gael did not know what to do and could only stop in his tracks. His head turned to his right, tried to peer his back and saw that she looked like she was trying to hide. Noticing that someone was looking at her, Samantha raised her head and met his curious stare. "What are you doing?" He asked softly.
Samantha immediately straightened up and walked ahead of him in a hasty manner, leaving him bewildered.
...
The car ride going back to Samantha"s apartment was very quiet. Neither of them spoke to each other but Samantha was no longer feeling hostile towards him. Rather, she was anxious if he would be able to help her.
At the same time, Samantha thought about what she had asked Philip to check earlier and confirmed that Logan was admitted to the hospital the same night that she met Gael. Was it possible that Daniel was there? Did he ever know that she was in country A? Her heart beat erratically.
When they arrived, Gael walked them back to their unit. Despite having Philip there with them, after learning about what happened to her, he felt the need to make sure that they were all safe getting home. The good thing was, Samantha"s apartment building had tight security. But for Gael, if one was really willing to cause trouble, they will surely find ways — tight security or not.
Reaching the door, Philip opened it and waited for Samantha to get in. But before she could take a step, Gael had instinctively reached for her arm, making her turn to him. He quickly let go of it, unsure why he did that.
"Thanks for accepting my invitation and... I apologize for what happened. What you asked... I"ll think about it." He said before he turned around and left.