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Angela\'s heart rammed against her chest. She didn\'t like this at all. Coming here was a bad idea, knowing that encounters like this were inevitable. The party was big—just not big enough.

Ivanovich Volkov glanced down at Trigger. His scowl grew before he shifted it back to Angela. The latter could only imagine what was going through his head. She should look away. She should not stare back at him, but for the love of all things insane, she couldn\'t. Angela stared right back at Ivan because she hated the man for destroying her family, because he was in her childhood nightmares, and glaring right at him made her feel good now because she wasn\'t alone.

It was probably stupid to glare, but if she looked away now, that would only seem like she was avoiding him. Who knows if he really recognized her? Maybe it was one of those times where you think you know someone from somewhere but just couldn\'t remember.

"Mr. Volkov," Aurora began, her voice firm and unyielding. "I will overlook what happened just now, considering Mr. Novikov is a good friend of my husband. But I strongly suggest you do not do that again."

It was the first time that Angela heard Aurora talk like that. She always seemed quiet and refined that witnessing her address Ivanovich like this made her appear like a badass—fearless and dependable. But what else could she expect from a woman married to a Don?

Ivanovich Volkov muttered something in Russian and took a step back but still kept his eyes on Angela.

Just when she thought that things were about to die over, hurried footsteps arrived, and Gael\'s voice resounded in the hallway.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Gael placed himself in front of Angela to shield her from Ivan. She instantly recognized his hardened tone—something he did when he was angry. The air shifted, and her heartbeat became heavier and faster.

"It\'s nothing, dear. Just a misunderstanding." Aurora\'s tone softened as she tried to diffuse the situation.

Gael studied his stepmother\'s face for a few beats, trying to read the expression on her face. Then he shifted his attention to Trigger, who was still giving Ivanovich the evil eye, and then he asked, "What happened?"

Although Trigger worked for the De Lucas, his loyalty lay on Gael\'s. So he naturally answered. "He grabbed her hand."

It didn\'t take more than those four words for Gael to know who Trigger was talking about. Ivanovich grabbed Angela\'s hand, and that enraged Gael. It wasn\'t so much that the man grabbed her \'hand\'. It was that Ivanovich fucking grabbed her. Period.

Everyone in their world knew not to lay their hands on women—especially someone\'s woman, a made man\'s woman—if they wanted to keep their body parts intact.

"You touched her, hm?" Gael took a dangerous step towards Ivan, their eyes at the same level. "Aren\'t you married? Your daughter\'s even watching you. How dare you touch another woman?" My woman, he wanted to add.

Anika scrambled towards them and gripped her father\'s hand. "I-It was a mis—"

"Anika!" Ivanovich glared at his daughter, and Anika jumped back, clutching her hands at the sides and paling, unable to utter another word.

Then he faced Gael again, his voice impassive as he said, "I didn\'t mean any harm. I just thought she looked like someone I knew."

"So you grabbed her? You don\'t just grab women, Mr. Volkov. That\'s despicable."

"Why? Is she your woman?" Ivanovich glanced at Angela.

Instead of answering the question, Gael stepped closer and jabbed his forefinger at Ivanovich\'s chest. Then his tone sounded final as he spoke with gritted teeth. "You will not look at her. You will not speak to her. You will not breathe the same air when you see her. And you will not grab her again. You don\'t want to know what will happen if you do, Volkov."

Subconsciously, Angela clutched the back of Gael\'s suit. He was supposed to sign a deal with the other. He couldn\'t afford to lose his shit over this.

Matching Gael\'s glare with his, Ivanovich Volkov stood his ground and did not waver as he stayed silent, refusing even to acknowledge Gael\'s threat. The air grew thick by the second.

"We\'re leaving." Gael turned away, placing a hand on Angela\'s back as they walked.

They only took a few steps away when Ivanovich\'s deep voice belted in the hallway. "You can forget about the deal, De Luca. I won\'t sign that contract. And you… Little girl. I know it\'s you."

The familiarity of how he called Angela came rushing to her like an assault. The forgotten memories flooded her head, and she was briefly taken back to that cafe many years ago when she first met Ivanovich Volkov.

"You look just like your mommy when she was your age, little girl," said Ivan as he patted little Angela\'s head.

The reminder felt like an intrusion in her mind that made her stop in her tracks. And before she knew what she was about to do, Angela had already turned around to face Ivanovich Volkov. Gael caught her arm as he called for her, but at the moment, not even he could stop her from speaking.

"Fine. You\'re right. You do know me," Angela told Ivanovich. He was much taller than her, but she faced him head-on and tilted her chin up to look him in the eyes. "How could you forget me when you destroyed my family. Didn\'t you, home-wrecker?"

Ivanovich\'s lips twitched. "How could I miss a face like yours? You look just like Evgenia," he muttered, sounding not even a bit remorseful.

She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw looked like it was about to crack.

"What are you doing here, little girl?" Ivanovich questioned when she didn\'t answer. "Are you with him? Tsk tsk tsk. You tread dangerous waters being involved with De Lucas. But why am I not surprised? After all… Your mother is with me."

Angela seethed with anger. She attempted to retract her hand from Gael\'s grip, but he held on to her tight—especially when she looked like she was about to claw out Ivanovich\'s face. Gael wrapped an arm around her midsection to stop her from advancing when she tried to get in Volkov\'s face. 

"Angel." Gael\'s voice sounded more like a warning rather than a reminder. But she was far too angry to calm down right now. However, she did try to stop herself from slashing Ivan\'s face with her nails.

Breathing harshly, Angela didn\'t take her glare off of Ivanovich as she told him, "Listen to me, you obnoxious dickhead. You will sign the deal and transfer your 2% share to Gael De Luca. And you\'re going to do that no later than 12 hours."

A small chuckle slipped out of Ivanovich\'s mouth before it grew into full-blown laughter that grated Angela\'s ears.

Gael stiffened behind her. He was unsure what Angela was up to, trying to order Ivanovich Volkov like this. Part of him wanted to carry her over his shoulder and sprint the fûck out of here while the other part of him also wanted to allow her to be a rebel.

When his laughter died down, Ivanovich folded his arms across his chest, appearing cocky as he responded, "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do, little girl? Your boyfriend must not have taught you manners. You can\'t talk to me like that. And what makes you think I will do as you say?"

"He\'s not only my boyfriend. He\'s my fiancé," Angela proudly said. "And he taught me to stand my ground and not fear anyone. You… You will do as I say, or when my grandfather finds out about me, I\'ll make sure he will know that you hid me from him."

Ivanovich\'s eyes grew wide, and his face reddened in both shock and anger. He was about to reach for Angela\'s throat when Gael swiftly pushed him against the wall, pressing his arm across Ivanovich\'s chest. "Have you gone mad? If your grandfather finds out about your existence, he will hurt you and your family."

Angela knew this. She feared this. But Ivan didn\'t have to know that. "How sure are you? My grandfather already saw me earlier, you know? He might be ruthless, but he forgave my mother when she was gone for many years. She\'s still alive twenty years later, isn\'t she? He won\'t harm me—nor my family—if I plead with him. I\'m his blood, after all. But what will he do to you, Mr. Volkov? I\'m certain he won\'t like it if he finds out you betrayed him."

That made Ivanovich pause. Then a few seconds later, he spat, "And you think he\'ll let the De Lucas off for keeping their mouths shut about you?"

Shît. Her heart was about to leap out of her chest. "My grandfather will believe me if I say they didn\'t know until I told them right this second and begged them not to say anything. I will do and say anything for them, but I have no qualms throwing you to the wolves."

Ivanovich was speechless as he let her words process in his head.

Angela took Gael\'s hand and tugged him back so they could leave. Then she spared one last look at the man who wrecked her family and told him, "Twelve hours, Mr. Volkov.. Sign it."