Hey guys, can't believe this book has gone over 250k views?! I'm so happy and grateful right now for everyone who is following, reading, commenting and voting on my book. It really means the world to me. I love reading your feedback and opinions on what's happening in the story and honestly can't thank everyone enough for reading. I hope you like this chapter, don't forget to let me know what you think, thank you,

Autumn xo

********

Angela looked in the full-length mirror at her appearance, she really wasn't feeling great. She looked tired, probably from the many nights of little or no sleep, and her hair was a mess. She was dressed already but still had to do a few things before she left for Trisha's show. Mike was picking her up in just a little over a half hour so she had to do her hair soon and make sure she wasn't late.

Adriano hadn't returned home from work yet but she knew he wasn't coming. What would be the point? She was avoiding him, which was a little hard to do but she managed, and he hadn't done much to try and get her to talk.

Once she was done her hair, she went rooting in her small make up bag to find something to hide her dark circles. She barely ever wore make up but tonight she would put on just a small bit. The sound of the front door closing made her feel uncomfortable to think he was home but she continued at what she was doing.

Adriano was walking past her bedroom when he noticed the door was ajar. He couldn't help but take a quick glance. His stomach dropped when he saw her, and he didn't know why but it looked as if she was getting ready to leave. He panic and instantly opened the door fully to look in at her. She couldn't be leaving, he didn't want her to go, he needed her here but he was too much of a fool to let all of these things show. Her head shot up to look at him, trying to hide any emotion she was feeling but she was failing. He was froze in his spot, unable to take his eyes off of her but she had a look on her face that seemed like she didn't know what the hell was going on.

"Where are you going?" she thought for a second she could sense panic but ignored her thoughts, what the hell could he be panicking about?

"I'm going out with Mike tonight." Angela said, causing him to let out a sigh of relief but then the jealousy had kicked in and he frowned to himself.

"Why?" he asked, she had begun to put on mascara now and didn't look at him when she spoke. She didn't want to look at him, she didn't want to talk to him anymore because not only was she upset, but she was so completely disappointed, to the point when the sight of him hurt.

"It's Trisha's big show tonight." Her voice was void of emotion but he knew exactly how she must be feeling right now.

He had forgotten about her friend's show, the one who had tickets for her, Mike and Adriano. He felt so horrible, so low, so unbelievably guilty. His chest was tight and he gulped, noticing now the eeriness in the room. He wasn't wanted there, and he knew that was understandable. But he continued to stand there at her door, leaning his arm on the frame, waiting for something but instead he got nothing.

She couldn't help but feel self-conscious from his stare but continued doing her makeup like he wasn't there. He didn't want to leave yet, he wanted to tell her everything- how he felt, work, his father, how much he wanted to just be himself around her but he couldn't. He was a coward, Adriano knew this for sure but that didn't stop his brain from repeating it over and over again.

He was in deep thought and didn't see her zipping up her makeup bag or grabbing her purse. She put on her jacket and brushed past him when she walked through the door. Angela had only taken another two steps before he took her arm and tugged her back gently.

"A-"

"Please don't." she closed her eyes when she spoke. "I don't want to talk to you, please. Not right now." Angela shook her head and felt his calloused hand holding hers, his thumb feeling her soft skin.

He wanted her to open her eyes, he wanted her to look at him so he could tell her in so many ways how sorry he was for all of the things he had said- for everything. He didn't deserve her but he couldn't let her go. He had no other option but to listen to her and do what she wanted him to do. Adriano let go of her hand now and dropped his to his side. She shook her head and then turned around again, walking out of the apartment.

She wanted to cry but she swallowed back her tears- tonight was supposed to be a good night but her already horrible mood was deteriorating by the minute. The guards got into the elevator with her and she noticed how there was a few extra this time. One gave her a small smile which she tried to return. He was middle aged and had grey hair styled in a crew cut. He was one of the body guards that had a familiar face to her, he was always around but she had never spoke to him besides saying a quick "hello".

Once she met Mike downstairs, they went to the car park and got his car. He could tell there was something wrong, and knew it had to be something to do with Adriano since he was constantly in a bad mood all the time. His brother had turned back into that serious persona he was before Angela got here. It was really pissing him off now but he knew how much Adriano stressed, especially during a crisis in the familia like this one. Even Mike was stressed because of all of this drama in work and between his father and Adriano.

"Hey Shortcake, you excited?" he asked but even Mike couldn't manage to be his cheerful and bright self. He was tired, Angela could tell by his voice but he tried his very best to put up a front.

"Yeah, sure." She lied. Although she felt terrible for not feeling excited for her friend, she was trying to. "Trisha's been dreaming about this her entire life, believe me." Angela smiled at the thought now of her friend up on the stage. She had decided that she needed to forget about Adriano, just for tonight. The situation could be sorted another time, a less important night.

It was true, Trisha really had been dreaming of this her whole life, she was born to be on the stage, or so she said anyways. Her friend was a beautiful singer, she loved to perform and Angela knew this night meant a lot to her. For Trisha had worked so hard to get to where she was now.

Both Mike and Angela continued their conversation about Trisha until they reached their destination and parked. Once they retrieved their tickets from the box office, they made their way to their seats which were close enough to the front. Angela had sent Trisha a good-luck text earlier to which her friend replied that she hoped Angela would enjoy the show. The guards had stayed near the whole night.

Angela couldn't help but tear up at the sight of Trisha on stage. She had a solo song for one of the last scenes of the show. Trisha had always talked about moments like these. Angela would dream of running away, of meeting her family again while Trisha would dream of acting, making a career for herself. They both wanted to get out of the gutter, and had both changed so much since all those months ago. All the two women needed was a break, and that was what they had gotten.

Mike watched in awe, he thought she had such an amazing voice. He was surprised actually. Once the show had finished, Angela got a text from Trisha telling her to wait outside for her. Mike and Angela waited about ten minutes patiently before Trisha appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey guys." Angela could by the tone of her voice how delighted she was, it made her smile.

"Hi." She grabbed Trisha into a tight hug. "You did great Trish." She said before pulling away. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you." Trisha grinned widely at her before turning her head to look to Mike with a friendly smile.

"Hello again." He raised his hand in a slight wave and smiled back at her.

"Hey." Angela thought she could detect some shyness in Trisha's voice but said nothing about it. "So we're going for some drinks now, you two want to come with?" Angela turned to Mike and then looked back at Trisha. She really didn't feel like going out tonight. Despite her best efforts to keep Adriano off her mind, it seemed she was unable to do so. She wished her mood was different but it wasn't and she didn't feel like she could pretend she was okay anymore.

"I'm not sure I feel like it tonight, I'm sorry Trish." Angela smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. Trisha sensed something was wrong and was unsure as to ask her friend about it or not.

"I'll go grab the car, okay Shortcake?" Mike said quietly. He nodded to some of the guards to wait behind before walking off towards the car park.

"What's wrong?" Trisha asked, her voice laced with concern. Tears pricked Angela's eyes but she didn't want Trisha listening to her problems right now- it was her night.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"No you're not. Tell me please, I really want to know. Where's your friend you told me about- Adriano?"

"I don't want you to have to listen to me right now, I'm sorry." Angela said, dabbing her tears away before they could leave her eyes.

"Nonsense Angela, I want to know what happened." She put her hand on her other friends shoulder and looked straight at her, waiting for Angela to talk.

But what could she say? How could she describe how bad she had been feeling and how hard it was to push the feelings she felt away? She couldn't describe her situation to Trisha without telling her everything- and that was something Angela was unable to do without bringing Adriano's occupation into it. Angela would need to tell her a version of the truth, for everyone's own good. She had told Trisha that her and Adriano had a disagreement and weren't talking.

"He said somethings I don't think I want to forgive." Angela said after explaining her situation to her friend, or the parts of it that she could explain.

"Listen okay?" Trisha looked at her friend again until their eyes met. "If you ever need somewhere to stay for a while- just to think things through- I'm always here. Just give me a text and I'll be there, anytime."

"Thanks Trish." Angela hugged her friend and then heard her cell phone ringing. She answered and heard Mike's voice on the other end, he was just around the corner and ready to go. "I have to go, I'll see you soon though. You done great tonight, enjoy your drinks."

"See ya." Trisha said before Angela and the guards walked back to Mike's car.

The drive was filled with silence, a silence neither welcomed but done nothing about. It wasn't until they pulled into Adriano's car park that Mike spoke. He parked the car and asked her to wait before she got out of the car.

"Angela, I know tonight didn't go as well and you planned and I'm sorry Adriano didn't go-"

"It's fine Mike, that's not your fault."

"But it is my fault that I haven't been myself lately. Work really is starting to stress me out and I wish that my mood was different tonight, for both of our sakes."

"Oh Mike, honestly, I understand. Thanks for coming with me tonight, I'm glad you could go." Mike smiled at her and reached out to pull her into a tight hug. He exhaled deeply before speaking again.

"I hope you're okay, I can tell there's something wrong but I won't push you to tell me." Mike said.

"Don't worry about me." Angela let out a small laugh before pulling away. "I'll see you." She said before opening the door and getting out.

"Wait." Mike said just before she could close the car door.

"Yeah?" she asked, leaning down to stick her head into the car.

"Adriano wasn't always this way. You're helping him become the person he used to be. I just want you to know that he was different..." Angela didn't know what to say next so she just nodded, trying to fight off the tears that were coming into view.

"Goodnight Mike." She said before shutting the car door and making her way upstairs with the guards.

Once she got in, she took off her coat and saw Adriano lying asleep on the couch, his arm dangling down over the edge. She walked over quietly and saw the glass on the coffee table which could only be holding some sort of alcohol. Angela grimaced and was unsure of what to do next. She couldn't help the thought that she needed to get him to bed or at least put a blanket over him if he was to spend the night out here but she knew she couldn't do either. She sighed and wiped away her tears forming in her eyes again before heading to bed.

She really did terrible and decided that night while she lay awake in bed, that maybe a couple of days away from Adriano. She would call Trisha early tomorrow morning and organise it with her.

******

Angela woke up then next morning with a headache and a heavy heart. Her brain had gone into over drive and wouldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened over the past couple of days. She got up after a whole night of broken sleep and realised it was past noon. Angela went outside and saw Adriano had moved from his spot last night to the floor. She fought the urge to wake him up and send him to bed where he would me more comfortable and went into the kitchen to make herself something to eat.

As soon as Angela began to make small noises, Adriano began to groan and move around on the floor beside the sofa. He cracked an eye open and turned to find the source of the sound. His head hurt, a lot. He needed something to drink and some pain killers. After Angela left last night he went out for drinks and returned home for more on his own. He knew alcohol wasn't the answer to his problems with Angela and it was a stupid thing to do, he certainly felt like it was that morning when he woke up.

"Morning." He croaked out, his voice gruff. Angela didn't even turn her head to look at him, just continued on with mixing her eggs for her omelette. Adriano had thought she might reply but after a couple of minutes of waiting, he spoke again. "How was the show?" It was hard for her to not speak, to not look at him.

"Angie. Hey Angie?" she sensed him standing next to her but continued on until he put his arm on her shoulder. It was then that she looked all the way up to him, she drank in his features and felt like she should want to look away but didn't. He noticed her tired eyes and pale face but said nothing about that. "Talk to me, please. I'm sorry about what I said. I'm sorry for not going last night. I'm sorry about everything." The tone of his voice made her almost break, she felt as though she was being ripped in two.

She was hurt by his words the other night but what was hurting her more was the fact that she wanted to forgive him. It was confusing her and clouding her straight forward plan she had made earlier. This conversation could only go in two directions and she had to pick one or the other soon. When she did, she finally spoke.

"Last night was a big deal for Trisha. It meant a lot to me but I couldn't enjoy it like I should have. Please, don't waste your time apologising when you aren't sorry." His hand slid quickly up to cup her cheek. He missed the feel of her skin, he missed her being so close. He missed talking to her and seeing her face. All he wanted now was to make everything better again but he wasn't quite sure how he could after his harsh words.

"I am, I really am." He was going to say more but stopped when she moved away from him and turned around, walking off and leaving her eggs on the counter. He heard her door shutting but didn't go after her.

She stayed in there for an hour or two, enough time for Adriano to get dressed and let his tablets kick in. He was in his room when he heard her door opening and went out to see what she was doing when panic shot through him at the sight of her carrying a box of her things. She was walking towards the door, not looking back even though she heard him.

Adriano almost ran to the door just in time to stop her. Angela's head shot up to look at him so panicked and flustered.

"Where are you going?" he asked with concern.

"I think it's better if I stay somewhere else for a couple of days. Trisha said I can stay with her for a while-"

"No...You can't go."