Gael's Naughty Angel: A Mafia Prince Romance

A knock on the room jolted Gael awake, which in turn, also woke up Angela. His hand immediately went to the gun under his pillow on instinct. They didn't move from the bed yet but they stared at the door, wondering who it could be outside at this hour. The curtains were drawn close but it couldn't be late in the morning.     

"Who is that?" she whispered from his side, torn between snuggling into him closer and getting up from the bed to get the door.     

When another knock came, he untangled himself from her and went to open the door. He blinked himself awake upon facing Charlie on the other side who was casually wrapping his hand with a white hand wrap in a meticulous way—like he was ready for a match.     

"Dad?" Angela croaked, her voice scratchy from sleep.     

"Good morning, Sweetheart." Charlie smiled at her before shifting his gaze to Gael.     

Charlie's eyes were different today. If Gael wasn't mistaken, the other looked mad serious. He nodded towards the stairs, "Come on. We'll jog from here to the gym."     

Gael cleared the sleepiness in his throat. "What time is it?"     

"Five thirty."     

"I thought we were doing this in the afternoon?"     

Charlie cocked a brow, still continuously wrapping his hand. "What? Right now is too early for you?"     

The hell? Slightly taken aback, Gael straightened his spine. He didn't mind it early. He was only a little surprised. It was as if Charlie did it on purpose to throw him off, telling him the wrong time and then knocking at an ungodly hour to show he was damn ready while Gael's sleep was cut short. "No, Sir. I can go anytime."     

"Hm. I'm sure you can. In your line of work, you were taught to be ready any time, weren't you?" There's an unmistakable edge on Charlie's tone.     

If it were anyone else, Gael wouldn't feel the least bit intimidated. But for some reason, facing his fiancée's father like this made him a bit cautious—as if his subconscious was telling him not to poke the bear.     

He opened his mouth to speak, but then Charlie turned around, saying as he walked away, "Get your ass out front in five minutes." The seriousness in his tone mirrored Gael's father when Alessandro was in his I'm-in-charge mode. He wasn't used to the receiving end from Charlie's strictness.     

"Yes, Sir."      

"What the hell?" Angela got to her feet, the strap of her nightie slipping off her shoulder.     

"That was your father, right?" Gael muttered, still staring at the now empty space where Charlie was a few seconds ago.     

She groaned, burying her face on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I hate this. He's a little scary when he's mad. He never hit us. But this… I think he's just finding an excuse to kick your butt."     

Gael quickly washed his face and put on his workout clothes then dashed out of the mansion. Angela trailed behind him, now wearing a robe. "Can I come?" she asked when they reached the front door and Charlie was already warming up.     

"Stay at home," Charlie said. "We'll be back for brunch."     

Gael kissed Angela's forehead and squeezed her shoulder once before letting her go. "Go back to sleep."     

She narrowed her eyes on her father. "Dad, play nice."     

A smile ghosted on Charlie's face. "Of course, Sweetheart."     

After Gael stretched briefly, the two set off jogging towards the gate. He shouldn't be nervous about this morning, but for some reason, he was because he could sense that Charlie planned to pummel him to the ground today and enjoy it.     

Charlie's and Gael's guards followed behind them in an SUV. The run wasn't far from the estate, which took about fifteen minutes to get to the gym. There were already a couple of people training inside. Charlie didn't look like he was in his fifties with the way he was still bouncing in place.     

Soon enough, the two of them were in a ring, with gloves on their hands. This was only a friendly match with three one-minute rounds, and they had protective gears on. Although if Gael could guess, Charlie must've wanted without those. Gael didn't want to risk losing his nuts and brain from this "friendly" match from a mad father.     

Ding!     

The bell rang and holy fucking hell. Charlie went all out right off the bat! With the way his red-gloved punches were thrown towards Gael, you'd think he was fighting for a championship belt.     

Gael could only do so much evading here and there. He'd managed to avoid getting hit on the first several ones, but the older man threw in a fake jab and then a punch, landing a hit on Gael's bicep.      

He swore he saw Charlie's smirk underneath his head gear.     

Although Gael trained in hand-to-hand combat, it was different in boxing because he wasn't allowed to grab the opponent. He'd have to keep his distance so Charlie couldn't reach him, but he couldn't run around like a dummy in the ring either—he had too much pride for that. Besides, Gael already decided he'd accept his future father-in-law's punches… When he could land one, of course.     

One minute ended and they took breaks on their own corners to take a breather. Their guards took their respective sides of the ring, giving them water and some shoulder massage like it was a fucking' championship match.     

"Boss, are you going to just let him hit you?" Rick murmured lowly so only the two of them could hear.     

"You expect me to hit my fiancée's father?"     

"No… But… Well… That punch looks like it's going to bruise. If he has a mean punch, he could surely take a punch too, yeah?"     

Gael peered at his bicep where a bruise was already forming. "This is nothing. Angela had it worse. I can't take away her scar." This, however, he was willing to take—whatever Charlie intended to give.     

"But it's not like you haven't protected Angela. You were wounded too from the gunshot and your back from that time that fucker Evan Leos—"     

"I'm not hitting my future father-in-law," Gael bit out.     

A "Ding!" resounded and their short breather was over. Back in the ring, the two started striking each other. Charlie questioned, "Are you insulting me?"     

"What? I would never!" Gael hissed, throwing a weak jab.     

"Then what the hell are you doing? You can't hurt a fly with that punch!" Jab. Jab. Straight.      

Gael inwardly groaned. He'd jabbed and countered, but purposely avoided hitting Charlie. Now the man's onto him and taking offense on the way he's punching. "Maybe you're just so skilled you're avoiding every hit."     

"Ha! Son, I wasn't born yesterday. You're not giving it your all!" Charlie landed a hit on Gael's face and in an instant, blood trickled down from his brow.     

"Shit."     

"Now fight like a man!" Charlie's brows furrowed deep. "Only a man marries my daughter."     

Gael growled and lunged towards Charlie, intending to punch the older man in the face but the bell rang and his arm awkwardly stopped mid-air before he relaxed his stance.     

Charlie really knew where to hit Gael. And it wasn't physical.     

Just as they walked back to their corners, footsteps carried towards the ring and Angela gasped upon seeing the cut on Gael's brow. "Oh, my god! Are you okay?" Her eyes were wide as she watched Rick try to stop the bleeding.     

"What are you doing here?" Gael turned to face her, panting heavily and ignoring the pain on his wound and the bruises on the parts where Charlie landed hits. Trigger was behind her and Oliver was on Charlie's corner. "I thought I told you to go back—"     

"You really expect me to go back to sleep when I know Dad's going to do this? Arggh… This is insane! Can you stop this already? You're hurt."     

"Babe, you know I can't. This is your Dad's way… I just have to take it."     

Angela bit her bottom lip, the crease between her brows deepen as she worried for Gael. Then she folded her arms under her breasts and cast a glance at her father, hissing under her breath when she saw Oliver smiling so wide as he massaged their father's shoulders. They were enjoying this too much.      

"Dad! Can you take it easy? What will I tell your future grandchildren if you deformed their father's face?"     

Everyone stilled, all heads turning in her direction, but it was Charlie who dared to ask, "Are you pregnant?"     

Angela got flustered, realizing how her statement sounded. "Well, not yet! But it can happen!"     

The next round was starting. Gael blew out a long exhale and shook his body. Raising his gloved hands in a stance, he and Charlie circled the ring.     

"Now, are you worthy of my little girl?" Charlie spat, his fist flying for a strike on Gael's midsection that the latter managed to evade.     

"I honestly don't think I am, but I'll spend forever proving myself to her."     

Gael faked a straight and changed last second into a hook, landing on the side of Charlie's face. The older man staggered backward and fell on his backside. Gael froze for a second, and then rushed forward. "Oh shit! I didn't mean—are you okay?"