love her more and more

The next day...

Angelica was enjoying a cup of coffee on the terrace, savoring the morning view and the not-too-cold atmosphere. The girl, wearing only a white bathrobe, felt empty, purposeless, and of course, bored.

'If I continue like this, I'll just keep pushing Charlie to define our relationship. Maybe it will only make him bored of me and turn away... if that happens, I'm not sure I can handle it,' she thought, glancing at Charlie, who was playing with his phone in another chair, still wearing only a white bathrobe. 'I don't know why, but he means so much to me now, and suddenly I don't want him to turn away from me. What if I fall in love and it turns out he's just playing with me? I'll be shattered... even though I won't be financially harmed, I'll still be shattered... my heart will be a mess... besides, when else will I be loved by a man as good as him... oh wait... he never even said he loves me anyway...'

Charlie placed his phone on the table and glanced at Angelica, who was lost in thought. "Hey, what are you thinking?" he asked, smiling.

"Uh..." Angelica quickly turned her face away and brushed her hair aside. "I... I was just..."

"Enchanted by me," Charlie said, not letting Angelica continue.

Angelica burst into laughter and looked at Charlie. "You're too confident!"

"I'm telling the truth..."

"Hmm... that's true, you have a charming face, and I guess you could date more than one girl, and of course, you're good-looking... much better than me," Angelica said with a smile that slowly faded. 'But I don't know why, I don't want that to happen, even when you say you've been so intimate with a girl, suddenly I find myself feeling jealous,' she thought.

"I don't want anyone else, I want only you," Charlie replied.

"That's what you're thinking now, but who knows about the future... maybe you'll get bored of me..."

"I don't get bored easily..."

"But you will," Angelica said, then placed her cup of coffee on the table and got up from her chair. She walked towards the dividing fence and rested her arms there, looking at the view, but what was on her mind was her mother. "My father never married my mother... Maybe he got bored of her and chose to leave her before committing to her," she continued.

Charlie immediately got up from his chair after placing his cup on the table. He approached Angelica and embraced her from behind, occasionally kissing her cheek.

"Tell me about your family," he whispered.

"I love my mother very much... I always feel sorry for her," Angelica replied in a soft voice. "She loved my father so much, always waiting for him, never demanding marriage... she accepted a long-distance relationship... after I was born, they only met on weekends. My father said he worked in Canada and couldn't bring us there yet," she continued lazily.

Charlie fell silent, imagining the life of Angelica and her mother's life back then.

"And when I was 10 years old, my father came back to Hawaii after a month of absence and not contacting us. He said everything... he said he had been married to another woman since before he met my mother... He even had some children, and he couldn't continue the relationship with my mother because he was afraid his wife would find out," Angelica explained, then sighed. "I was in the living room with my cousin at that time... I heard them arguing in the bedroom... then suddenly he came out, in a hurry to leave. I called him, hoping he would choose to stay... I thought he would melt because of me, I thought he loved me, but it turned out he just looked at me for a moment, then left just like that," she continued.

"That's awful, he doesn't deserve love from your mother and you," Charlie whispered, hugging Angelica again, feeling both fond and pity.

"Yeah, and what's worse is when I went back to the room, my mother was crying with a bruised face... she got hit by that Bastard," Angelica said, then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "My heart aches... my mother was deceived, even for a month before he came back, she still thought positively that he would return. but... reality shattered her mind, and what's annoying, my grandparents blamed her, and uncle too... she was sad, she needed support, but all she got was anger," she continued with teary eyes.

"What have you done for her so far?" Charlie asked.

"I've always been by her side, that's what makes her happy," Angelica replied, leaning her head on Charlie's chest. "Since then, she didn't want to love anyone but me... but... I know she's still very hurt because of my father... she makes herself always tired by working full time to cover my education expenses and our daily living expenses, I feel sorry for her... and the situation got worse when she realized she had lung cancer... and after that, Grandpa passed away, a year later Grandma passed away... and actually, Uncle Robert helped us quite a bit. After he divorced Aunt Julia, he let her go with their child. Then after that, he focused on us. He built a bar in front of the house with the capital from selling a piece of Grandpa's land."

"Yeah, he's not so bad... but I hate him... I can't forget when he slapped you on the beach," Charlie said, then released his embrace and made Angelica face him with an intense gaze. "I don't want anyone to hurt you... stay by my side, I might even bring my mother here so you can be close..."

"But she refuses... I don't know what's on her mind... sometimes I worry if she's already given up on her illness, then still hurt by her past so she doesn't want to try to hold on," Angelica replied with concern.

"I'll help... don't worry," Charlie whispered, then kissed Angelica's forehead and hugged her. 'I won't let her go... she's a good girl, I love her, and she needs me too... I hope she never demands a relationship with me because it would only put her in danger,' he thought with worry.

"Mr. Charlie..."

a voice from the door diverted Charlie's attention, causing him to release his embrace on Angelica. He and Angelica looked at the suited male employee approaching them, carrying a large white paper bag and a small green one.

"Dante," Charlie greeted.

"Here's the new phone and the new dress you wanted," the employee named Dante said, handing the two paper bags to Charlie, but occasionally glancing at Angelica standing next to Charlie.

Charlie took them and held them with his left hand. "Prepare the best breakfast... and tell Xander to have the head of security meet me here," he said with a flat look.

"Yes, Sir." Dante nodded and immediately left.

Angelica stood silent, watching Dante get further from her sight until he was out of view. "Can I work like him or maybe become a receptionist or a maid..."

"No..." Charlie immediately turned to Angelica and shook his head with a smile. "I won't allow my girl to work, let alone work as a maid. It's very bad... naughty hotel guests might ask you to serve them, or even rape you... you're too beautiful!"

"You're overthinking!" Angelica pouted instantly, then walked towards the chair. "I'd get bored if I didn't have a job..."

"You usually refer to yourself as a maid in my mansion." Charlie slid the chair close to Angelica and sat down. "Just stay there and do whatever you like... you can shop, or do anything with Renee or your friends... I won't limit you. But I hope you'll always be there when I'm tired of my work, and of course, I'll miss you too." He said with a smile and immediately handed the two paper bags to Angelica.

Angelica lazily grabbed the paper bags and took out a phone still neatly wrapped in a green box, and the other bag contained a complete set of clothes with simple makeup tools.

"Next time, I'll get you something better, more complete... I just got these because I thought you should use them right away," Charlie said.

Angelica fell silent, looking at Charlie in horror.

"What?" Charlie asked, puzzled but smiling.

"Do you know what's on my mind right now?" Angelica countered.

Charlie just shrugged.

"I feel like your... your mistress," Angelica said as she placed the bag of clothes and makeup on the table, then turned to open the box containing the phone. "You give me a lot of money, then freedom, then a new phone and clothes, and you promise other things while I'm nothing to you... it's like you're rewarding me after I satisfy you all night," she continued.

"Don't think like that..." Charlie furrowed his brow. "You're not my mistress... and I'm giving you all this not as a reward or anything... and when we make love, you give me pleasure, and I give you pleasure because we like each other, we're attracted to each other... it has nothing to do with money... I don't like you thinking like that."

Angelica fell silent, examining her new phone, now active with an email address and other internet settings.

"Don't think that you're nothing to me. I'm your man, and you're my girl. What binds us is a love that exists in our hearts, it's more meaningful than relationships with marriage, engagement, or dating labels," Charlie said again.

Angelica sighed, glancing at Charlie who once again emphasized his dislike for relationship labels.

"I hope you understand me," Charlie murmured, disappointment in his eyes.

"Okay." Angelica smiled faintly, then lifted her new phone. "By the way, thanks for this new phone... I know it's very expensive and I love the color." She changed the subject because Charlie seemed very unhappy with the previous conversation.

"That's good..." Charlie smiled faintly. "You can call your mom now."