Breakdown

Lena shook her head. This woman was always too proud of herself. They all enjoyed the dinner, and Hazel kept drinking non-stop. Gary and Lena were safe drinkers. They knew how to properly drink and still have fun. Plus, hangovers are not worth their time. They are busy people.

Lena wondered if they were here to cry out her "broken heart" or Hazel's. Regardless, Lena entertained with Hazel all night long. They talked about her filming abroad and some more gossip on men.

Hazel was too drunk in the end. But she had her own men to escort her home. Lena and Gary made sure she got to her car safe before leaving themselves. Luckily this time, they didn't bump into Andy and Eva again.

Lena was very silent on the way sending Gary back to his apartment. Gary did not bother to say anything much too in the car ride. He himself was exhausted from Hazel's nagging about Gary and hooking him up with celebrities.

Gary didn't know but Lena was going through an internal battle herself. The car stopped at his apartment. The night sky was cleared and the stars were very visible. There was a slight cool breeze, but nothing too cold to worry about.

The lights outside his apartment were well lite. He could see that most people were already in bed.

"Goodnight." Gary opened his doors to get out. However, Lena suddenly grabbed the end of his shirt.

"Can I stay over tonight?"

"What?" Gary replied back in astonishment. He can feel that cold chills of four invisible eyes staring at him.

"I.." Before Lena could reply, she sniffled and cried.

"Umm.." Gary didn't know what to do. He never saw a girl cried before so he didn't know how to comfort them. "I didn't even say no. Don't cry."

He patted her shoulders. He could see that he was going to get beat up soon. He really didn't do anything! Lena silently continued to sob.

"You can stay, you can stay. I have a guest room you can sleep in." He honestly thought that Lena was crying because he was not going to allow her to stay.

Gary softly hugged Lena and guided her out of the car. He could still hear her soft sniffles, indicating that she was still crying. 'Oh god, this is so painful! Woman's tears are never to be underestimated!'

"You guys can pick me up tomorrow." Lena was able to muffle that out to her bodyguards.

Seeing her in such a state, they just nodded in response. Of course, they would have to spend the night here secretly to make sure she was fine. They also need to be close by in case something happens to her.

Gary quickly went up to his apartment with Lena. He opened the door and sat her down on the sofa before standing up to turn on the lights.

"Leave them off." Lena sniffled.

Gary stopped and stared back at Lena. Even in the dark, he could tell that she was trying really hard not to cry. He walked over and held her.

"It's ok. You can cry." Gary patted her head. And with that soft approval, Lena cried loudly.

She had thought that she had fully convinced herself that she didn't need tears. She had been standing strong so tall, but when she met Hazel tonight and lied straight to her face, everything that she had pushed herself through came crashing onto her.

She knew that she couldn't share this with Hazel, not like the previous times she had broken down about things. Maybe the doctor was correct, she should talk to someone. She wiped her tears on Gary's shirt and stopped crying.

"Can you be my Hazel tonight?" Lena softly asked.

"Should I go stuff myself with some clothes and jiggle my breasts?"

Lena laughed a bit. "I just need a friendly ear."

"Mhm...I have two, I can share one." Gary replied.

They were silent for about 10 minutes before Lena spoke. "I don't have nightmares when I sleep. But I can still vividly remember what happened that night. I can recall the gunshots and the bloody body falling onto me."

"I was really scared when I got shot at. It was frightening to know that no one might come and save you. And I was scared knowing that I might not make it out the next day the same. I kept telling myself that someone will come, and I just needed to stall for time. But in the back of my head, I already made the conclusion that if no one came, I would rather die than go through all of that."

"Don't say that. No matter what happens, your parents, Hazel, and I will still love you."

"I know. I know that now. Thank you."

Lena closed her eyes as Gary still held her, making sure she felt safe.

"I will be stronger… No, I am stronger. I will make sure my enemies won't dare lay a finger on me anymore."

"If you need anything, know that I am always here."

Lena sat up, releasing herself from the embrace. "Gary, you are a really good Hazel." She smiled. Gary chuckled softly.

"How are you going to get your revenge?" Gary asked.

"Holding onto grudges makes you weak. The same thing as me holding onto a man for years. You get blindsided and do irrational things. It's about protecting yourself and the people you care about. So if someone wants to harm me and my family, then I just need to get rid of them first."