Lena sent James out so she could take a nap. She tried closing her eyes but some part of her was scared that she will not wake up to this place. Has she become attached here?
Lena held up the lucky charm and stared at it as she recalled the words the old granny spoke to her.
"Die and be reborn, only then will your true soul be fully merged with the body."
Lena touched her heart. Did she really die and experienced a rebirth? Did her original body die too? Was that the scene about the car crash? What about Gary? Lena was absolute that he called her Shen Qian before he went silent.
Lena laughed softly to herself. It is ironic that she refused to follow the footsteps of a villain, but she is willing to take a life. Who is she to blame for it though, she guessed that this had always been her personality.
Lena closed her eyes. "Goodbye, old Lena…" She fell asleep.
She dreamed of being back in that dark room. Eva was laughing like a crazy woman in her corner. And Gary was bleeding on the floor, lifeless. The man with the scar continues to shoot Gary"s dead body.
"You killed him." Eva laughed pointing at Gary"s body. "YOU. KILLED. HIM!"
Lena jerked up from her bed. Her entire body was sweating and it was leaking to her wound. Her wound was getting irritated. The room was dark and silent.
"James?"
James popped in from the hallway, letting in some light. He looked at Lena who was soaked. "I"ll go get a nurse."
"No. Can you stay? And turn on the lights."
"Ok." James walked in and turned on just one light so it was not too bright for her since she just woke up. He pressed the call b.u.t.ton and poured some water for Lena.
"Thanks."
The nurse came in shortly after. She helped Lena changed out of her hospital gown and switch out the bed sheets to new ones. Her wound was cleaned and re-bandaged. Lena thanked the nurse and she slouched back on the bed.
"How do you deal with it?" Lena asked James.
James looked at how pale and tired Lena was. He turned to face the lights on the ceiling.
"Everyone deals with it differently. Sleep it off, drink, talk to someone, s.e.x, fights… For me, I choose to look at the positive side and remember that we are still alive. I embrace the fact that there are still people who care about me and continue to live on for them. It"ll always be there, but don"t make it hurt you. That is letting them win."
Last time, Lena was able to get through her trauma because she spoke cried her heart out. "What time is it?"
"It"s 3 am."
"Can you do me a favor? I want to go sleep in Gary"s room."
James was unsure if it was possible but he did it anyway. He got a male nurse to help set up a bed in Gary"s room for Lena. It took them only a few minutes.
Lena did not want to use the wheelchair so James carefully carried her over to the room. He placed her gently on the bed and asked if she needed anything else.
"Can you read my a bedtime story too?" Lena joked. "You would make a great father, James."
"I know." James just smiled and left. He knew that Lena wanted to spend some time alone with Gary.
Once Lena saw that James closed the door, she stood up and walked to Gary"s bed. She made sure she was being cautious. Lena tied the lucky charm on Gary"s wrist and walked back to her bed.
She had to sleep straight so the wound would heal properly. She looked at the white ceiling.
"I don"t want you to die. Am I being selfish again for not letting you go? You have to wake up soon so we can go beat up your mom. Can I put make-up on you? Ughhh… I don"t know what I am saying. Just wake up okay?"
Lena turned her head to glance at Gary"s baby face. "I am scared, and I need you buddy."
She did not know when she fell asleep again but this time, she had no nightmares. She spent the next few days sleeping in Gary"s room before Kris scheduled to move Gary out.
Kris was relocating Gary to his own private safe house with a team of doctors. He a.s.sured Lena that Gary was will be taken good care of.
Kris told Lena that she was not allowed to visit Gary. If she wanted to, she would need to contact him first. The less Lena visits Gary, the less the chances of him getting found out that he was still alive.
After Kye"s funeral, they hosted one for Gary. The news rapidly released articles about Lena and Gary. At first, the did not obtain Gary"s name but later on, his name was plastered on every front page as "Lena"s dead boyfriend."
Shen Mao and Shen Milli were angry at the news and wanted to shut it down, but Lena made up an excuse to stop them.
Lena has dismissed Noah from working in the field. She told him that his skills were best used by taking care of Gary"s place and being her tech guy until Gary returned. In truth, she did not want Noah to leave his family. He still has a lot to live for. It was another week before Lena was released.
Lena was packing her stuff to leave the dreadful hospital. She wished that she would not need to visit this place anytime soon. James knocked on the door and entered the room.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah."
Lena put a scarf over her hair and wore a sungla.s.ses. She was going to use the front exit and there was already a large group of reporters. This was planned by her and Kris already. Shen Mao"s new security blocked the reporters and James guided Lena out of the hospital.
"Miss. Shen, are you still mourning your boyfriend"s death?"
"Miss. Shen, is it true that you have PTSD? Did you get shot?"
"Are you returning back to work?"
"What is your relations.h.i.+p with CEO Zhao if Gary is your boyfriend?"
Lena continued to walk and got into the car. James went to the driver"s seat and drove off. Lena removed her cover-up and looked out the window. She had just one more stop. James pulled up to the graveyard and Lena stepped out with a yellow lily. Lena walked further until she reached a large gravestone with Gary Chen"s name engraved on it.
"h.e.l.lo, Gary." She placed the flower on top of the gra.s.s by the gravestone.