Meanwhile, Angela felt a lot of different things all at once. When she got home, the house was empty and quiet, that making a sound was like dropping a pin in a tin can. After kicking her shoes to the side, she headed towards the kitchen and got herself a bottle of water, the overhead lights automatically illuminating as she walked.

Tonight had been a roller coaster ride. She didn't even know where to begin when she convinced herself that she needed to sort out her problems and decide what to do next. In the middle of the night last night, she had decided to finally open up to Gael and even had herself mentally prepared, unsure of how to break it down to him. There was no easier way than just to say it from the beginning despite not knowing how he would react from it.

After giving herself a pep talk and staying optimistic, Angela went to the party with Nina. She actually looked forward to talking to him after their events. But who would have thought she'd end up going home alone—tired, broken-hearted, and miserable? Absolutely no one.

A long sigh came out of her, coupled with a growling stomach. Great. She left the party and even forgot to eat. Angela didn't have any appetite, but she drank alcohol, and drinking with an empty stomach was not a good combo.

Biting her bottom lip, she opened the cupboards and looked for something to eat. What caught her eye was an orange-colored box of cereal—Reese's Puffs. She didn't usually eat cereal for breakfast because she wanted to stay away from those that had a lot of added sugar in them as much as possible. So she couldn't remember why she even got this one—maybe it was one of those times when she did her grocery while she was hungry and thought it was cool, and she wanted to try it.

"I guess now's the best time," she muttered to no one in particular as she opened it and then began munching like it was a bag of chips. It tasted like the peanut butter cups—only this was crunchy.

In her dimly lit kitchen, Angela leaned against the island counter, hugging the box of cereal while chomping the puffs. She's hit a new low.

She read the words on the box out of boredom. "No artificial flavors, no artificial coloring, no high fructose syrup—good to know. Guaranteed whole grain. Good source of Calcium & Vitamin D. Yay. Healthy."

Setting the box on the counter, she checked her refrigerator and found some carrot sticks and a tub of hummus. Her fridge was pretty much empty. Grabbing the two, she slid down and sat on the floor with her back flat against the counter, the skirt of her dress sprawled on the floor.

'Whoever invented hummus is a genius,' she thought as she dipped a carrot and took a bite, enjoying how the consistency of the dip was smooth in her mouth.

Angela was supposed to be here with Gael and have that talk. But with everything that happened tonight, she didn't know what to do anymore. The fact that he knew about the video and he didn't tell her about it made her feel dirty. The strong urge to shower in hot water came over her, but she forced herself to stay still. She's been down that road before. Not again. What she really wanted to know was...how could he look at her after seeing that? Had he thought about that while they were together? She felt a prick in her heart, hoping that wasn't the case.

That video aside, there were other things she wanted to tell him. "Guess that's never gonna happen now," she mumbled as she got up from the floor, leaving her food on the counter and heading to her bedroom. She had about five carrot sticks and the cereal before that.

Angela actually dreaded going into her bedroom because the place just reminded her of Gael. Everything about this apartment reminded her of him, and as she sunk into the mattress, she could no longer stop her tears from flowing. It didn't help that her pillow and blanket smelled like him. No one told her this was how being heartbroken felt like. It hurt a lot more than how she felt when everything went down with Evan. Why? She and Gael hadn't even been together for that long.

She curled into a ball. This was the first time that Angela really felt so alone—because the only person she wanted to talk to and be with at this very moment was none other than the person who hurt her.

Her phone buzzed, and that's only when she realized that she had strapped her purse on her wrist the whole time. Checking the phone, she felt both relieved and anxious to see that Gael had sent her a text. But when she read and thought about her response, she decided against it and tossed her phone under the pillow.

***

Naughty Bunny Club

Gael lost count of how many shots he'd had that night since he came hours ago. He was supposed to pick up his uncle, but instead, he broke the promise he made to himself twice that week already.

But what else was new? Ever since three months ago when he met Angela again, he'd been breaking his promises left and right—he didn't even recognize himself anymore. Gone was the person who was known to be a man of his word. What's left was an asshole who broke Angela's heart.

"Hey handsome, wanna buy me a drink?" asked a woman who sat next to him at the bar.

With a hazy gaze, he squinted as he looked at her. At first, he saw Angela's beautiful face but when he blinked and then she spoke again, he got disappointed that it was a random stranger.

"I have to go see her," Gael slurred as he got off the stool.

Giovanni instantly followed him. "I'm coming with you."

The two sat at the backseat of the SUV, and one of their men drove them back to Mayne City. It was an hour-long drive, and they were shît-faced drunk—Giovanni had realized he'd been drinking water, so he demanded vodka again.

"You know what Lia said when she saw me?" Giovanni questioned, playing with the silver Zippo lighter that Gael gifted to him years ago—it had a dragon design, its mouth opening and closing whenever he flipped the case open and close.

"What?"

"Nothing." He chuckled. "We haven't seen each other in forever, and she said nothing even after I taunted her."

"Maybe she forgot how to talk," Gael responded with his eyes closed.

Giovanni scoffed. "Fûck her. You know? Fûck her. Whatever she says is a lie anyway. So fûck her and fûck that asshole she's fûcking."

Gael laughed. Giovanni was always fun when he's this drunk. The two began cackling for absolutely no reason—probably at how miserable they both were at the moment.

"Don't let a woman ruin you. Ever. I'm fine... I'm fine. I'm totally fine, brother," murmured Giovanni as he leaned against the rest and closed his eyes.

***

It was a quarter past five in the morning when they arrived in front of Angela's building. Giovanni fell asleep, and Gael got out of the SUV. He leaned against it, crossed his legs, and played with a cigarette stick and the silver lighter. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, and his bowtie was untied. He swept his fingers through his hair, and it fell back down his forehead, nearly covering his eyes.

Looking up at her floor, he wondered how she was—at the same time that he contemplated if he should smoke. Gael smelled the stick before putting it between his lips, remembering how it felt like to take a puff.

He flicked the lighter on and lifted it, but just before he could light the stick, a familiar figure appeared across the street from where he was standing. He looked up and met Angela's stare, and he instantly removed the cigarette from his mouth as he straightened up. "Angel…"

Angela swallowed and started fidgeting with her pink hoodie. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she held a brown paper bag with a pharmacy's logo on it. Was she sick?

Gael crossed the street until he was in front of her. "Are you okay?"

That was a dumb question. 'Of course, she's not okay, you idiot.'

"Hyperacidity," she replied in almost a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

He tentatively reached to touch her arm—an instinctive move on his part to worry about her when Giovanni's croaky voice called behind them.

"Angela! I need to use your bathroom," yelled Giovanni from inside the car and proceeded to make gagging sounds as he clumsily got out of the SUV.

Her gaze darted between the two men, her brows furrowing deeper as she muttered, "You're drunk..."

'Yes. And I'm seeing two of you. You both look pretty. Will you take care of me?' he thought as he tightened his jaw, desperate to hold her.

Before Gael could actually answer her, Giovanni flung his arms on their shoulders—one on each of them—stammering, "P-Please hit pause for now….fight later. I'm gonna be sick."