Alex no longer cared about what Mark had told him. He had bigger problems.
What terrible luck. The universe was playing games with him. Now that he needed people to believe he was rich, he couldn't prove it!
"Well, Alex?" Cathy asked. "You wanted to prove you're rich. So, where's the evidence? Can no one vouch for you?" She smiled when he couldn't answer.
Everyone began talking again, and insults were hurled at Alex like artillery shells.
Unable to answer, Alex merely glared at them.
"Alex…" Debbie whispered, looking worried. Alex stayed silent, but his expression was serious as he thought about what to do.
"Alex, hand over the rest of the stolen money right now, or we'll have no choice but to call the police," Mr Berkley said, once again pressuring Alex.
"Yes, have him arrested!" Cathy urged.
"He won't admit anything right now," someone said. "But once he's at the police station, he'll come clean."
Alex wanted to argue, but his account had been frozen, and he couldn't prove anything. He held Debbie's hand tightly as he looked around at everyone.
"Do it. Call the police," Mr. Berkley ordered. A few impatient boys rushed toward Alex.
"Leave him alone! I took the money!" Debbie shouted.
Everyone stopped talking and stared at her.
"Debbie, don't be silly. Why would you do such a thing?" Mr. Morgan gaped at Debbie in disbelief.
She looked at Mr. Morgan and then bowed her head. "I'm sorry I let you down, Mr. Morgan. I stole the cellphone and the money. No one else was involved. I'm so sorry."
"Did you do it all by yourself?" asked Mr. Berkley. "Don't lie to protect Alex."
She waved a phone at them. "Look, this is Mr. Morgan's phone. If Cathy hadn't caught me red-handed, I wouldn't have admitted anything. Stealing that much money is serious, and I'm not stupid enough to take the blame for someone else."
It made sense, and everyone seemed to believe her.
"In that case, we need to go to the police station." Mr. Berkley grabbed Debbie's arm, ready to leave with her.
Debbie glanced at Alex. Seeing him unsure of what to do, she was willing to take the blame to protect him from any injustice.
Although she didn't know where she would get the three hundred fifty thousand dollars, and even though she might face severe punishment, she wasn't afraid. Instead, she was determined to help him.
Alex began to panic. He hadn't expected Debbie to protect him. Shocked, he realized how much she must love him. How could he possibly let her take the blame for him?
When Debbie looked at him, he felt guilty. As a man, how could he allow a woman to protect him? That just wasn't something he could do.
"Debbie, don't cover for me," Alex said, smiling faintly at her. He was lucky to have such a woman in his life.
Debbie was stunned and didn't understand what Alex was saying.
"What do you mean?" Mr. Berkley asked. He considered Alex's words. "Are you telling me that she's lying? You took the money, didn't you?"
"If I denied it, would you believe me?" Alex asked with a shrug. "Aren't you here because you thought I did it?"
"Ha! You finally admitted it," Cathy taunted him. "Debbie couldn't possibly have done such a thing."
"No, he's lying. I did it." Debbie knew that Alex wanted to protect her.
"Debbie, stop," Alex said. "I planned everything. I stole Mr. Morgan's money, and then I tried to use you to get rid of it all. The idea was to spend the money on you as quickly as possible, but it was taking too long, so I decided to donate most of it—"
"No. If that were true, then why would I admit to it? And why would you confess?" Debbie shook her head. "That makes no sense. You're lying." But nobody seemed to be convinced by her arguments.
Alex laughed. "You're too naive. How long do you think you'll be able to keep lying to the police? It's over, Debbie. Let it go."
Debbie was too stunned to argue.
"Alex, is that true? You were just using me?" Debbie's eyes shone with tears. Alex's deception hurt more than the thought of going to jail.
"I'm sorry." His gaze slid away.
Two tears slipped down Debbie's cheeks, and the strength drained from her, leaving her so shaky that a single puff of air could knock her over.
"Debbie, are you okay?" Alex asked with concern, reaching out to help her.
"Leave me alone," Debbie yelled as she slapped his face. She stared at him with tears still sliding down her face. "You lied to me. Why? Why did you lie to me?"
She glared at him and then ran out of the ward. Alex watched her leave, feeling a little dazed.
Debbie didn't realize how much he cared about her. She had been willing to take the blame for him. Couldn't she see that he wanted to do the same for her?
"Oh Alex, I thought you genuinely liked Debbie. I can't believe you were just using her. I'm so glad I dumped you," Cathy taunted him, while everyone else began to insult him. Alex simply blocked them out, his mind still on Debbie. He only hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid.
The university officials started discussing the matter. Mr. Morgan didn't want to create a fuss, and they had already recovered part of the stolen money, so they decided not to inform the police. Hopefully, that would protect the university's reputation. Alex was ordered to repay the money within five years.
After the agreement was reached, everyone dispersed.
It was late by the time Alex returned to the university. He wanted to call Debbie and check on her, but he decided against it. He had no way of fixing the problem, so if he called, what would he say? Besides, she probably needed time to calm down.
When he reached the dorm, his roommates had also heard about the incident and told him not to worry. Too tired to talk to them, he simply went to sleep.
**
The next day, Alex was woken at ten-thirty in the morning by his phone ringing. It was the cheerleader, Zara.
"Alex, why did it take you so long to answer?" Zara asked. "I'm calling to let you know my cousin is free for lunch, so I've arranged for you to meet her at the central plaza. Make sure you clean yourself up before you come."
"Zara, why didn't you give me more notice? I don't want to go anywhere." Alex was in no mood to go out after the previous day's incident.
"Hey, since when do I answer to you? If you don't want to come, then don't," Zara said, ending the call.
Alex had promised Zara that he would help her cousin, so he wouldn't let her down. Besides, he couldn't solve his money problems anyway, so he may as well do this.
He got washed and dressed, and then he hurried to the central plaza.
**
Zara and Karen were sitting under an umbrella, drinking lemonade. Zara tossed her phone onto the table.
"What is it?" Karen asked, her heart beating faster. "Doesn't Alex want to come?"
"So what? Don't worry. He'll come anyway. And if he doesn't, then I'll take care of it," Zara said confidently.
Karen's heart stopped pounding. She took a sip of her lemonade and glanced at Zara.
Zara's attitude toward Alex was still quite mean, so she didn't know he was rich. That's good, Karen thought. That means I have one less opponent.
"Hey, did you hear what that loser Alex did?" Zara laughed when she thought about the situation at Shrimp King the other day.
"No. What?" Karen was especially interested in hearing anything about Alex.
"He was asking for money at the entrance!" Zara filled her in on the incident.
"Yes, what a loser," Karen agreed. Of course, she didn't believe for a minute that Alex had asked for money, so Zara must have misunderstood. After all, when Karen first met Alex, she had also thought he was a loser with no money.
"But the idiot surprised us," Zara said. "He turned up in a Mercedes-Benz!"
Karen choked on her drink. "What?"
She wasn't surprised by the car. Many of the Supreme Cardholders at Metro Sky Bank drove such cars. But what if Zara realized Alex was seriously rich?
"Haha! Karen, you should see your face!" Zara laughed. "Were you thinking that the loser is rich? No, I asked Rachael, and she told me that it wasn't Alex's car. He was just driving it and acting tough."
"Really? Zara, you're enjoying this far too much." Karen relaxed again. Zara didn't suspect anything.
"No, that's not it. I know Alex, and that car doesn't belong to him," Zara said confidently, even though she had believed it was his at the time and had begged Alex for a ride.