The voice came from a table about ten meters away, and the female customers all glared in that direction.
"I think he really believes someone is there," one person said. "Who knows which mental hospital this guy escaped from?"
"No. He's just missing his girlfriend," someone answered. "Look at him. He looks miserable. I'm guessing his girlfriend either died or ran off with another man."
Alex had been ignoring all the surrounding talk. But when they insulted Debbie, he grew angry.
He slapped his hand down on the table and stood up, glaring at the six or seven people sitting nearby. They wore flowery shirts and gold chains, and many of them had tattoos on display.
"Hey, kid, what do you want?" a man asked. "Do you have something you want to say to us?"
Debbie was Alex's sore spot. If anyone insulted her, no matter who they were, he would shut them up. He picked up the bottle of red wine and rushed over to their table, splashing the wine as he ran.
"Alex."
A delicate voice whispered to him. It was Debbie! Alex was stunned. He glanced at the seat opposite his and saw Debbie sitting there quietly. His anger drained away, and he smiled.
"Come back and sit down," she said, gesturing to his chair. "Let's eat."
"Okay." He stared at her face for a moment, and then he put the bottle back on the table and sat down.
The other customers were all astounded. What on earth? Who was he talking to? There was no one across the table from him. Had he gone insane?
The whispers began again.
"How crazy is this guy?"
"He's just pretending to be insane to avoid a beating."
"Well, if that guy dares to come over here, I'll deal with him!"
"Ignore him. Maybe he really did escape from a mental hospital."
Alex didn't even hear what they were saying. He was too busy watching Debbie. She smiled as if she had already forgiven him, and he was happy to just sit there with her.
"Damn it, you splashed wine on my arm, you idiot!" Suddenly, there was a roar in the dining room, followed by the sound of a table and chairs being knocked over. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
As Alex was handing a plate of food to Debbie, she screamed and fell to the ground as if she had been hit by something.
"Debbie, what's wrong?" He rushed to help her, but she disappeared with a "pop".
"Debbie? Debbie!" He shouted in panic, looking around to see where she had gone.
"Sir, calm down." The waiter tried to take him back to his seat.
Alex clutched at the waiter's shirt. "Did you see my girlfriend?" he asked anxiously. "She was just sitting here and then she disappeared. Have you hidden her somewhere?"
"Sir, your girlfriend was never here. It was all just in your imagination. If you don't believe me, then look." The waiter tried his best to explain as he pointed at the empty seat.
Alex looked across the table filled with dishes, including prawns and caviar. But Debbie had been eating them, hadn't she?
Realization struck. He had been imagining everything. "I'm sorry," he whispered to the waiter as he prepared to leave.
"Do you think you can just say sorry and that's it?" a voice shouted. "Hell no. I'm Bruno Franklin, and I'm sure you've heard of me. You've ruined my shirt, so you need to come home with me and wash it by hand. That's the only way this gets settled."
As Alex headed toward the door, he heard fabric tearing, and a girl screamed, "Don't touch me!"
He ground to a halt, feeling like he had been struck by lightning.
That was Debbie's voice!
His heart lurched within his chest. What if it was just his mind playing tricks on him again? He slowly turned around and walked toward Bruno's table.
There were already a lot of people gathered at the table, so he couldn't see the girl at first.
The manager of the restaurant had already rushed over to join the crowd. He frowned when he saw the conflict between Debbie and Bruno.
Even without asking, the manager knew that Bruno had been deliberately causing trouble.
On an earlier occasion, Bruno had used this trick to bully a waitress into leaving with him, and he had then assaulted her. The restaurant had ended up paying the waitress a lot of money to keep quiet.
Bruno, however, had suffered no consequences. He was a part of the underworld and had a lot of influence. No one was willing to stand up to him.
"You useless girl! You've offended Mr. Franklin. Get out of my sight now!" The manager glared at the waitress as he yelled.
The woman he scolded was none other than Debbie.
Debbie's cheeks burned with shame. Everyone was staring while she stood there in her torn clothes. But she knew that the manager was helping her. By sending her away, he was making sure she could escape Bruno.
When Alex walked over, he only caught a glimpse of Debbie's back as she slipped away.
He squeezed through the crowd and followed her into the kitchen. The manager was still apologizing to Bruno and trying to placate him.
He had to be careful not to knock over the food racks as he made his way through the narrow kitchen, trying to find Debbie.
The room bustled with activity, and the staff were all too busy doing their jobs to pay any attention to him.
"What happened to the girl?" one of the cooks asked.
"Oh. That gangster Bruno Franklin is here again and set his sights on her," a waitress replied. "The manager is currently dealing with Bruno outside."
"That girl is such a little mouse," the cook said. "She works all day, barely saying a word. She does night shifts and day shifts, practically working around the clock. If she wasn't so young, the strain would probably have killed her by now. I don't know why anyone would need to work that hard."
"I heard that she's working to pay off her boyfriend's debts," the waitress said. "Haven't you noticed that she doesn't spend even a single cent of the money she earns?"
"Ah. What a useless boyfriend." The chef shook her head. "That poor girl's life is far too tragic. If I were that pretty, I could just go out and randomly pick a man, and it would probably still work out better than that."
The waitress felt the weight of someone staring at her. Worried it was the head chef catching them gossiping, she turned around and saw Alex, who was stunned by what he had overheard.
"I'm sorry, Sir," she said. "Customers are not allowed in the kitchen. Please return to the dining area."
"Where is the girl you were talking about?" Alex asked.
"Debbie? Why? What do you want with her?" the waitress asked, puzzled.
When he heard Debbie's name, Alex felt energized. He had almost found her.
"I'm the useless boyfriend you were talking about," Alex said absent-mindedly.
"You're Debbie's boyfriend? The worthless piece of trash?" the cook asked, glaring at him. "Debbie is such a sweet girl, and you have her working herself to death to repay your debt. What kind of man are you?"
The waitress looked at Alex and sighed at his miserable expression. "Come with me," she said, leading him further into the kitchen.
In a corner of the kitchen, Alex spotted Debbie sitting on the floor, hugging her knees. Finally, he began to calm down.
He stopped walking and stared at her.
Her sobs echoed through the room. The right shoulder of her shirt was ripped open, revealing her beautiful skin, and her face was pressed into her knees.
Tears leaked from his eyes as he watched her.
He moved slowly toward her, one step at a time. His heart filled with shame and regret, and he knew he had to apologize and make this right.
He crouched down beside her and carefully reached out to touch her hair.
"I'm sorry, Sir," she sobbed. Please don't fire—" She lifted her head when he touched her, preparing to beg the manager for her job. But when she saw Alex's face, she stopped talking and stared at him in surprise. Then, feeling a little uncomfortable, she lowered her head, breaking eye contact.
"Debbie, don't you recognize me? It's Alex!" He tried to get her to look at him. "Are you still angry with me?" he asked. "I'm a terrible person, and I don't deserve to live!"
Alex started to slap his face. But Debbie should be the one hitting him for making her suffer so much.
"Stop it!" She pulled his hand away from his face.
"Debbie!" he cried out, hugging her tightly. He never wanted her to leave him again.
Debbie's heart melted when Alex hugged her. She had planned to earn enough money to repay him and never see him again. But while they had been apart, she hadn't been able to forget his voice or his smile. She had been thinking of him constantly, unable to eat or speak because she had missed him so much.
Now, he was standing right here beside her, and it felt like she was dreaming.
She hugged him back, and the warmth of his body helped her to relax.
Alex slowly let go and pulled back to see her face.
He wanted to explain that he hadn't been using her and that his feelings for her were real. "I'm sorry. I—"
"Shush." She covered his mouth with her hand. "You don't need to say anything. I don't care if you lied to me or not. I'm hopelessly in love with you, Alex, and I'll stick by you for the rest of my life. If you get tired of me, you'll have to chase me away." She looked into his eyes.
Over the last few days, she'd had a lot of time to think, and she had come to a decision. Without Alex, she would never be happy. Nothing else was important.
Alex was deeply touched. Even if he had lied to her, she would still have forgiven him.
"I'm far too single-minded to drive you away," he said, smiling. "I've chosen to be with you, and I'll never change my mind."
Debbie smiled shyly. She was so happy to be with him.
"Look, I've managed to earn one thousand dollars," she said, pulling some banknotes out of her pocket. "And when you graduate, we can both earn money and pay back the money even faster."
Looking at Debbie's earnest expression, Alex felt a little sad.
"You two are just so cute." The chef and the waitress smiled when they saw that Alex and Debbie had made up.
"This is bullshit! If you don't start showing me some respect, I'll destroy your restaurant!" Bruno roared from outside the kitchen.
"Debbie, stay here," Alex said, smiling at her. "I'll be back in a minute."
Are you looking for Debbie, Bruno? he thought. Well, let's see just how big a man you are!