Alex drove his expensive Ferrari along the road, leaving all the other cars far behind him. He returned to the Green Island Garden District and parked in front of the villa before going inside and falling asleep.
The next day, Alex got up early and made himself some breakfast. When he walked out of the villa, he was surprised to see Karen Young standing at his door. He hadn't seen her for a long time, but she was still as beautiful as he remembered.
She hesitantly paced back and forth in front of the door, muttering to herself. When she saw Alex, she was shocked and immediately stopped moving.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked indifferently. He had no intention of inviting her in.
He hated Karen. The last time he had seen her, she had drugged him, and if Zara and the others hadn't found him, he would have been in a lot of trouble.
"I… I…" Karen stuttered, unable to speak. She had known that Alex would be angry after what had happened, so she hadn't dared look for him.
She had hoped that his anger might have subsided by now, so she had started to plan how to get his attention again.
Recently, Robert Miller had mentioned that it was Alex who had bought the most expensive villa in the Green Island Garden District.
The villa had been sold for forty million dollars. If Alex could afford to buy it, then how much money did he have?
Karen had arrived at the villa early in the morning, and she had found a cool Ferrari parked outside it. She had been so excited that she had almost fainted.
She had been practising what to say to Alex when he had stepped out the door. The moment she had seen him, she had forgotten what she had planned to say.
"Well, if you have nothing to say, then please don't loiter in front of my house," Alex said, turning to walk away.
"Alex, I wanted to apologize to you," she said, walking over to him. "I'm sorry. I was in the wrong, and I shouldn't have drugged you."
Karen was a smart woman. Alex already knew that she had drugged him, so there was no point in denying it. If she lied again, he would be disgusted with her, so it was better if she admitted it.
"Fine, you've apologized. You can go now," Alex said, his attitude softening a bit. Karen had admitted to her mistakes, which redeemed her a little in his eyes.
"Alex," Karen said, raising her head and looking at him with a serious expression. "When I drugged you, it was because I was forced to—"
"Hmph." He snorted. "So someone was pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to drug me?" he asked sarcastically.
"No. Alex, please listen," she said, shaking her head. "I asked you to pretend to be my boyfriend to make James give up on me. I thought James would be angry after he found me on a date with you. I never expected him to be even more determined to be with me, and I panicked. I thought that if I took things further, he wouldn't be able to accept it, and he'd leave me alone."
"So you decided to drug me?" Alex asked in a flat tone.
Karen lowered her head and nodded.
"Please don't be angry," she said. "I know it was stupid, but I was worried that if you'd known my intentions, then you wouldn't have agreed to the plan. All I wanted was for James to give up on me, and I didn't think it through properly. So I drugged your wine."
She sighed. "But don't worry, nothing happened. I just wanted to act out a sexy scene with you to make it look good. When Zara and James arrived, I was happy because I thought it had worked, but I didn't consider your feelings. It was only when I saw how upset you looked that I realized I'd done the wrong thing."
After hearing Karen's explanation, Alex didn't hate her as much. She hadn't planned to trick him, she just hadn't considered the consequences of her plan.
"I've been feeling so guilty," she said. "You're such a good man, and regardless of what I meant, I didn't ask for your permission. I just used you to achieve my goal, and that was a mistake and disrespectful to you." She hung her head. "I came to ask for your forgiveness. I'm sorry."
"It's fine," he said, believing that she was sincere. "It's not that serious. I forgive you, so now you can go."
"No, Alex. You're being far too lenient," she said. "How can I forgive myself so easily? You can hit me if it will help." She was happy to see that his attitude toward her had softened, and she couldn't just leave now. She was determined to have him.
"There's really no need for that," he said. "You've explained what happened, and I understand that you hadn't thought it through. Besides, I had promised to help you get rid of James, and that's what you were doing. It's fine, so you should leave."
"Thank you, Alex," she thanked him profusely. "You've been so kind." She paused and then said, "Alex, about your promise…"
"Yes? What about it?" Alex asked, feeling like he had dug a hole for himself.
"Well, I thought that my sexy scene with you would definitely make James give up on me, but it didn't. He just got more persistent. His visits have become more and more frequent, and he even turned up at my house, trying to use my parents to get to me."
"Hmm…" he said, looking at her. "What do you want me to do? If you want, I can reveal my identity and see if he gives up once he knows what he'd be facing. After that, we can just break up."
"No, you don't want to reveal your identity," she said, dismissing his idea with a wave of her hand. "You're still a student, and it would cause a lot of trouble for you. Don't do that." If Alex revealed his identity, then she would have a lot of competition for him. Her cousin, Zara, would be the first to try to snatch him up. "Let's just go back to the way it was before, when you pretended to be my boyfriend."
"Isn't that pointless?" he asked.
"How could it not work?" she asked with a faint smile. "James isn't an idiot. If he believes that we've been together for a long time, and that we're really in love, then he'll know it's impossible to break us up. He'll have to leave me alone then."
"Okay," Alex agreed with a heavy heart.
Karen smiled happily as she looked at the fancy villa and the Ferrari sports car outside. "Alex, this place is beautiful, and the Ferrari looks really cool. I've never been in one of those before."
"If you like it that much, then why don't you try sitting inside it," Alex suggested. Since Karen had expressed an interest, he felt it would be mean not to let her see inside.
"Really?" she asked, her eyes shining with excitement. "I'd really like to know how it feels to sit in a Ferrari." She tried to open the car door, but no matter how hard she tried, it didn't budge. She was afraid that she would break something, so she awkwardly smiled at Alex and asked, "Why won't the door open?"
"Because I haven't unlocked it yet," he said, pulling out the remote. He pressed a button, and the doors opened.
"Wow!" Karen sighed in appreciation and got inside. She wanted to take out her cell phone and snap some photos of herself sitting in the Ferrari, but she was worried about looking bad in front of Alex. She waved at him and said, "Alex, you should get in too."
"Okay," he agreed, noticing how at home Karen looked sitting in his car.
"I called in sick to come here," she told him. "If my manager finds out that I'm not really sick, I'll be in a lot of trouble. Could you take me to Wanda Plaza to buy some clothes? I'm usually too busy to shop, and I don't have anyone to take me."
"Okay," Alex said. He didn't feel he could refuse when she asked so nicely. "Put your seatbelt on and we'll go."
He drove the Ferrari through the city streets, speeding by the other cars on the road. The other drivers stayed out of his way, wanting to avoid any accidents.
Karen relaxed into the comfortable seat. She leaned her elbow against the window and looked at the passing scenery. This was exhilarating, and she felt like someone important.
They arrived at Wanda Plaza within half an hour.
Vehicles were not supposed to park on the square, but when the security chief saw the Ferrari, he allowed them to pass. A Ferrari would attract more people to the square.
Alex parked the car, and they got out. Everyone was shocked when they saw how he was dressed. How could someone wearing such poor clothes be driving a Ferrari? That was far too unlikely. But the crowd parted, creating a path for Alex and Karen to pass through.
They walked into the mall, and Karen bought several outfits, all of which Alex paid for.
It was 11 am when they finished shopping, and Karen persuaded Alex to take her for lunch.
"I've been here before," she said, as they walked into a restaurant. "The food is delicious."
"Karen!"
Just as they walked inside, a woman's voice called out. Karen's heart sank as she looked over and saw her mother staring at her with an angry expression. Her father, Zara, and James were sitting next to her.