"Suzan, get Joe to tell Alex not to bother," Rose said with a determined look. "We'll go by ourselves."
"Rose, you know that it's dangerous for women to go out alone at night," Suzan said sincerely. "There have been several incidents lately with girls being attacked, and some of them even died. Aren't you afraid? Joe asked Alex to come to protect us."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Rose asked. "The night market is full of people, so it's not like we'd really be alone." But despite Suzan's reminder, Rose did feel a little scared. "Fine. Let him come," she said. "But let's hope we don't get into any trouble. He'd probably run away and leave us."
"No, I believe he's a decent guy," Suzan said, smiling. "Have you forgotten that he was the one who helped you with that incident at the Berkeley Hotel? Besides, it's too late to cancel. He's already waiting for us, so just let him come. If you don't like him, just ignore him."
"Fine. I'll just pretend he doesn't exist," Rose said as their taxi arrived.
The night market was a place where the citizens of New York came to relax and enjoy themselves. Rows of stalls were lined up neatly, offering a dizzying variety of food and assorted goods. The stalls had little signs outside advertising their contents.
Multicoloured lights flashed, and the area bustled with activity.
As soon as Rose and Suzan got out of the taxi, they were excited by the lively atmosphere and the appetizing aromas.
"Suzan, Rose." Just as they were about to join the crowd, Alex walked over and greeted them with a smile.
"Alex, you're already here," Suzan said, smiling at him. Although she didn't believe he was rich, she still had a good impression of him. He was a bit poor, but he was a nice person. And Joe considered him a brother, so Suzan had to get along with him.
Rose had expected to feel disgusted by Alex, But when she saw him, she was surprised to realize that her heart was beating a little faster.
She refused to greet him and simply pretended that she hadn't seen him.
"Rose," Suzan began, wanting to smooth things over, but she didn't know what to say. She was sure that Alex knew why Rose treated him so badly.
"It's fine," Alex said, smiling calmly. He had expected Rose's reaction.
"Let's stroll around," Suzan said, taking Rose's arm and beginning to walk. Alex followed behind. "There's a lot of great food here."
As expected, Rose continued to pretend that Alex didn't exist. She dragged Suzan over to look at various things and try samples of food. Alex simply stood to the side and checked his phone or bought some snacks.
Rose and Suzan strolled along the road until they came to a small, well-lit stall with a lot of people gathered around it. Rose pulled Suzan toward it.
Inside were several displays with countless small and exquisite pendants. There were a variety of semi-precious stones in all sorts of different shapes.
Rose and Suzan were overjoyed. They liked those small items. They each picked a few things and asked questions about them. In the end, they each chose one of the cheaper ones.
"Alex, come over here," Suzan called when she saw him standing by himself outside the stall. He walked slowly to the wooden rack filled with pendants.
Rose didn't want to be so close to him. She took the pendant she had chosen and went over to pay the old lady who was running the stall.
"That's twenty dollars," the old lady said, wrapping up Rose's pendant. She picked up two woven bracelets and gave them to Rose. "Why not take these too? They have a very special meaning."
"Oh?" Rose asked, staring at her.
"Give me your hand," the old lady said, taking Rose's hand and fastening one of the bracelets around her wrist. Rose looked over at Suzan, but neither of them understood what the woman meant.
"Young man, give me your hand," the old lady said, looking at Alex.
"Oh." Alex held out his hand, and the old lady tied the other band around Alex's wrist.
"Now, these bracelets are a pair," the old lady told them. "So, you two will always be connected, even if you are thousands of miles apart. Just concentrate on the bracelet, and you will feel closer to each other."
The old lady believed that Rose and Alex were a couple.
Rose blushed, while Alex gaped at the woman.
"That's just nonsense!" Rose said, sneaking a glance at Alex, who seemed to be perfectly calm. Rose grew even more embarrassed. If Alex realized how upset she was, then he would laugh at her.
Rose said nothing. She hurriedly began to untie the wristband. The old lady had tied it tight, and Rose had to struggle to undo the knot, but she finally managed it. She glared at Alex, who still stood there in silence. Then she threw the bracelet on the ground and stormed out.
"Rose, wait for me," Suzan called out, rushing after her.
Alex bent down and picked up the band Rose had thrown away. Then he untied his bracelet. He thought the idea was quite interesting, and once he found Debbie, he would tie the bracelet on her wrist. That way, no matter where she went, Alex would always be with her.
Alex put the bracelet in his pocket and walked away from the stall.
He spotted Suzan and Rose some distance ahead, and he was about to catch up with them when his phone rang. It was Russell, the manager of Autumn Beauty Boutique.
Why would Russell call him? Alex was worried. Had something happened to the shop?
"Mr. Ambrose, you need to come quickly." Russell's panicked voice sounded on the other end of the line. Alex frowned immediately and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Your ex-girlfriend is causing a scene," Russell said anxiously. "She's forced us to close the store, and she's demanding money from us. She's claiming to be the boss and is giving out orders. If we don't obey her, she says we'll be fired." Alex could hear Cathy yelling in the background.
"Okay. I'll be right there," he said, ending the call.
Cathy had called him several times during the afternoon, but he hadn't answered. It must have made her angry, and now she was doing this to force him to see her.
Alex frowned. He had already made his position clear to Cathy. So why did she want to see him?
He looked at Suzan and Rose. Since Rose was so angry, maybe it would be best to let her calm down. They weren't far from Autumn Beauty, so he should be able to run over there, deal with Cathy, and be back within an hour. Besides, there were plenty of people around, so the girls shouldn't be in too much danger.
Having made his decision, Alex turned around to go to the boutique.
"Hey!" someone cried out.
Alex hadn't been paying attention and had bumped into a man wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a khaki-coloured jacket.
"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, realizing that the man was blind when he saw the white stick lying on the ground.
"It's fine," the blind man said, lowering his head and acting humble.
Alex went to pick up the stick, but the blind man got there first, picking it up himself, and walking away, holding the stick out in front of him.
Weird, Alex thought. Why is he pretending to be blind? Was he trying to provoke sympathy to get some money? Alex didn't have time to worry about it. He rushed over to the boutique.
When he stepped inside, he immediately saw Cathy going crazy. She was yelling, "I'm your boss! If you don't listen to me, or if you dare to try to throw me out, I'll fire you! Open the money drawer and give me my money. I want it."
Cathy saw everyone look over at the door, so she turned around excitedly. When she saw Alex, she stopped talking and frowned. "So, you've finally come to see me…"
When Simon had thrown her out of the Phillips family reunion, she had hidden behind a tree to watch.
She had been determined to marry into the wealthy Phillips family, but they had rejected her because of her previous relationship with Alex. Simon had mercilessly chased her out of the party and ruined her dreams of being rich. And it was all Alex's fault!
So, instead of leaving, she had hidden to watch the Phillips family drive Alex away.
But she hadn't expected what had happened next. Not only has Alex not driven away, but Mr. Sharp, the manager of the New York Exhibition Center, had personally delivered a Ferrari to him.
And it had been the most expensive Ferrari ever made! Cathy had watched, covering her mouth and trying not to make a sound.
When Alex had purposefully crashed the car into Brian Foster's Ferrari, Cathy had realized that he was no longer a loser. No matter where his money had come from, it was an indisputable fact that Alex was extremely rich and that the Phillips Family was nothing compared to him.
Cathy had finally walked home from Purple Dawn Lake, her mind replaying the memory of Alex driving a Ferrari.
She knew that Alex cared about her more than any other girlfriend. If she tried hard, then she could win Alex back. Nothing she had done to him mattered. He had always obeyed her, so if she apologized, she was certain he would forgive her.