Looking at Lindsey's delicate state, Alex was moved. He wondered about his tender reaction toward her and found it interesting.
"But it isn't, particularly because of her. If it had been Phillipa, Kelly, Rose, or Vivian... If anyone else had been kidnapped, I would feel the same reaction", he decided.
Alex was trying to explain his feelings to Lindsey. She covered his mouth with her hand and whispered, "Don't say it. I know what you want to say. Can you leave me with my dream?"
Lindsey put her hand down, and they were silent for a few seconds.
Alex spoke first. "Lindsey, I want to ask you something. Please tell me the truth. Is your sister suffering from amnesia? She didn't live in your house before, did she?"
Alex always felt that Debbie didn't recognize him because she might have lost her memory. He wanted Lindsey to admit this.
Looking into his eyes, Lindsey's heart surged. She said slowly, "My sister has lost her memory, but she has always lived in our house. Even when she was away from home, someone always followed her."
Alex looked into Lindsey's eyes, trying to judge whether she was lying to him.
"I know you still think my sister is your girlfriend Debbie, but all I can say is that she is not." Lindsey sighed.
Alex nodded and said nothing.
"Can you come and see me tomorrow?" Lindsey felt that he was anxious to return to school. He nodded.
The next day, Alex came to the hospital early and brought her breakfast. He was there most of the day and was disappointed that Leona didn't come to see her.
"Alex, will you leave with me?" Lindsey asked him.
"Are you already feeling well? It's better for you to stay resting in the hospital," Alex said solemnly.
"Oh, it's okay. I've been locked up in here for enough hours already. I'm almost fine now. I think it would be better for me to go out and have some fun," Lindsey said coyly.
Seeing that she had recovered, Alex agreed.
After they left the hospital, they went to an amusement park and visited a museum. Lindsey had a good time.
**
While Alex was with Lindsey, a flight from New York landed at Washington International Airport.
After all the passengers got off the plane, two tall men built like fitness coaches came out. Behind them was a young man wearing an expensive dark blue shirt and a pair of casual black jeans. On his feet were top-brand casual shoes.
He had a very sharp figure. As he walked out, his sharp eyes glanced down at his phone.
This was David Drake, the Drakes' only son. The Drakes were the top family in Washington.
Two bodyguards lead him through the air bridge.
At that moment, a Bentley stopped in a restricted area by the arrivals terminal and the driver got out of the car.
Even the mayor was not allowed to park in that spot, but the Drake family's influence in Washington was so great that they could go wherever they pleased.
"Mr. Drake, you're finally back from Europe," the driver said to David with a flattering smile.
"If I didn't come back, who would marry me?" David said with a smile.
"How come no one has turned up to greet him today? None of the rich kids from Washington has come. Has it been a collective rebellion?" one of his bodyguards, Tom Martin, asked the driver in a whiny tone. "In the past, whenever David returned from a trip, there were always all those rich kids here to welcome him back."
The driver had no idea, so he didn't reply to the bodyguard with the red face.
"I didn't tell them I was returning, that's why," David said, annoyed at Tom. Tom was so frightened by his annoyance that he bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry, sir. I should die."
"Hasn't Lindsey come yet?" David asked. She was one of the few people who knew that he was returning to Washington. It didn't seem appropriate to him that she hadn't come to the airport.
"I haven't seen Miss Marvel," the driver muttered.
David's face turned dark.
"What a shame. Is she not coming today?" Tom muttered.
"Yes, it's so arrogant of her! It's the least she could do," said another bodyguard.
Just then, they heard the light click of footsteps approaching. David looked in the direction of the sound. A beautiful young woman in a plain white dress came up to him. David's eyes immediately locked on her.
"David, I'm late." It was the beautiful Leona. In the hospital, she had promised Lindsey that she would come to meet David for her.
David's eyes scanned Leona's face. He couldn't see anything else or hear any sounds. He thought that she was more beautiful than a fairy princess.
"Sir..." Tom lightly touched his arm, and he came back to his senses.
Leona smiled and said, "I'm Lindsey's sister." David was puzzled. He had never heard of Lindsey's sister.
"My sister is ill. She asked me to pick you up today. David, you're not angry with Lindsey, are you?" Leona asked, seeing that David was still frowning.
"No, I'm not. What's the matter with her? By the way, what's your name?" David asked with a smile.
According to her sister, David had been to her house. How could he not even know her name? Maybe he had been abroad for too long and forgotten it. She whispered, "My name is Leona."
"Leona, good name!" he said with a smile. "Thank you very much for coming to meet me today. As a token of my gratitude, would you like to come out to dinner with me?"
"Well, David, that's very polite of you." In fact, Leona thought his invitation was inappropriate. After all, she was Lindsey's sister. It seemed it would be a bit awkward to have dinner with her sister's fiancé. However, David had invited her, and she didn't think she should turn him down.
"You can leave," David said to the driver. "Tom can follow me." He asked Leona to go with him outside the airport. Tom followed them.
The driver and another bodyguard were in a daze. They had worked for David for many years and had never seen him be so polite and warm to anyone. When they first saw David look at Leona, they both thought that he didn't like her. This was an impossible situation. David was engaged to Miss Lindsey, and her sister would tell her about this. How awkward. The driver and the bodyguard set off to David's house with his luggage.
**
It was getting dark. Alex and Lindsey had arrived at a snack area near the river.
"Let's stop here. I'll take you to that barbecue." Alex and Lindsey sat down at a barbecue stand. Alex ordered hot dogs, burgers, and chicken wings, which were soon brought over to their table.
After walking for such a long time, Alex was starving and started gobbling up what was in front of him. Lindsey sat beside him with a hot dog in her hand. She just took one bite and looked at Alex quietly.
"Are you not used to eating these things? No wonder—you're a Marvel. You're used to eating fancier food. I shouldn't have brought you here," he said remorsefully.
"It's not that I can't get used to it," Lindsey said with a smile. "I was just thinking how I would like to be an ordinary girl instead of a Marvel, so I could come here to have a barbecue with you every day."
Alex was relieved and replied with a smile. "Why can't you have a barbecue with me if you're a Marvel? If you ever want to go out to eat, please call me, and I'll go with you."
"In the future, I'm afraid there won't be many opportunities. I think I'm going to get drunk today. Alex, I'd love to have a drink with you. Have a toast with me." Lindsey held up her beer, clinked Alex's glass, and drank.
They were busy eating when they heard several people coming toward them. Alex and Lindsey glanced at each other. Four young men who looked like thugs went to their table. As soon as they sat down, they acted as if the food on the table belonged to them, and they started eating it.
Lindsey gave Alex a worried look, and he gently patted her on the back to reassure her.
"Bro, I'm a little bit short of money. Give me some money," a young man with yellow hair said to Alex while munching on a chicken wing.
"Do you think I'm a rich man?" Alex replied jokingly.
"You are certainly not, but that beauty sitting next to you is a rich woman," the thug said, turning toward Lindsey. "We've been following you for a long time around the amusement park and the museum. You were very generous. Now, you can lend me some money, because I have a few expenses to take care of." The thug, named Lucas Pierce, looked at her and smirked.
Lindsey took out three hundred dollars from her purse and handed them to him. "Here you are. We're leaving." She wanted to get away from those people as quickly as possible.
"Only three hundred?" Lucas took it, flattened his mouth, and put the money in his pocket.
"The Olympics are about to take place. After the games are over, on the fifteenth of September, the Marvels will marry off their second daughter to the Drake boy. The police are being very strict. For at least a month, we punks won't be able to come out to collect our protection fees. So now, while the police are still more relaxed, we have to make more money," another thug said.
"The second Marvel daughter is going to marry into the Drake family? Isn't that Lindsey?" Alex was surprised and asked, "Is that true?"
"Hey, I don't really know anything about this. I've got nothing to tell you. The Drakes are the top family in Washington. David has a crush on Miss Marvel. This marriage is going to be a big event. The police are going to be out in full force to keep order in the city. We can't go out to work with so many cops around, you know."
"Hey, beautiful woman, if we take three thousand dollars from you, we won't embarrass you anymore," Lucas said to Lindsey.
Lindsey wants to give him the money, but Alex grabbed her bag and shook his head. "You already gave them three hundred. Now they want three thousand. If you give them three thousand, they'll want thirty thousand more. Let's go." Alex pulled Lindsey up and was about to leave.
"You don't take us seriously, do you?" Lucas smashed a beer bottle. The four thugs stood up and surrounded them.
"What are you doing? I'll call the police." Alex placed Lindsey behind him and frowned at the thugs.
"I'll tear your mouth out before you call the police!" Lucas said fiercely and then looked Lindsey up and down. An evil light glimmered in his eyes. "Guys, this girl looks really hot. Let's beat up the dude first, and then take this girl to a hotel to have a good time. We make the girl happy, and she hands over the money on her card on her own initiative."