By announcing that he was giving up on Debbie, it was as if Alex had apologized to the entire family. Now that he had accepted their condition, the ban against him would be lifted.
Nathan was disappointed. Now that the ban was lifted, Alex would be able to return to the Ambrose family. They would be true rivals again.
Nathan shook his head. Even if he didn't like Alex, he felt that this was out of character for him.
"Alex, what are you saying? After everything you've been through with her, you're giving up?"
Alex shrugged helplessly. He used his hands to push himself up, struggling to stand upright. He wanted to lay down and cry. "She's found a new life. If I keep going like this, I'm just going to make her hate me. I love her. I want her to be happy. So I'll step back."
"Alex! What are you talking about? You're just making excuses. You made such a big deal about standing up for what was right. I'm disappointed! Let me help you," Nathan said excitedly.
He was holding out hope for Alex to rediscover his stubborn streak. As long as he was busy pursuing Debbie, he would be out of Nathan's way.
But Alex shook his head slowly. "No. I'm giving up. It's over. I'd like the ban on me to be lifted now."
Nathan swallowed nervously. Their grandfather, Lincoln Ambrose, had indeed said that Alex was welcome back to the family as soon as he gave up on Debbie, now known as Leona. But Nathan was reluctant to give up and let Alex come back so quickly.
Ken, however, was elated. Just from the nervous look on Nathan's face, he could tell that Alex would be welcomed back to the Ambrose family. So he took initiative and said, "Mr Ambrose, congratulations. Welcome back to the family.
Sam Woodsworth, another Ambrose family supporter, also chimed in, offering his congratulations as well.
In their words, all the young men Sam and Ken had brought to support Alex at the wedding offered their support too.
Reginald Drake looked from person to person, shock and fear slowly overcoming him. He had had no idea that Alex was an important person. Now it turned out he was a member of the revered Ambrose family.
The Drake family owed a great deal of their success to the Ambroses' support, but he had never met one of them in person himself. He had asked Ken for an introduction in the past, but Ken had only said that a meeting would not be worth their time.
As he took in the whole scene and thought back to what Ken and Nathan had said to Alex, Reginald realized that Alex must be a very important member of the family. Quite possibly he was even the heir. He couldn't believe he had waited for years to meet Ambrose and now had two standing right in front of him. He had mistaken one of them for a complete loser, not to mention threatened to have him killed.
He walked quickly over to Alex and said, "I am honored to meet you, though it may not seem like it. Congratulations on reconciling with your family. I cannot apologize enough for my behavior before. Please deal with me as you see fit."
The crowd around them gasped at this. They couldn't believe someone as powerful as Reginald Drake had switched from threatening this young man to begging him for punishment so quickly.
When Alex didn't say anything, Reginald wondered if it was too late to make amends. Perhaps everyone who had threatened or insulted Alex needed to apologize. At this point, that included many of the people still watching the remnants of this disastrous wedding.
He knelt quickly and gestured furiously at those standing around him to do the same. After a few moments, people began to understand his meaning, and got down to their knees quietly, murmuring apologies. If the great Reginald Drake was scared, they knew they probably should be too.
But there was one person, in particular, Reginald knew needed to apologize. He looked around until he spotted him. "David!"
David froze on the spot. He stared back at his father with a blank look on his face.
"Get over here," Reginald hissed. "There's been a great misunderstanding and we need to make amends!"
David looked reluctant to humble himself. But Reginald knew it would be much better to be humble and apologize now than beg for forgiveness later. If he was given time to think about it, Alex might become even angrier and come after their family for revenge. Their entire business and reputation could be ruined.
David stepped forward hesitantly, his face twitching. But then Leona reached out a hand to him, offering him help. He took her hand gratefully and knelt next to her.
"I would like to apologize," he said, still shivering slightly. "I instigated the fight between you and Cliff Munson, though I am glad you were able to defeat him. I hope you can be understanding this time and forgive me."
Leona watched him carefully as he made his apology. In her heart, she already considered them to be husband and wife. But she couldn't help but notice the way he only spoke of himself, and how he hadn't stepped up to protect her when Alex had approached her. She was surprised to realize she was dissatisfied with him. Looking at him felt like looking at a stranger.
David's apology convinced the last few stragglers still standing to kneel and make their apologies too. Eventually, only Alex and his supporters were left standing. He looked around at the nervous crowd. Instead of a wedding, this was starting to feel like a funeral.
He stepped toward David, who flinched.
"Get up," he said quietly.
David clambered to his feet. Leona helped him stand, but he barely noticed her support.
Alex gave him a long, steady look. "Leona will be your wife. If I find out she's not happy, I will come back to settle things with you."
David was pale with fright as he said, "Yes, of course."
With one last nod in Leona's direction, Alex turned and walked out of the Darke family's villa.
Ken lingered behind him, eyeing the crowd dubiously. He raised his voice and said, "No one outside of this room is to know what happened today. If I find out any of you have been spreading stories, there will be consequences."
The crowd murmured their agreement to his terms.
With a gruff nod, Ken motioned to Nathan and the rest of his men that it was time to leave.
Nathan grimaced. He was full of resentment and anger toward Alex. After all that trouble, he had just given up. Now the ban was lifted, and he was going to be a problem in Nathan's life again.
Finally, he yelled in frustration. "Are you kidding me? What's so scary about him? Why are you all kneeling?"
He shot Leona a particularly vicious glare. "And you! What have you got against him! If you weren't so heartless, he'd still be in love with you! He was ready to do anything for you!"
Leona stared back at him, too shocked to speak. Nathan spoke as if Alex had performed miracles in pursuit of her. But she still remembered clearly how David had helped her over and over. She thought of David as her protector.
However, she had to admit that David had disappointed her today. He was still standing and trembling as if he were about to fall apart. He refused to look her in the eye.
Nathan noticed this too. He strode toward David and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at Leona. "This guy! You picked this guy? He's a joke! He didn't do anything to help you! How could you pick him over Alex?"
He drew his arm back and punched David across the face. David fell limply to the ground, too frightened to fight. With a cry, Leona flew to him. But Nathan grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.
"If I had done that to Alex, he would have fought! If I had yelled at you, he would have punched me out before I'd gotten three words out! But the guy you chose to marry is playing dead! You gave up Alex for this!"
Anyone who didn't know Nathan might have thought that he was speaking out on Alex's behalf. Only those who knew the rivalry between Nathan and Alex understood that he was angry for himself.
Nathan sneered at Leona coldly. "You ruined everything. You have no idea how much damage you've done."
He put his hand on her neck and began to squeeze.
But Keith, his bodyguard, suddenly leaned forward and said in a worried tone, "Mr. Ambrose, you're being impulsive. Even if Alex says he's given up, she's clearly still important to him. There's no benefit to killing her now. Alex may come back for revenge."
Nathan froze. His grip on Leona's neck didn't loosen, but it didn't tighten either.
"She may be useful in the future," Keith continued. "A secret weapon! Don't throw her away just yet."
Leona watched him fearfully, waiting for him to decide what to do with her.
Finally, Nathan pulled his hands away. Leona back away from him, gulping air gratefully.
With reluctance, Nathan nodded. "I see your point. Fine. No matter what, I'm still going to win. I'll just have to do things a little more carefully."
With a last, scathing glance in Leona's direction, Nathan Ambrose turned and walked out of the villa. His old bear of a bodyguard followed him out.