Alex noticed right away that Nathan's insults bothered Nelly. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "Don't worry about him."
Then he turned to Nathan. "I warned you to show my friends proper respect. Insult them again and you'll regret it."
Nathan laughed. "Oh, I'm so scared! You really have been gone for a long time. I know you're a big fighter now. Nice job against that guy at the wedding, by the way! But you've forgotten how things work at home. If you attack me, the rest of the family will punish you. No fighting, remember? Really, I think you're asking for trouble by bringing these five girls along—"
But while he was talking, he felt something like a strong gust of wind behind him. Before his eyes, Alex seemed to flicker.
Suddenly, he felt something strike his back. The blow sent him stumbling forward and made him dizzy.
He straightened up as quickly as he could, glaring at Alex. "Whatever that was, I'll make sure our grandfather knows you hit me!"
Alex sneered. "I'll give you one more warning. These are my friends. Leave them alone."
With that, he turned to leave. The girls followed him over to the helicopter as the propeller began to spin.
Ken Stokes followed along behind them. As an important businessman and supporter of the family, he was allowed to attend Lincoln's birthday party.
Nathan watched them walk away angrily. He turned to his bodyguard Keith and snapped, "I want to make sure my grandfather hears about that. Then Alex will be punished, right?"
Keith shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend that. He was defending his friends. Your grandfather won't take kindly to you insulting guests. Between the two of you, you're the one most likely to be punished."
Nathan snarled. "I should have hit back!"
Keith sighed. He knew Lincoln Ambrose highly valued morality and good behaviour. Nathan's impulsiveness and poor manners were going to get him in trouble one day.
But he smiled. "Try not to worry too much. You've got a very good card in your hands. If you play it well, it should cause Alex some serious damage."
Nathan nodded sourly. "That's true." He glanced back at the Rolls Royce. "Are you still hiding in there? It's time to go! Come out!"
Colin slid out of the backseat of the car nervously. Nathan had told him to stay out of sight until Alex was gone.
Nathan smiled at him. "If you do well, I'll make your family the most powerful family in D.C. in three years. I'll make sure you have everything you want for the rest of your life. But if you screw it up, I'll ruin your life. Yours and your family's. Do you understand?"
Colin nodded nervously.
He had spent the last two days in Nathan's company and was starting to understand his temperament. Rather, he understood that he didn't understand Nathan. The man's moods were unpredictable and swung wildly from one extreme to another. Colin knew his punishment or his reward, whichever he ended up with, would be just as extreme.
Their helicopter soon rose in the air to follow Alex to the Ambrose estate.
On Alex's helicopter, Nelly was looking at Alex with a soft smile on her face. She was very pleased with his performance.
But Alex sat quietly in his seat, staring out at the scenery below them without really seeing it.
Nelly nudged him. "Still thinking about Leona?"
Alex shook his head. "No, not at all."
But Nelly knew him better than that. "You were honest with her, and she gave you an honest answer. You have nothing to regret. You worked hard. Don't be so down on yourself."
Alex nodded slowly and gave her a grateful nod. "Thanks, Nelly."
The other women from the Moon society sat by quietly and listened politely. They did not feel they were on good enough terms with Alex yet to ask him about something so personal.
Nelly chattered on cheerfully. "I never would have guessed that you were such a rich guy, but look at us in this helicopter! Your family is pretty impressive. Are you excited for the birthday party? You must be happy about finally getting to see everyone again."
"I'm excited," Alex said with a faint smile. "I haven't seen any of them in seven years, not since I began my poverty training. A lot of people will be there. This will be good."
Nelly was encouraged by the sight of Alex's smile. "I bet the food is going to be amazing, right? Rich families always serve good food. I am going to completely pig out." She bared her teeth and licked her lips like a greedy cat.
"You're assuming you're actually going to be let into the big feast," Celeste commented snidely.
Although they had all agreed to get along for Alex's sake, the Moon maidens were still not on the best terms with Nelly. Alex knew he needed to keep an eye on them all to make sure they didn't tear into one another.
"How do you know?" Nelly sniffed. "Or are you assuming that you will all get to go, but I won't? Maybe it will be the other way around. Maybe I'm the only one Alex is going to take to the dinner, and you'll all be stuck with scraps!"
They bickered amicably for a little while longer. Although neither one wanted to make Alex uncomfortable, they hoped the change of subject would serve as a welcome distraction.
The flight continued for another seven hours. Then, finally, they arrived at the Ambrose family estate.
Although the estate was far removed from other cities, it was still as luxurious and up to date as any city centre. In addition to the latest technology, it boasted a strong security and defence system.
Its exact location was a complete secret. Much of the defence technology was designed to mess with ordinary scanners, making the estate difficult to detect.
As soon as Alex and his group stepped off the helicopter, they were immediately driven to one of the estate guest houses. Nelly and the Moon maidens gazed at their surroundings in wonder.
"We should all get to bed early tonight," Alex announced. "It's going to be a big day tomorrow. You're all coming to the party."
"Sounds good," Nelly announced, getting up and heading directly to her room in the guest house. "I'm going to sleep like the dead. I've got high expectations for my fancy room!"
She glanced back at the rest of the group, realizing suddenly that no one else had made a move to go to bed. She raised an eyebrow at Celeste. "Didn't you hear the boss? Bed time!"
"We heard," Celeste said coolly. "We have our own routine for getting ready for bed."
Nelly rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Fine, whatever."
When she was gone, Celeste and the other girls turned back to Alex. "Mr. Alex, you're tense. We'll give you a massage to help you sleep."
Just a few days ago, Alex had felt awkward about these massages. The first time Celeste had offered him a massage, it had sounded like she was talking about something else entirely. But now Alex knew how good it felt to have the Moon maidens work out the tension he had built up in his arms and legs. In a very short time, he had come to rely on the evening routine to help him get to sleep. He gave Celeste a grateful smile. "I'd like that. Thanks."
Alex quickly drifted off to sleep as Celeste, Selene, Callisto, and Luna eased the tension from his muscles. But as he fell into a heavy sleep, he was disturbed by his dreams. Under his breath, he kept muttering Leona's name over and over.
The Moon girls exchanged worried expressions.
Tears collected at the corners of his eyes. "Leona, Debbie, Leona. I can't leave you. Why can't you see?"
The girls' faces became very sad.
"He said he was giving up," Luna said quietly, "but he's still holding onto her in his heart."
"It's so sad," said Selene. "I just don't see how they can be together."
"But he made his choice," said Callisto. "He has to learn to be okay with it."
"Let's just let him rest," Celeste said with finality. "We can't solve it for him. All we can do is take care of him while he recovers."
The girls nodded and worked together to pull the blankets up to cover Alex. On their way out of his room, they switched off the light and closed the door.
At this time, Nathan Ambrose was visiting his parents. Now that he had finished his poverty training, he could have gone straight back to the main family mansion on the estate. But instead, he chose to visit his parents at their house on the estate.
He sat across from his parents in their living room.
His father, Marcus, wore a neat suit. He would have been a very handsome man, but a large mole at the corner of his mouth distorted his face somewhat. Although he could not claim to be the most good-looking person, he was still clearly refined.
Next to him sat his wife, Marion. She had a lovely figure suited in purple, and delicate facial features. Her neck, wrists, and fingers were covered with inexpensive jewellery.
Marcus was the third son of Lincoln Ambrose, the head of the Ambrose family and Nathan's grandfather. They had very high hopes for Nathan's prospects and were concerned when they heard that Alex had been allowed to return to the estate. They had hoped that Alex's ban from the family would continue for some time. The longer he stayed away, the more Nathan would be able to establish himself and get ahead.
"So he's back already! Son, how did this happen?" Marcus asked. "When we spoke before, you made it sound like he wouldn't be able to return for some time."
Nathan shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He was upset about it too, but he didn't want to show that too openly. "So what? He's just back a little sooner than expected. It's not a big deal. I'm still in a good spot."
Marcus gave him a stern look. "Don't rest on your laurels. Your grandfather liked him better than you when you two were small. You have the chance to gain a more competitive edge here. Don't ruin it!"
Nathan had not seen his family for the entire seven years of his poverty training. This meeting was only his second time seeing his father since his return.
As a child, Nathan had had an aggressive, hard-working attitude. He had a strong sense of self-respect and understood the value of working hard now to reap the rewards later. Marcus had always admired this about him. But now that they were reunited, he felt at times that his son's character had changed.
Now, Nathan gave him a cold look. "I don't need you to lecture me about this."
Nathan's poverty training had indeed changed him. During his seven years away, he experienced a great deal of cruelty. Many people had looked down on him, and he had been helpless to defend himself from their attacks.
He was proud of himself for overcoming those challenging times, but he felt he had done it entirely alone. He was a survivor. What kind of advice could his father give him? He hadn't been there to help. He had no idea what Nathan had been through.