"Dad, I was wrong. What should I do?" David said worriedly.
"You'll come with me to the Marvel's house to talk to them. You'd better pray that you can get that Marvel girl back, or I'll take off both your legs!" Reginald said, glaring at his son.
David nodded. Leona had always respected him. If he came forward and said the right things, she would probably take him back. After she came back, he had to do everything he could to help her forget how he had used the diary to get close to her, so Alex wouldn't find out and bring disaster to his family.
"Let's go now," David said. He felt more secure that his father was with him.
They walked out of the gate and drove to Arlington Heights.
**
Alex got out of the taxi. Debbie was waiting at the gate to Arlington Heights with Lindsey and Charles Marvel.
As soon as their eyes met, Debbie looked elated. She gazed at him as though she had many things to say to Alex.
Alex's heart thumped. Her manners seemed more like the Debbie he remembered. It seemed like she really had finally remembered who she was.
Debbie broke away from Lindsey to run toward him. Alex was happy and opened his arms as he ran toward Debbie.
They embraced and spun around several times until they finally stopped.
Looking at his familiar face, Debbie thought about what she had done to him. Her heart was filled with remorse. She whispered, "I'm sorry, I—"
"No need, you don't have to say anything," he interrupted her. He was so happy that she could finally remember the past, and that she recognized him again.
He looked down at her and thought she had never looked more beautiful. He slowly bent down and kissed her lips. She closed her eyes and slowly returned his kiss. It felt comfortable and familiar to her, another lost memory recovered.
Watching Alex and Debbie kiss each other, Lindsey felt envious. She remembered that when she had first met Alex, she had also stood up on tiptoe to kiss him, but he had rejected her. It would be impossible for her to try to kiss him again.
Lindsey suddenly realized that she had started to tear up.
Although the four maidens were also envious, they were happy for Alex.
Several of the security guards standing nearby were still under the impression that Alex was just some poor boy of no importance. They looked at him and were puzzled and jealous.
Alex is a little loser that sells pancakes. How did he catch a girl like Miss Marvel? they wondered.
These security guards had met seven or eight famous young men from Washington, D.C. that had tried to pursue Miss Marvel, but she had rejected them all.
What does she see in him? they thought.
**
A Porsche stopped at the gate.
Reginald and David got out of the car. The two men rushed to the Marvel's house. They had to persuade Leona to return home with them. If Alex found out that Leona had run away because of David's deception, it would be a disaster for the Drake family.
On the way to the Marvel's house, Reginald had even told David that if Leona wouldn't agree to return home with him, he would have to kneel and apologize to her. No matter what method he used, he had to get her to come back.
When they got out of the car, they saw Alex and Leona kissing each other. They were stunned. When the pair stopped kissing, the men took a step towards them, fearing the worst. They wondered how much Leona had already told Alex, and what he would do to take revenge on them.
Alex was from the Ambrose family, who were immensely powerful. If he wanted to punish the Drake family, it would be easy for him.
Alex and Debbie barely noticed them. They looked at each other for a long time and felt a special happiness.
Charles Marvel walked toward Alex and Debbie. He touched them both gently on the shoulder, drawing their attention over to Reginald and David.
When Alex turned to look at them, both of the Drake men trembled. David's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.
Alex was quite puzzled. He took Debbie's hand and walked over to them. Lindsey and the four Moon maidens followed behind him.
"Mr. Drake?" Alex saw that Reginald and David were looking at them. He had been so happy that he had forgotten about the interrupted wedding ceremony between "Leona" and David just a few days ago. He was just about to ask them why they were there staring at him.
Reginald said to Alex, "The Drake family has done something wrong. David and I must apologize to you and Miss Leona. We are happy to accept whatever punishment you think is necessary."
Reginald glared down at David. Looking up at them all, David said, "Mr. Alex, I was wrong. Darryl gave me Debbie Stonehill's diary. It was his idea to use details from the diary to get close to Leona. Please forgive me, please."
It was a complicated story, and David was too scared and upset to explain himself fully. Debbie pulled on Alex's sleeve and told him that she had seen her diary in David's bedroom the previous day. Alex realized that she wasn't angry with David.
"David stand up," alex said.
Reginald and David looked at each other. They didn't understand what Alex meant. They knew their actions had caused the pair a great deal of harm, yet Alex sounded so calm.
Alex and Debbie looked at each other and couldn't help but smile a little at each other.
Debbie walked to David and helped him up. She said, "I should thank you, David. If it wasn't for you, I might have not remembered the previous events."
They were surprised and a little relieved. But they couldn't understand what she had remembered.
"Because I saw the diary, I remembered the past. David, I'm sorry… we can't go through with this match. You're not the one I love," Debbie said as she looked at him.
David was reluctant to give her up. He had been envious of Leona's beauty for a long time. He had gone to a lot of trouble pursuing her, and he hated to think that he had wasted his time and energy trying to get her to love him.
Reginald touched David and gave him a meaningful look. Reluctantly, David nodded and said, "Okay, if that's what you want."
Debbie walked back to Alex. Alex smiled and said to Reginald, "This time, Debbie and I can get back together."
"Debbie?" Reginald asked.
"Her name is Debbie," Alex said, touching her shoulder.
"Are you really the Alex she wrote about in that diary?" David asked. He had not made the connection before, but now he finally understood.
"That was me, yes," Alex said. He was in a very happy mood.
"Thank you so much for opening up to us, Alex," Reginald said humbly. "Or should I call you Mr. Ambrose?
"I'm no longer part of the Ambrose family," Alex said quietly.
Reginald was puzzled, but he didn't dare ask what he meant. He simply said goodbye and left with his son.
"Debbie, let's go talk for a while," Alex said. Debbie was his greatest happiness at that moment, and he wanted to be alone with her
"I'd like that," she said, smiling.
He walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi. He was so distracted that he forgot to even say goodbye to the Moon maidens as he and Debbie left.
Watching the taxi drive away, the four women were very happy for him. Alex was no longer sad. His smile was their greatest happiness.
But Lindsey felt very lonely. She wanted to be happy for Debbie and Alex, but she felt horribly let down by the whole situation. Alex had not looked at her once. She felt as if she didn't exist.
**
Alex and Debbie arrived at West Lake. She took his arm, and they walked by the water.
"We have never walked like this before. It's really nice to walk like this together." He sighed and placed his hand on the back of her hand.
"We'll take lots of walks together like this from now on," Debbie looked at him with hope in her eyes.
"Good, yes we should." Alex started to remember that on the night of her disappearance, Lou Rork, who had kidnapped her, once said that he had had relations with Debbie in the hotel. Whenever he thought about it, Alex felt a deep pain in his heart.
"Debbie… the night you went missing… I'm sorry. I should have picked you up at the airport, and then you wouldn't have been picked up by Lou. He took you to the hotel room—" Alex couldn't go on, but he managed to blurt out a few more words. "But don't worry… Lou is dead."
She remembered that she had been kidnapped by Lou. Unexpectedly, Alex had killed him. She was aware that this had happened, but his words seemed to be about something else that was on his mind.
She pulled him closer and said, "Alex, what's wrong?"
"Debbie, whenever I think about this, I feel very sad." His eyes revealed his guilty feelings.
She understood what he meant. She blushed a little and said angrily, "Alex, you mean that you think I was—"
He was stunned and looked at her serious expression. He was overjoyed and said, "Debbie, are you saying nothing happened?"
"Yes, nothing like that happened," she said shyly. Her face turned red as she lowered her head.
Alex felt joy. He hugged her close and said, "Debbie, I'm so relieved. I was worried he had hurt you. I love you so much"