"What do you have in mind?" Melissa asked as Chris pulled her into the luxurious hotel room.
Of course, she knew exactly what Chris wanted. How could she not?
"You know what we're going to do," Chris said, grinning at her. With that, he took off his coat and led Melissa across the room to the bed before pouncing on her.
An hour later, clothes were scattered around the room and the bedsheets were rumpled.
Melissa lay next to Chris with her hair spread over his chest.
"You've completely worn me out," Melissa said, practically purring.
"There's a pre-paid card on the nightstand," Chris said. "There's two hundred thousand dollars on it. Take it and buy yourself something nice."
"Thank you, Chris!" Melissa squealed. Chris really was very rich. It would take her years to earn that much on her salary.
"I like you," Chris said. "More than any other woman I've been with. To tell you the truth, I want to marry you. But I'm afraid I can't. Not with the way things are right now."
"What's wrong?" Melissa asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?" If she could solve his problem, then they could get married soon.
"A few days ago, Alex cost our family a lot of money," Chris said, looking at Melissa. "My father is extremely pissed off, and my whole family is upset. If we don't take revenge, then no one will be in the mood for a wedding, and my parents won't approve of our marriage."
"He cost your family money?" Melissa asked, surprised. "What happened?"
"That's nothing you need to know," Chris said. "I love you, and I want to marry you right away, but I have to avenge my family first. Will you help me?" He pulled her in a little closer, tucking her head under his chin.
"Well, now that I'm yours, why wouldn't I help?" she asked. She knew that if she married Chris, her life would be perfect, and her future would be secured.
"Great," Chris said. "I knew you would help me!" He pulled back a little to look at her. "I need you to get close to Alex and use any means necessary to make him trust you. You were with him before, so it shouldn't be too difficult, and then we can go on to the next stage of the plan."
Melissa felt uneasy, but she nodded. "I'm only doing this for you, so after you get your revenge, you can't abandon me."
"No, of course not, darling!" Chris said, stroking her hair. "Have you had enough rest now? I really want you again."
"Oh!" Melissa said, as Chris rolled her over.
**
The next day, Alex got up early, went for his usual run, and had some breakfast. Then he stood at the door and watched Debbie go to class with Celeste and Selene.
Being a security guard was boring, but Alex made the most of it.
He took the opportunity to work on his patience. When he stood guard, he recited the mantras he had learned from Zora, which was almost like a form of meditation. He did this every day, strengthening his mind and his understanding of his martial arts techniques.
"These are the halls of residence," came a man's voice. "You'll be in building one…"
Chris had arranged for Melissa to attend university to help her get close to Alex. She had dressed just like a college student and had asked a male student to show her to the dormitory.
Alex glanced at them and was shocked to recognize Melissa.
This was the woman whose scheming had led to Debbie falling into the hands of Lou Rork!
Alex was furious, but he was also confused. What was Melissa doing here?
He remembered the night he had spent in her room. And when Debbie had disappeared, Melissa had arrived at the Azalea guest house with a medical report, claiming she might be pregnant. Alex grew a little uneasy.
"Alex!" Melissa exclaimed, running over to him. "You're here!"
"Go away!" Alex snapped at her. "I want nothing to do with you. Stay out of my way!"
"It's Melissa," she said, moving closer and running her hands down his jacket. "Don't you remember me from that time in New York when we—"
"Shut up!" Alex yelled, pushing her away. He used a little too much force and sent Melissa flying to the ground.
"Are you okay?" asked the male student, leaning down to help her up. When he noticed her clothes were torn and her hands were bleeding from several scrapes, he turned to rush at Alex.
"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "That's no way to treat women. You have no business being a security guard here if you're going to behave like that."
Melissa pulled him back. "Thank you," she said. "But let it go. I behaved badly in the past, so I can't blame him for being angry. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."
Finally, the student left, still glaring at Alex.
Melissa limped over to Alex. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you and Debbie," she said. "I've had time to reflect on my behavior, and it won't happen again. I just hope you can give me a chance to fix the mistakes I made."
Alex remained silent. He couldn't forgive Melissa for hurting Debbie.
"I'm going to be studying here," she said. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, but please give me a change to make amends." With that, Melissa picked up her things and walked into the dormitory.
As he watched her leave, Alex wondered if she really had changed since he had last seen her, but he still couldn't forgive her for everything she had done.
At noon, when Melissa left the dormitory, she made sure to say hello to Alex, but he didn't even look at her.
She gave him an apologetic look, but after she had walked away, she glanced back at him.
"Stupid loser," she murmured. "Do you really think I'm interested in you? I'm only here because Chris wants me to get close to you. Otherwise, I wouldn't give you the time of day. And look at you. You're so full of yourself. Well, just wait. You won't be so arrogant in the future."