DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND
There was only one thing Alex was sure of in her life once the plane landed in Dunedin Airport, and it was that she was not the same person she was two weeks ago. She wondered what her family would think of her once they had seen the changes in her, not only in her physical appearance, but in her character, too.
Her whole family met her at the airport. Her mum, brother, and sister rushed to hug her. Her dad, however, stood back. She could sense the stiffness in his posture as though he were holding back and didn't know who she was anymore. She felt her heart constrict. It hurt to know her father assumed her to be the type of person she was not.
"Sweetheart, so glad you're back," Mali murmured, hugging her tight.
"Me, too," Alex replied.
"I missed you, sis. I admit I missed you teasing me," Emma chimed in.
"Me too, Emma." Alex chuckled. "I miss teasing you too."
Her father refused to hug her. In fact, he refused to say a word to her, not even a "welcome back" or "hello." It was as though he refused to acknowledge her presence.
The drive home was a solemn one for Alex, sitting there between her brother and sister, her mum driving the car, and her dad in the front seat. Home felt cold and empty even though her family was as warm as ever to her.
As days went by, she fell back to her old routine, and her dad soon began talking to her again. Only she wished she didn't miss Jayden so much.
Every lunch break at the hospital cafeteria, her mind flashed back to that fateful day when she had first met him. She remembered their time together in New York. Oh, how happy he had made her feel. And of course that glorious day he made love to her. The thought brought an unbearable pain within her heart, and she was angry with herself for stupidly believing his lies. But why did she miss him so dearly? Why was it that every night before she drifted off to sleep and every morning when she woke up, she'd thought about him? And every spare second she had, she thought about him, about his kiss, his touch, and his smile?
He would never come for her—that much she knew. By now, he and Sarah would probably have gotten married.
It wasn't long before Alex realized there was a person standing right in front of her. She glanced up from her book and saw Mary there, arms folded across her chest, a smirk about her lips.
"Well, well," the woman began, unfolding her arms and leaning forward across the table.
Alex closed her book, preparing for the bitchy onslaught that was about to come her way.
"Back from your conference already, are you? Actually, was it really a conference, Alexandra? In New York City? Surely not?"
Alex gritted her teeth. "What do you want, Mary?"
Mary shrugged her shoulders. "Thought I'd ask just to be polite. After all, we used to be classmates."
Alex stood to her full height. "Oh, really, Mary? Since I've known you, you've never been nice to me. Let me tell you this now, Mary. I don't like the way you treat me or my friends. Yes, I'm a geek. No, my family is not rich, but that doesn't mean you have the right to treat me the way you do. I think I've put up with your nonsense long enough, don't you?" She narrowed her eyes at the pretty woman. Alex knew she was standing on dangerous territory, but she couldn't care less. She was tired. She was frustrated. And bloody hell! She just didn't have time for this stupid game anymore.
"You know what, Alexandra? You're a slut. That's right, Alexandra. You are a slut. You think you're so great? Running off after a billionaire like Jayden? You think he'd really marry you? You think he's really into you? Forget it, Alex. He's a bloody billionaire. He can have any woman he wants, a woman who's a hundred times better looking than you."
"Mary, I hate you. I hope one day you get what you really deserve," Alex gritted out and walked away.
"What's that supposed to mean, Alex?"
Alex ignored Mary's outraged question and headed toward the exit. She passed Peter, who stopped and looked at her with concern.
"Alex, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she replied and rushed away.
Peter glanced over at Mary. The woman saw him and shrugged her shoulders. Peter headed back to catch up with Alex. "Alex, wait!"
Alex stopped and turned to look at her friend.
"Alex, I know it hasn't been easy for you, but—"
"I don't want to talk about it, Pete. Can you just leave me alone for a while? I need space." She bowed her head and turned to go.
Peter watched her walk away. He knew Alex hadn't been the same since she got back from New York. He needed to know what Jayden did to her.
He went up to Mary and slid into the seat opposite her. "What did you say to her?"
Mary looked taken aback. "What do you mean?" she asked innocently.
"Mary, you know it doesn't work with me," he snapped. "Stop playing innocent."
Mary bit her lip. She frowned and thought she'd better tell Peter the truth. She folded her arms across her chest and said, "Just the truth."
"What truth?"
"That he's out of her league. That she's daydreaming."
"Get to the point."
Mary grunted. "Oh, all right. I told her she's a slut, running off after Jayden. But I'm right. He's way out of her league. I mean, he doesn't even look at me. Why would he want her? I can't believe she went all the way to New York after him and lied to everyone that she was there for a conference."
Peter was stunned. "That's what you think happened? That's what you said to Alex?"
"Yeah? What else could there be to it? I mean, just think how much money she wasted to go to New York. She's poor, and her old man isn't well, what with his heart problem. She's selfish and a slut. I can't believe you don't see that in her."
"What else did you do?"
"Nothing." Mary glanced away. She couldn't bear the intense gaze of Peter's eyes.
"Mary? What else? How did you know Jacob has a heart problem?"
"I—I went to her house. I met her dad. I told him."
"What exactly did you tell him?"
"That Alex ran off with Jayden."
"Holy shit, Mary. Do you know what you've done?"
Mary snorted. "What I've done, Peter? What exactly have I done? I'm helping them. I helped Jacob, or whatever his name is, see what his daughter is truly like."
"Alex is nothing like that. She's not like you, Mary."
"What do you mean by that, Peter?"
"Stop fooling around, Mary, and open your eyes. You know you'll never be a doctor. And stop using those boys to do your work for you. I know what you've been up to. If the deans knew about this—"
"Peter, you won't!"
"Yeah? Watch me." He stood. "And don't interfere with Alex's life again. Understand?" Before she could utter another word, he stalked away.
Alone in the quiet corridor of the hospital, he took his cell phone out and dialed Jayden's number.
* * * * *
NEW YORK, USA
The penthouse, spacious and luxurious, overlooked Central Park and New York City below. It was dark, and all Jayden could see were dots of tiny lights across the city. He felt alone, as though he were missing half of himself. How he missed Alex. How he wanted to hug her and kiss her and do so much more to her. Just hold on, Jayden, he told himself. Soon, you will have her again.
His BlackBerry rang. He glanced over his shoulder and reluctantly picked it up. "Jayden speaking."
"What the hell did you do to her?"
Jayden frowned in confusion, and then he realized who it was. "Peter!"
"Yeah, it's me. So tell me, old friend, what the hell did you do to Alex?"
"I'm sorry, Pete, I—"
"Explain yourself. I told you Alex is like a sister to me. I told you not to hurt her in any way. So what happened? I'm giving you a chance to explain before I terminate our friendship."
Jay raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm willing to explain everything. I—Pete?"
"Yeah?"
"I love Alex. I would never do anything to hurt her."
"Oh?"
"Things just kind of got in the way. There's Sarah—"
"So you're back with her and broke Alex's heart? Is that it?"
"No. That's not it. She came back and made things messy. Alex found out I wasn't gay. Then she found out about Sarah, who wants to get back with me."
"Holy shit, mate! What the hell?"
"Yeah. Well, my grandmother wasn't exactly happy with me. She tried to match-make me with Britney and things got even more complicated."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
Jay paused. "I'm going to ask Alex to marry me. But first I need to get things straight with her parents. And, Pete?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you help me?"
"Sure thing, mate." A merry laugh followed. "Just so you know, our friendship has not been terminated."
"Good." Jayden chuckled.