Chapter 35

Lita rolled her eyes. “Seriously, girl, I’m impressed. Alex is your brother, for heaven’s sake! Can’t you put in a little more effort for him? Can’t you be a bit more concerned?”

Libsi sighed and looked at me. “So, what should you do?”

“Call him,” Libsi suggested.

I didn’t move. The thought of calling Alex made me uncomfortable, especially after our conversation in the car that day.

Lila said without hesitation, “This watch is worth over a million. If you lose it…”

I pulled out my phone immediately. The call connected quickly. I took a deep breath before blurting out everything at once.

Alex was silent for a while. Then, in an incredibly gentle tone, he said, “I’m heading out of town for a meeting and won’t have time now. Just hold onto it.”

I frowned slightly. “But Mr. Hastings, this watch is incredibly expensive. If I lose it, I might not be able to compensate you.”

“Then compensate with yourself,” Alex replied instantly.

A flurry of images ran through my mind. My face turned red as I stammered, “W–What… What did you say?”

Alex cleared his throat. “I mean, if you lose it, you’ll just have to work and earn the money to pay for it.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, but felt frustrated at the same time. “Are you joking? I’m supposed to earn enough money for a million-dollar watch? How long would that take?”

“I’m about to board my flight. Just keep it for now. I’ll call you as soon as I’m back,” he said with finality.

I was about to suggest he send an assistant to collect it when the line went dead.

Alex Hastings! What a man! I conceded to him internally for a bit before venting my frustrations.

Reluctantly, I brought the watch back to my dormitory. Then, I changed my clothes and headed to the coffee shop for my shift. I ran into Elena as soon as I stepped out of the university gate. It really was a small world. I quickly stepped to the side, not wanting to talk to her.

“Serena,” Elena called out. Her arms were crossed as she walked leisurely toward me.

I stopped and let out a weary sigh. “Why are you here again? What do you want from me this time?”

“Serena,” Elena said, moving closer and putting on that same pitiful act. “I just want to apologize. Why are you being so cold to me?”

I sneered. “I’m being cold? How do you think I should be acting after what you did to me?”

Elena said innocently, “That’s why I came to apologize. Julian has feelings for you. He really does like you. Won’t you give him a chance?”

“Why should I give him a chance?” I was impressed—and disturbed—by her audacity. She sounded like a lunatic. If someone like her could capture Julian’s attention for so many years, what did that say about him? Neither of them seemed like a good person. The only one I could blame was myself for being so blind.

Elena slowly lowered her head as she said earnestly, “Julian really does care about you. At first, I thought he was just playing around with you. But now, I see that I was wrong. Julian really likes you.”