Love and Debt

"Why did you agree with her?" Jayden asked.

After talking with Nina and agreeing with her deal, he left her in the bathroom untouched. He suddenly felt he wanted to leave the room. He left her without saying a word. She didn't call him or ask if he's okay. She was also quiet.

He was sighing while looking at the glass of brandy in his hand. He was very disappointed with Nina's deal.

"Are you disappointed? Or Mad? Pissed? Come on man! Why did you agree with her deal? I thought things went well? You sent a message that everything's okay." Percy continued.

They were in a private room in a bar near Northbay Mall. He suddenly wanted to go out and drink so he called his friends and invited them. They agreed so he told them about the deal Nina made.

"That's what I thought. The proposal was okay. We had dinner with dad and her family. I thought I had explained everything to her." He sighed in frustration.

"Did she explain to you why she asked you to have that deal?" Luke finally spoke.

He looked at the guys seated around the table. They haven't been friends for a long time. They met a few months ago during Luke's engagement to Alora. He was introduced by one of the businessmen he knew to Luke Wilson.

Luke is from the Wilson Clan, the most powerful family in the country. He's the only heir to the Wilson Empire. At first he befriended him to gain favors from the board of Cross Realty. They said if you are close to the Wilson Clan, a lot of businessmen will definitely trust you more. But when he started to hang out with them, he eventually became friends with Luke and his two other friends.

He was four years older than them but they didn't really act like high school kids. Luke has Alora, they got engaged a few months ago. They were in love. Luke is head over heels in love with his crazy girlfriend who has dissociative identity disorder.

In fact, the first time he hung out with Nina was because of Alora. He found out about her illness when Luke was asking about his birthplace, Willow Green. He was born in that place he swore he would never go back to. But he wanted to get closer to Luke so he offered help since he knew the area.

"Everyone, this is Andrew Cross. A new friend of mine. He'll be coming with us to Willow Green. He grew up there so it'll be easy for us to look for that doctor." Luke introduced him to his friends when Nina yelled.

"You! That asshole!"

Andrew frowned and was surprised to see the daughter of the ramen shop he always visits. He was asked by his father to convince the family to sell the shop to Cross Realty.

"Oh hi miss ramen girl! So you're friends with the big shots huh." He smirked.

"Nina, you know him?" Alora asked.

"That's the asshole who wants to buy our shop! Or more on forcing us to sell it!" Nina was irritated but Andrew was actually amused seeing her pissed.

"Nina I know that you're mad at Andrew but can you forget about it for now? Just today please?" Alora begged.

It was the first time he was introduced to the Ice Princess personally. He saw her during the engagement but her aura was so cold and distant so he didn't bother to ask for an introduction.

Alora Smith, the youngest daughter of the second most powerful family in the country. Her engagement to Luke Wilson shocked the country. She was called the Ice Princess because of her cold and emotionless personality.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll deal with him some other time."

He wanted to laugh at Nina's words. She said she will deal with him later. It was natural for her to get mad at him but he wasn't really forcing them to sell the shop, he was the one being forced to go there by his father. He was actually enjoying eating the food they offer at the shop.

"I've been investigating for a couple of weeks as well. I already found the doctor before you. I didn't say anything to Alora because I wanted to make sure that he's the guy. Andrew knew Dr. Richards. He was their family doctor." Luke explained while they gazed at Andrew.

He sighed. This is one of the reasons he didn't talk much about his mother but he felt like he could trust the people around him.

"He's my mom's psychiatrist. When I was young mom was diagnosed with schizophrenia. My dad didn't want anyone to know about her condition so he asked him to look after my mother. That's why I know him. But he's been moving from one house to another. I don't know why. So I think it's better if we split into groups." 

He was still in pain when he talked about his mom. It was the time in his life that he wouldn't want to remember.

"Me, Alora and Tyler will go to Willow Green Hospital and ask about him there. Nina and Andrew will search at Willow Lake Community, this is where he goes twice to 3 times a week but we don't know the specifics. Peggy, Emily and Brian, search the nearby hotels from the hospital. He's been lodging there for a few days now. Sophie and Percy go to Willow Green High School, his daughter is currently studying there."

Andrew was surprised that he would go with Nina. When he looked at her, she was glaring at him. He wanted to laugh again but that day was important to Luke and Alora so he just did what he was told.

It was also the day that he was alone with Nina and the day they started to hang out.. It was the day he started to know more about the girl who hated him.