Carlos stepped forward to hug Crystal, but she stepped backward. She gave him a look of disgust and said, "Did you honestly think that I would wait for you?"


    Carlos flinched at her words as if he''d been struck. "I know that my proposal is very selfish," he mumbled, "but why are you so hard on me? Is it because of Nathan Davis? Are you two serious? I know you''re not actually together. You just want to make me jealous, right? Crystal, an unreliable man like him, is not suitable for you. He will never take you seriously!"


    "He''s unreliable?" Crystal hissed. "Compared to you, he is a saint!"


    Carlos''s face turned white as Crystal''s words sunk in, and he finally let her arm go, and when Crystal walked away from him, he made no further attempt to pursue her.


    I hate this! - Crystal thought to herself, as she crossed the street at the next corner- it wasn''t supposed to end this way for us!


    By the time Crystal arrived home, the sun had set, and when Susie saw her, she walked out of the kitchen to greet her. After exchanging formal greetings, the housekeeper said, "Your husband, Mr. Davis, has gone out for dinner. There is food in the kitchen."


    My husband-Crystal thought morosely.


    "Thank you," she replied. "Susie," she added, "do you have a spare key to all of the rooms in the house?"


    Susie: "Yes. I have a ring of keys in the locker in the storage room, I''ll get it for you." Susie went back to the storage room and took out a ring of keys. Before leaving, she said, "Crystal, hurry up and eat, or your food will get cold."


    "I''m not hungry," Crystal replied. "Thank you, though. I''ll heat itter."


    "That''s fine," Susie replied as she returned. with the keys. "I''ll put it in the fridge for you." Crystal took the keys from the housekeeper with thanks and then went up to Nathan''s room.


    The door to his room was open, as it usually was, so Crystal went right in. The room was neat and tidy, and the bedside table''s bottom drawer was locked uptight. Fortunately, she had a key. Crystal hunkered down and began to try the keys one by one. Some were too small. Others were too big, but she finally found the one that fit perfectly. She turned the key nervously, and once she heard the click that meant the lock was open, she pulled at the drawer, only to discover that it was... empty- EMPTY? And the diary was gone!


    "How can this be?" she cried. "It was just here!"


    Crystal cursed Nathan in her mind - That fucking lowlife! That scum! That perverted child fucker! That good-for-nothing whore-of-a man! - but the drawer remained empty, and all of her effort and anger was for naught.


    Once Crystal had regained herposure, she returned the keys and went into the kitchen to get her dinner. Then, just as she was taking the food out of the refrigerator, her phone rang. She took the phone out of her pocket and answered the call: "Hello?"


    A soft and ttering voice sounded through the receiver: "Hello, is this Crystal? My name is Tiffany Ford. I''m one of the teachers at the university you attend. Anyway, at my father''s request, I have called to apologize to you. What happened yesterday was all my fault. I would like to invite you to have a meal with me so that I can apologize to you in person. When are you avable? How about right now?"


    Crystal rolled her eyes and said, "I''m busy. I''ve only just now arrived home."


    Tiffany: "How about I drive over and pick you up? If you just got home, you must not have eaten yet. You must be hungry. There is a restaurant very close to your home. Please, give me a chance to apologize in person. I feel terrible about what happened."


    Crystal did not want to go out again after the tiring day that she''d had, but she didn''t know how to refuse Tiffany''s sincere attitude, especially because she was one of her teachers, so she felt like she had to ept the offer. "Okay fine, Crystal said.


    Tiffany was there in under ten minutes, and she took her to the Rossini Restaurant, where she had booked a private room in advance. The room was called The Aries Room.


    Meanwhile, Nathan was throwing a Wee Back party for Owen, and as irony would have it, he was runningte. He was the host, and he was going to be thest one to arrive!


    Owen thought that it was delightfully hrious, and he couldn''t wait to tease Nathan about it. While he waited, he leaned back on the sofa, took a grape from the fruit te, and threw it into his mouth.


    Nathan had originally only invited a few old ssmates, but someone had spilled the beans, and the guest list had grown exponentially, and their enthusiasm moved Owen. Unfortunately, after meeting with a few of his female ssmates, it seemed that they were not all that interested in him after all. They had onlye because they wanted to see Nathan. And the other two or three male ssmates were there to talk about business with Nathan. Thus, Owen felt decidedly Unwee at his Wee BackParty.


    Nathan was a low-key guy, and he didn''t like suchrge gatherings, so Owen was trying to think of ways to make Nathan feel less ufortable. Unfortunately, he didn''t have many ideas, and when the crowd arrived, chaos ensued. Everyone got up, and they all began to mor for his attention. One person said, "Oh, my god! Nathan! Nathan Davis is here!"


    A second person said, "He''s getting more handsome by the day! How can he be so good-looking?"


    A third person turned to one of thedies and said, "Amy Fowler, why don''t you say something?"


    Amy said nothing, and a fourth person said, "She is entranced by Nathan. Everyone knows Amy has liked Nathan since High School."


    Amy stared at the man at the door. He''s more dazzling than ever! - she thought The aura around him was too powerful and charming to be ignored.


    Nathan sensed Owen''s difort, and he patted him on the back, saying, "Never mind them. They are like coo clocks strung up too tight, and they will never get what they want. You wouldn''t want that kind of attention. It is pathetic and annoying! Do you see what I see?"


    "I suppose so," Owen replied without much conviction.