Her Billionaire's Reckoning

19. The past pt 2

*A week later, Rose was finally done registering her new courses.

It was a hard decision for Rose, but it was necessary.

But after Nana passed away, only Rose was the direct heir to Gabrielle Enterprises, and if she doesn't step up and take over, who will?

Mr. Montreal apparently. And not just him. Even the maids had their little plan to take over the house while Rose was mourning the loss of her grandparents.

It's kind of funny how everyone appears so loyal until that very day when your weakness shows and the chameleons start to show their real color.

Rose walked into the business and finance department with her bag strapped over her left shoulder and her timetable in her right hand, unsure of which floor or direction class BSC 7 would be.

She watched the other students as they scurried to get to their respective classes as it was only a few minutes to 8AM.

And that was when Rose spotted her. Unlike the other students that rushed, Alice was seemingly taking something from her locker at a snail's pace, as if she was the lecturer herself and the students were to wait for her, so Rose approached her and when she got closer, she realized Alice was staring at something on her mobile phone.

Rose cleared her throat and Alice turned to face her. That was when Rose saw how exhausted Alice looked, her black eyes speaking volumes.

"Hi." she smiled, instantly recognizing me, but the smile didn't seem to reach her eyes. "Are you alright?" Rose asked with concern, and for a moment, Alice looked as if she would break down but composed herself instead. "Yeah, I'm alright," she replied and closed her locker.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked as she flipped her phone close and put it in her backpack before closing the zip and balancing her backpack on her back. "Yeah, the building is new, so I am lost as to which floor I can find, class BSC 7." Rose said and Alice raised her eyebrows.

"It's on the first floor," she said, smoothing the front of her shirt.

"Thanks, this timetable was giving me a hard time."

"You are welcome. Every floor has six classes each that's how you can tell," she explained. "I am going there, actually."

"We can go together then." Rose smiled at her. "May I ask why you switched to the Business and Finance department?" Alice said as they started walking, with Rose keeping up with her snail pace. She walked as if she didn't want to attend the class.

"If I tell you, does that make us friends?" Rose joked and chuckled.

"I thought people usually switch to easier majors." Alice glanced at her.

"I guess business just happened to be my calling," Rose shrugged nonchalantly.

"I wonder how you are going to keep up though, having switched in the middle of the semester."

"It's alright as long as I have this smart friend to help around," Rose said cheerfully. "Now are you going to tell me why you are not so keen on attending the class? Or is there some evil force ready to devour whoever steps in the class?"

Alice stopped in her tracks and took a deep sigh. "I'm just thinking about taking the year off to take care of some things. But maybe I should hold off for a bit," she said, looking down and playing with the blue sapphire necklace on her neck. Rose waited for a few seconds for her to say more, but she was quiet.

"I get it," Rose stated.

"You do?"

"Yes. When my grandma passed away, I felt like giving up on everything and letting myself drown in the sadness, but I knew I had to be strong because no one else was there for me. So when things don't go your way, it's up to you to find something to hold onto. But sometimes it's okay to just let it go and rest."

"That was motivating. Sorry about your loss, by the way."

"I am glad I could be of help to my friend."

"You are really stubborn, aren't you?"

"Sooo," Rose drawled. "Why aren't we keen on attending this class again?" Rose asked again. "Mr. Drew always comes late," Alice replied briefly.

They arrived at the lecture theater and, true to Alice's words, Mr. Drew wasn't there and more than half the class was empty, and the professor didn't come in until it was thirty minutes past eight.

"... Sometimes, when it comes to business, you have to study your opponents and use their weakness to your advantage..." The lecturer explained and Rose listened intently. "... and then, there are times when loyalty is your most precious item. When you have that..." Interesting. Rose thought with a smirk as she glanced at Alice who sat quietly by her side.

*

For the two weeks that came and passed by, as much as Alice was reluctant to be friends, Rose made a habit of sitting beside Alice all the times and asking her for help on things she didn't understand, and after helping her, Alice would get back to being aloof.

Some of the girls in their major wanted to be friends with Rose and some of the boys wanted to go out on a date with her, but it was Alice that Rose had her eye on, trusted and wanted to befriend.

*

It was on Friday, at 2:15pm in the afternoon, and they were done with the day's lectures. They came out of the department and Rose said goodbye to her as she lived in the hostel while Rose stayed alone off campus. The person watched the two from the side, waiting patiently, his hands in his jeans pocket, his shoulders slumped, and his face covered by his hoodie and shades.

He waited until after they had said goodbye and left before walking over to where Rose was standing.

"Did you take a good look?" Rose asked and he nodded. "Something is bothering her, but she just won't tell me what it is. I don't think she trusts me enough. I want you to find out whatever it is. Maybe the answer is what will get us closer. I want you to get back to me with a good result on Monday and after that I will know what to do next," Rose said to him.

"She's coming back," he said, and quickly walked away and Rose turned to see Alice behind her.

"Who was that?" she asked, looking at the back of the guy who had disappeared suspiciously.

"That was just Cade. He is someone I know," Rose replied. "Why did you come back?" I asked, changing the topic.

"I forgot to return your pen," she said and handed Rose her pen that she had borrowed earlier. "Thanks Rose, and see you on Monday."

"Sure," Rose said to Alice, who waved and left.

*

The next week.

"When were you going to tell me about your father in the hospital and that you are in need of a huge amount of money to pay for his surgery?" Rose confronted Alice in the hallways. It was on Monday, and they were done with the day's lectures and getting out of the department. Alice was taken aback at first but then scowled after she had composed herself.

"Who told you that?" she asked angrily.

"It doesn't matter who told me," Rose shrugged. "Some things cannot stay hidden for long. What matters is that you didn't tell me, and I was worried because you looked troubled all the time," Rose said as they got out of the department and stopped beside the building.

"I had no reason to tell you, it's not like we are best buddies," Alice said, looking away. "Of course, we are friends, Alice, I can help," Rose said softly.

"I told you we can't be friends because we are different," she said, looking down. "I understand that you are the converse-wearing type, and I am the heels wearing type, but they are just shoes Alice!" Rose flared her arms. "And as far as I am aware, we became friends the moment I told you about myself."

"Well, I didn't ask for that," Alice scoffed. "No you did, remember?" I reminded her, which made her angrier. "Forget it. I am out of here," she said, and made a move to leave, but I stopped her by standing in front of her and blocking her path.

"Okay, now I get it. You are the 'I don't want to put my burden on anyone'. But you don't do that when someone else's life is at risk. You don't have to stay up all night doing late night shifts. At this rate you might collapse. I can pay the bills, and we can continue to be friends."

"You had me investigated, didn't you? And I am not some charity case," Alice scoffed. "I can take care of myself," she said before sidestepping Rose, who watched as she walked away. And that would have been the end of it if Rose wasn't always one step ahead.

"That didn't go well," Cade said, coming out of the shadows. "Well, it's certainly about to get better," Rose smirked.

"When did you say was the deadline for the surgery?" she asked him.

"Thursday."

"Then we should do something about it tomorrow," she declared. "Does this make me a bad guy?" Rose asked him after a few seconds, looking at the path she had followed.

"Of course not, you are a hero, Rose. I just don't think she will be able to make it out on her own."

Alice's point of view

I walked away angrily, angry at Rose for discovering my secret and for offering to help.

"Who does she think she is?" I shouted to myself while in my hostel room.

My roommate Jamie wasn't back yet, so I was all to myself.

"Thinking she could come strutting with her clinking high heels and offer to give me money in exchange for friendship? As if I am someone that could be bought!" I huffed. "And what was she talking about? About me risking Dad's life as if she loved him more than I did! If I didn't love him would I be working my butt off day and night? No! I knew from the beginning she wasn't all good," I scoffed.

"I can take care of myself and my Dad," I whispered, touching my mother's necklace.

"I promised you I would," I said to myself and kissed the sapphire on the necklace as a lone tear escaped my eye. The necklace was the first gift from my dad, so I held it dear. "And that I will always be strong," I added and wiped the tear from my face.

I went over to my bed and squatted down, and from under the bed I pulled out the shoebox I had been hiding from Jamie for a long time.

She didn't know about my father being in the hospital or how I was saving money for his heart surgery.

I opened the money and started counting the savings in it. After I was done counting, it appeared the remaining money I needed was the one I would get the next day from the Café. Just when I was about to put the money back in the box, Jamie walked in and her eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, and I quickly put it back inside the box and covered it. "That's some cash you got in here." She grinned, running her fingers across her long red hair and chewing gum. "I could use some of that right now." she whispered to herself, but I caught it.

*

I didn't go to class the next day but went straight to the café and got my pay for the month before putting everything inside my small handbag which I slung across my shoulder. What began as a hopeful day, turned into a nightmare for me. I had gotten out of campus and was waiting for a cab.

The road was quiet as it was since all the students living off campus had arrived and were already inside the campus having their lectures, so I walked down the road hoping to see at least one cab that would take me to the hospital in town.

As I walked down the road thinking I was alone, I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see a person in converse, sweatpants and an oversized hoodie that covered most of their face and I turned and continued walking, thinking the person was probably jogging, and that was when it happened, something that would change everything and bring me to where I am today.

The person came and snatched the bag out of my hand, taking me unawares and, before I could act, tugged on my mother's necklace.

The force used to tug the necklace taking had me tumbling and falling on all fours.

Everything happened in a second, and before I could recover from the shock and pain from tugging the necklace from my neck and falling, the person was already meters ahead.

I ran after the person shouting "Help! Thief!" but no one was around to help, and before I knew it, the person was too far to catch up with and I soon ran out of breath.

All the money I had worked months to gather, and the necklace, the only thing that reminded me of my mother, all gone in a minute. I went down to my knees as hot tears of pain rolled down my face and I cursed whoever it was that made me suffer.