Tiffany choked. She understood Alessia's implication.
Alessia pretended not to notice her, but she was clearly pointing out her actions. Tiffany knew her little tricks, there was no use trying to conceal them.
This countryside girl was even more difficult to deal with than she had imagined. No wonder Sisca had suffered losses in her hands multiple times.
Taking a deep breath in her heart, Tiffany realized that the situation hadn't reached the point of completely tearing their faces.
If their faces were torn, it wouldn't be convenient for her to make any more moves in the future.
Moreover, in the short term, she still had to work in the laboratory with Alessia. At least she could maintain a surface peace.
With these thoughts in mind, Tiffany put on a natural smile and pretended, following Alessia's words, "Miss La Rosa, you didn't see me? Then I must have been mistaken."
Alessia looked at Tiffany's fake smile, turned around, and walked out into the corridor.
Now it seemed that Tiffany's intentions for joining the laboratory were impure, but at least she was capable. As long as her participation could advance the experiments, she could overlook these small details.
Tiffany watched Alessia leave and then turned back, angrily rubbing her hands under the faucet until they turned red, but the anger in her heart still couldn't be calmed.
She had just been turned around by Alessia, losing control of the situation.
Why?
Why Alessia... Just a countryside girl, if it weren't for leaning on Dominic and Riley, what qualifications did she have to enter the laboratory and become a leader?
After a while, Tiffany finally calmed down completely. She looked at herself in the mirror and practiced her smile repeatedly until her smile showed no flaws at all, then she returned to the dining room.
As soon as Tiffany came out, she saw Dominic sitting among the crowd next to Alessia.
Dominic didn't reply to her message, but he came. Was it for Alessia?
A dark color flashed in Tiffany's eyes, and she saw one of the female researchers from the laboratory running over to her as soon as she returned, pulling her arm and saying, "One of our main characters is finally back. Alright, this party is over. Shall we move on to the next one?"
Tonight's dinner included not only barbecue but also booking a karaoke room to sing.
"Sorry, it seems I've kept everyone waiting. Let's go now." Tiffany smiled and replied, then turned her gaze. She walked to the middle of Dominic and Alessia and jokingly said loud enough for Dominic and Alessia to hear, "Some people are really hard to invite. They only come after I send a selfie."
The words had a double meaning. Those who knew the situation would have no problem understanding, but those who didn't would find it very subtle.
Alessia subconsciously glanced at Dominic.
She had thought that Tiffany had a one-sided crush on him before, but now it seemed not to be the case.
Tiffany was constantly scheming. If she married Dominic in the future, she would definitely deal with the three children.
When Eleanor's illness got better, under no circumstances would custody of the three children be given to Dominic.
Dominic felt Alessia's gaze and turned his head. He happened to see Alessia's eyes still showing some contemplation.
He subconsciously frowned. He lied for the first time, pretending not to know anything, and said to Tiffany, "Selfie? What selfie are you talking about? I just finished work and came straight here."
As he spoke, he took out his phone as if to better prove his innocence.
Tiffany watched Dominic's eager actions to distance himself from her, feeling a pang in her heart. She didn't believe that Dominic hadn't seen the photo she sent.
Had Dominic not realized his feelings for Alessia yet, but already started to care about her feelings?
She must not allow Alessia's relationship with Dominic to continue to develop like this.
Tiffany clenched her fists and secretly vowed.
Inside the karaoke room.
Everyone gathered to select songs, only Dominic, Alessia, Enzo, and Riley sat on the sofa without any action.
After Tiffany finished selecting songs and came back, she looked at Alessia sitting next to Dominic and Enzo, a flash of jealousy crossing her face. She walked over to sit next to Dominic, pretending to casually ask Alessia.
"Sia, you've written so many songs for Dylan Frost, you must sing well, right? Speaking of which, I'm a fan of Dylan. Since you have such a good relationship with Dylan, could you help me get a few autographed photos from him when you have time?"
Sia? When did she and Tiffany have such a good relationship?
Alessia frowned, then heard Enzo lazily speak beside her. 'Tiffany, how did you know that Alessia has a good relationship with Dylan? It's just a few autographed photos; can you obtain them on your own? Have the Olsen family fallen to such a point that even the heiress can't get a few autographed photos? Besides, I don't believe your relationship with Alessia is that strong. Asking for help so blatantly, it's really something.'"
Enzo spoke bluntly, giving Tiffany no face at all. There was a moment of embarrassment in Tiffany's expression, but she quickly regained her smile and looked at Enzo, saying, "Enzo, it's been so long since we've seen each other, yet you're still as ruthless with your words. I only heard that Alessia has a good relationship with Dylan, and I didn't speak ill of her. Why are you protecting her like this?"
Enzo didn't deny Tiffany's words either, nodding and saying, "That's right, I'm protecting Alessia because I feel a connection with her. Maybe we even knew each other before."
Alessia raised an eyebrow at his words, staring at Enzo's twinkling eyes. Half-jokingly, she asked, "Did we know each other before?"
Enzo smiled and replied without confirming or denying, "You guess!"
Guess?
Alessia squinted her eyes, suddenly inspired by Enzo's words.
If Enzo was related to the people chasing her, then was it possible that those people knew her before she lost her memory?
Alessia leaned over to talk to Enzo, and under the dim lights of the karaoke room, it looked a bit too intimate.
Dominic drank a sip of wine with a stern face.
Tiffany had been paying attention to Dominic and was pleased to see his expression change. She smirked slightly, not caring about the immediate gains and losses. If Enzo rebuked her, it didn't matter, as long as the same effect could be achieved.
Tiffany timely added fuel to the fire, whispering in Dominic's ear, "Dom, it seems that Enzo really likes Alessia. I didn't expect Alessia to be so favored by both her brother and Dylan."
"Aren't you thirsty?" Just as Tiffany was feeling pleased with herself, Dominic suddenly placed a glass of wine in front of her.
Tiffany was stunned, a hint of hurt flashing in her eyes. Dominic's tone was slightly better than before as he said, "Alessia is the mother of my child. I don't want to hear anyone speak ill of her. Even if you're my friend, you're no exception, Tiffany."
Tiffany pursed her lips, feeling like her heart had been pierced by a sharp sword. This hurt more than before.
But she quickly regained her composure, telling herself that she knew about Dominic's indifference early on, so it didn't matter.
They weren't friends anymore, anyway.
After realizing this, Tiffany looked up, wearing a composed smile, and raised her glass, apologizing directly, "Dom, I misspoke. I'll drink to that."
"No need," Dominic said coldly.
For some reason, Dominic felt very uncomfortable with Tiffany's smile. He frowned, suddenly got up, and almost without any warning, squeezed between Alessia and Enzo.
Alessia, who had been planning to talk to Enzo, was inexplicably pushed aside and asked in annoyance, "What are you doing?"
Dominic calmly looked at the position where Alessia was sitting and said, "It's too cold there because of the air conditioning."
Alessia glanced at the direction where the air conditioning was blowing, felt it, and remained silent.
The wind was indeed a bit strong, but was he the only one feeling cold?
Scumbag!
Enzo looked at Dominic with a half-smile, and taking advantage of the action of getting a drink, he whispered in Dominic's ear, "Mr. Carter, are you protecting your food?"
Dominic was stunned for a moment. When he turned his head to speak to Enzo, Enzo had already taken out his phone and was playing with it. He was such a rascal.
Dominic was enveloped in shadows, his oppressive aura frightening.
Meanwhile, in the room, everyone had finished selecting songs and sat back down. They noticed that not only had the seating arrangement changed, but the atmosphere had also shifted.
People were singing more cautiously, avoiding looking in Dominic's direction.
It wasn't until Dominic left for the restroom that the tension in the room eased. Someone whispered, "Who offended Mr. Carter just now? Why did the atmosphere suddenly become so heavy? It was scary."
"Yeah, I don't even dare to speak."
At this moment, Enzo leisurely stood up and followed Dominic out of the room.
His movements were so light that no one noticed him leaving, as everyone was still engrossed in their discussions.
Outside the restroom, Dominic smoked a cigarette. Before he finished, he saw Enzo, dressed in all black, approaching like a ghost.
Dominic flicked the ash off his cigarette and saw Enzo leaning against the wall beside him, also pulling out a cigarette to smoke.
Dominic looked at Enzo with a dark expression.
Enzo exhaled a smoke ring and asked with certainty, "You like Sia, right?"
Not Miss La Rosa, not Miss Alessia, but Sia.
Dominic narrowed his eyes dangerously.
***