Bar.
Alessia drank half a cup of wine in one gulp. When she wanted to continue drinking, her glass was snatched away.
Half-supporting her chin, Alessia looked at Dominic with drunken eyes.
"Give me back my wine. I'm happy, and I still want to drink. Dominic, be happy for me too. I not only have a dad now but also a mom."
Dominic looked at Alessia, who pretended to be happy despite feeling sad inside, with a heart full of tenderness.
He picked up her glass and drank the remaining half in one gulp.
Turning back, his gaze was focused and gentle.
"Sia, of course, I'm happy for you. Actually, you can't blame Uncle Laroux for this. If I were him, I wouldn't have any favorable feelings towards any child other than the one I had with you. Of course, I would never let myself reach the level Uncle Laroux has."
"Really?" Alessia asked.
"Of course," Dominic leaned closer.
"People say men's mouths are deceitful. I don't believe you," Alessia said, pushing Dominic's head away with her finger.
Dominic, like a Weeble, leaned back and then leaned back in. He couldn't be budged.
He pointed to his lips. "Maybe you can't trust other men's mouths, but can you trust mine, Sia? Try kissing me and find out."
"Really?" Alessia's eyes reflected Dominic's charming lips, and she swallowed nervously.
"Of course it's true. Come on, try it?" Dominic took Alessia's hand and had her hold his face.
Drunk Alessia was indeed tempted. She obediently held Dominic's face and brought her own face closer to his, getting closer and closer.
Dominic seemed calm, taking the lead, but his ears turned red, betraying his nervousness.
Just one more step, and Alessia would have kissed Dominic's lips.
However, Alessia stopped in time, slapping Dominic's face away and coquettishly saying, "Are you trying to fool me, Dominic? I'm not that stupid."
Dominic looked at Alessia, a little drunk but also a bit mischievous, with a helpless look in his eyes.
Putting away his slight regret, he cajoled, "Alright, you're not stupid, you're the smartest. Come on, clever Miss Alessia, let me take you back to sleep, okay?"
"What? Do you want me to stay in a hotel?" Alessia stood up unsteadily, her voice not exactly low.
Everyone around turned their eyes towards them, and Dominic, helpless, had to go along with her to prevent Alessia from making a scene.
"We'll stay in a hotel together."
"No, we're not reconciled yet. We can't stay in a hotel. We have to go home." At that moment, Alessia sobered up.
Dominic had to put in a lot of effort to bring Alessia back to Forest Hill.
As soon as they entered the house, before Dominic could put Alessia on the bed, she turned around and hugged him tightly, pressing him onto the bed.
She held his head tightly, caressing it incessantly, murmuring to herself. "Christian. you're sneaking into mommy's room to sleep again, huh? Alright then, let's sleep... Mm..."
After saying that, Alessia fell asleep on Dominic.
Dominic didn't dare to move, afraid of waking Alessia up.
She wasn't that heavy, and Dominic estimated he could carry her with just one hand.
And she smelled of jasmine, quite pleasant.
Dominic thought to himself as he gradually fell asleep.
'Christian, Mommy's squishing you!'
...
Alessia suddenly woke up, sat up from the bed, and nervously looked around. Only then did she realize that the person she had crushed wasn't Christian, but Christian's dad.
Looking at herself, although she hadn't changed her clothes, they were somewhat disheveled.
Alessia rubbed her sore head, regretting drinking too much last night.
After the regret, she couldn't help but look at the man beside her.
The man was lying on the bed, his white shirt messy, with two buttons undone, revealing his well-defined collarbone.
It was simply unbearable to look at.
Alessia quickly looked away, got out of bed quietly, changed her clothes in the bathroom, and came out. Seeing that the man on the bed was still not awake, she went downstairs.
When she got downstairs, she remembered that Mrs. Cate had asked for a leave.
Indeed, one shouldn't get drunk. Getting drunk makes one forgetful.
There was nothing to eat at home, so Alessia went out to buy breakfast.
As soon as she stepped out of the house, she saw Tiffany standing in the middle of the road, looking at her with resentful eyes.
Alessia furrowed her brows unconsciously.
"You slept with Dom last night?!" Tiffany asked confidently. "Alessia, don't try to quibble. I saw you two coming out of the bar last night."
So Tiffany had followed them all the way, even waiting outside the house all night?
Although she had slept in the same bed as Dominic last night, Alessia was very clear that nothing had happened between her and Dominic.
She had originally wanted to explain, but when she heard Tiffany's insistent and aggressive tone, she changed her mind.
Alessia said, "He is unmarried, and I am not married, what happens between me and Dominic is our freedom."
"You have no shame," Tiffany raised her hand, but before she could touch Alessia, she was accurately caught by Alessia.
Alessia shook off Tiffany's hand, "Tiffany, you hate me, and today you finally stopped pretending."
"Yes, Alessia, I wish you were dead."
After losing all her cards, Tiffany also became straightforward and stopped pretending. She took a deep breath and suddenly chuckled. "Alessia, you want to regain your memory, you want to solve your daughter's prenatal toxicity? You want to know who has been trying to kill you all these years? If you have the guts, come with me."
With that, she turned and walked out.
Alessia hesitated, but Tiffany seemed to have eyes behind her. She turned around, her eyes full of resentment and vigilance, "Don't even think to tell Dom about it. As long as he knows about this, I won't say a word to you."
Alessia knew that what Tiffany said might be a trap, but for Elle, for her lost memories, Alessia looked back at the house and still followed.
As she followed Tiffany into the car, Tiffany suddenly turned her head and gave an ambiguous command.
"Throw away your phone."
Alessia felt that Tiffany's mood was off. At this moment, she didn't want to provoke Tiffany anymore, so she obediently threw it on the ground.
The car drove away and soon disappeared near the Forest Hill.
When Dominic found that there was no one around him, it was already half past seven, an hour after Alessia disappeared.
He rubbed his sore shoulders and smiled.
Because the pain in his shoulders indicated that Alessia had slept with him all night.
Dominic shook his head. He, who usually had shallow sleep, didn't even know when Alessia got up this morning, all because she had been pestering him last night.
He didn't even know that the usually aloof and cold person, after getting drunk, was like a little demon, mischievous and hard to resist.
Dominic went downstairs and didn't find Alessia. He thought she might have left first out of shyness, so he didn't think much of it.
It wasn't until he went back to the opposite side, took a shower, had breakfast, and called Alessia but got no answer, that he gradually realized something was wrong.
At this point, it was already twenty past nine.
Dominic called Riley.
Riley's voice came from the phone, "Sia didn't come to the lab. She didn't ask for leave. I called her but got no answer. I was just about to ask you."
Dominic began to feel uneasy. "I see. You go to work first, and I'll look for her again."
"Okay, are you having a fight with my sister?" Riley asked worriedly.
Since he got together with Bianca, he had become complicated when facing Dominic.
"No." Dominic was already impatient. After hanging up the phone, he went to the security room in the community to check the surveillance. However, everything about Alessia seemed to have been deliberately erased, and nothing was found.
***