When she finished speaking, Amelie saw Leo open his eyes. He froze as their gazes met. Even though they were divorced and didn't interfere in each other's lives, she couldn't help but recall what had happened during the day and felt discomfited. However, she still greeted him politely.
"It has been a while, Mr. Alston."
He did not answer but reached out his hand to stop the woman from feeding him. His eyes lingered on Amelie as he bit his lips, his inner thoughts indiscernible.
"Mr. Alston, is she your ex-wife?" The woman beside him spoke in a delicate voice after she noticed him looking at Amelie while glancing several times at her involuntarily.
"Mr. Alston may have played around a little during these two years, but he truly fancies the serious type," Ashton went on, his eyes looking at Amelie meaningfully in a clear attempt to anger the minor celebrity. "You should learn that well and be more dignified. Don't take off your clothes in front of him too quickly, or people will get weary of you far too soon."
He was clearly trying to elicit hatred toward Amelie, and Amelie knew that. She pretended not to understand him, ignoring the hateful look the woman beside Leo sent her as she marched toward the table and poured herself a glass of alcohol. She gave Ashton a toast, saying, "I didn't offend you on purpose, Mr. Lowe. It's my fault, and I apologize for that."
She downed it when she finished speaking and poured another. Just as she was about to drink it, someone stopped her halfway.
"You two were married before. Why aren't you sympathetic toward her? Here, I'll give her a chance by allowing you to drink on her behalf." Ashton pressed down on her hand as he spoke to Leo, seemingly oblivious that the atmosphere would worsen.
"Didn't Mr. Lowe say that she's your ex-wife? Why do you have to be sympathetic toward her?" Leo hadn't even responded, yet the minor celebrity beside him was not having it. She pursed her lips as if protesting the unfairness of it. Anyone could see that she didn't want any contact between Leo and Amelie.
Everyone else in the room either knew Amelie or didn't, but they wouldn't miss such a good show when it was happening right there. They melted into the background and watched with total concentration, not wanting to interrupt.
The minor celebrity had braced herself to express her opinion, but she couldn't avoid studying Leo's reaction when she had finished speaking. He continued to bite his lips in silence, but his gaze had left Amelie, which made her braver. She eyed Amelie scornfully. "I hope Mr. Lowe isn't purposefully helping someone with their little antics."
Her words implied that Amelie hadn't let go of Leo and wanted to reconcile with him.
Amelie felt amused by that. If she wanted to get back with Leo, she wouldn't have waited until now. Not wanting to waste any time, she pushed Ashton's hand away and downed the second glass of wine.
When she was done, she waved the glass at everyone before her cool gaze landed on Ashton's face. "Goodbye, Mr. Lowe."
She put down the empty glass and left the suite. Leo looked at the glass she had left behind with dark and unreadable eyes.
"The alcohol she drank is no ordinary wine. It may taste good, but it has a high alcohol concentration." Ashton's intriguing voice sounded. "Leo, I heard that she has a low alcohol tolerance. She will definitely get drunk from this."
Ashton's stubbornness made the minor celebrity simmer with anger, yet she didn't dare express it. She looked at Leo anxiously, her fingers tangled together.
Leo leaned forward to take the wine glass and bowed his head to drink from it. He did not say anything throughout it all, seemingly as though it had nothing to do with him; he didn't care about Amelie's condition at all.
The minor celebrity relaxed her fingers when she observed his attitude and quickly served up another dish. "Have another mouthful, Mr. Alston."
…
Amelie hadn't left the suite for long when she felt her head becoming heavy. She began to stumble; her world was blurry, and her surroundings were swaying around as if she had a plastic bag over her head. Her movements became slower as well.
She shook her head, staggering her way to somewhere with a window. She used her chin to hold her head up as she let the wind blow against her face, hoping to sober up a little.
After some time, someone tapped on her shoulder from behind.
"Miss, are you drunk? You will get dizzy if you get drunk and stand in the cold wind. Let me help you to someplace where you can rest."
She looked back muzzily to see a blurry face swaying in front of her. She could make out the uniform of the other person. It was a waiter working there.
"Don't worry, I'm the waiter who nearly collided with you just now. I'm not a bad person."
The waiter's voice came indistinctly. Feeling so dizzy that her head was about to fall off, she nodded mechanically and allowed him to help her into a room. She didn't hear anything else he said and closed her eyes after collapsing on the bed.
"Dad, I want a smoothie," Amelie called out when she shot up from the bed, her eyes still closed.
After that, she spoke again. "I'll wake Bria up."
She reached her feet out to put them into her slippers but couldn't find them, which made her open her eyes slowly. It wasn't the warm interiors of her home but somewhere unfamiliar. This was clearly a hotel!
Her consciousness slowly returned, and she abruptly recalled that she had returned to attend Julia's wedding. She had offended Ashton last night and drank two glasses of alcohol.
She rubbed her head. While she didn't feel pain from a hangover, her nerves were still numb and her throat still burned with the taste of alcohol.
It seemed like a waiter had taken her here last night, and she had foggily sensed someone wiping her face and hands while feeding her something. Had it been that waiter?
She was in a hotel suite on the first floor of the bar, so she tidied herself up a little before going downstairs. As soon as she arrived, she ran into the waiter from last night.
"Hello." She walked toward him, sounding grateful. "Thank you for looking after me last night."
"I didn't look after you the entire night, though." The waiter probably wasn't used to talking with women, and he looked slightly shy. His ears were red. "I only took you to the guest room when I saw that you were drunk. It didn't take much, so you don't have to thank me."
"You… didn't?" She was stunned. If he hadn't looked after her, who had done so? Had it been imaginary or something she had dreamed up?
She did not think about it too much and nodded. "You have excellent physical attributes. Have you considered doing live shows?"
"Me? Forget it. I only helped you along and did nothing else. Plus, the room was paid for by you, so you don't have to thank me like this. Besides, I love my current job and hope to open my own bar in the future."
His handsome face was filled with expectation.
"I didn't make the decision because you helped me, but because I think you are suitable for it. You don't have to leave the bar if you like your job here. We are currently working on career-oriented short videos, so you can work here while working for us on the side. That way, you can get another stream of income and widen your influence. Won't your dream of opening a bar come true faster this way?"
The waiter looked interested when she explained that to him. "Really? That's amazing."
She chatted briefly with the waiter and knew he was named Anthony Dillon, meaning they shared the same last name. She arranged an appointment for him to go to Starlight Media and sign a contract before leaving the bar.
Behind her, Anthony looked at her retreating figure with some delight and a hint of guilt.
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