Emline’s eyebrow twitched. If Kelsie was here, she would have scalped Alia for her comnts. But since Emline was alone, all she could do was smile while shooting daggers at Alia.
"Kelsie is not one for carnival gas, so your concern is unfounded. But rest assured, I’ll let her know what you said," Emline replied, but everyone listening knew it was a threat.
Matteo stiffened, but Alia squeezed his arm, a wordless signal for him to calm down. She was unfazed.
If Caleb had any sense, he would leave her alone, or the next rumor she spread about him might be about his lack of prowess in the bedroom. Since Caleb had revealed their marriage to the world, he had indirectly given her the best ammunition to humiliate him with. Given how things were between them, Alia wouldn’t be opposed to giving him a hard ti if he decided to further dig his own grave.
"Emline, how about I win you a stuffed toy instead?" Alia offered. "That way, you won’t be leaving empty-handed."
Emline rely stared at her, placing her hand on her chest as though she was scandalized.
"There’s no need for that," Emline said. She wore a scowl at first, but as though she just rembered that she and Alia weren’t the only ones present, she quickly dropped the look of hostility.
ekly, Emline raised a hand to her eyes and dabbed right underneath. There weren’t tears — she hadn’t summoned any — but she still had to make the act as convincing as she could given the circumstances.
"I think I have had enough of receiving odd gifts," Emline said, "especially if those gifts are ant to be placed in the bedroom. I can’t... If it has another cara... If more photos..."
She repeatedly cut off her words, her eyes darting over to look at Matteo’s reaction without making it too obvious. It was a gamble― she wasn’t sure if Matteo would still rember about the incident, or if he would even care for that matter. However, she cared. Those were her photos released to the world, and now, she was also the one who had to deal with the aftermath.
As the other leading star in the scandal, Matteo Montgory ought to rember what she was put through.
And Emline hit the nail right on the head.
Once those photos were implied, Matteo’s expression turned glum. He pursed his lips tightly, his hands clenched into tight fists. Even the grip on Alia’s hand had tightened significantly, causing Alia to look over worriedly.
However, she wasn’t worried about Emline― she was more worried about Matteo, who seed to be kicking himself ntally for allowing such a folly to happen. He had let his guard down, and by the looks of it, he was regretting every minute of it.
Alia slowly turned to look at Emline. She said, "In that case, if you’re so worried about placing random items in your room, there’s no need to ask Matteo to win a stuffed toy for you, is there?"
Emline was so stunned that she instantly forgot to act. She furrowed her eyebrows, stiffening under Alia’s gaze as she stared at her cousin with her eyebrows furrowed.
"What?"
"I an, if I win one for you, it would be handed to you directly by the stall owner anyway," Alia said. "If Matteo won one, that would also be the case. There’s no difference."
"Yes, but―"
"So if there’s no difference, and you’re so worried, then it’s best for Matteo not to go through all that trouble of winning a stuffed toy for you if you’re not planning on keeping it," Alia concluded. "It wouldn’t be good to live with constant paranoia, and I understand what you went through was awfully dreadful and scary."
Alia nodded to herself as she spoke, smiling comfortingly. However, even though the smile was as ’comforting’ as she could make it, there was an undeniable sliver of mockery lying beneath.
"I get it," Alia said, adding her finishing blow. She reached out and placed her hand on Emline’s shoulder. "We understand."
Emline’s eyebrow twitched. She roughly shrugged Alia’s hand off her shoulder, her movents so big that she even accidentally knocked soone behind. Ignoring their protests, Emline maintained Alia’s gaze.
"How can it be the sa?" Emline asked. "Matteo would never―"
"I assud you were worried that the stall owners might play so underhanded tactic," Alia said.
"But you’re right about one thing, sweet Emline," Aiden suddenly said from behind. He sauntered back with a huge bottle of beer in his hand, sipping on the local ale before sighing loudly. "Matteo indeed would never. Carnival gas aren’t his thing."
If Emline was at least trying to maintain a sweet facade in front of Matteo — and by association, Alia — then that expression imdiately crumbled into one of irritation the second Aiden returned with his purchases.
"You’re back early," Alia comnted, raising an eyebrow at the bottles of beer Aiden had bought for himself, shoved into a paper bag.
"The queue moved quickly," Aiden smoothly replied. "Would you like a drink, Alia? Or you could also visit in my room tonight. We could unwind under the stars together with a drink. What do you say?"
"Do you not want to look around the stalls?" Matteo hinted to Emline, making sure to speak louder than he really needed to. If Emline was a thorn in their sides, then Aiden was akin to a fly getting stuck in Matteo’s eye. He wanted both of them gone. But she remained steadfastly glued to their sides. "There could be jewelry that catches your fancy."
"So you do rember what I like!" Emline batted her eyelashes, pleased, instantly forgetting about Aiden’s snide comnt.
"Don’t won all like jewelry?" Matteo said without batting an eyelid. "You’re not that special."
Emline’s face quickly fell at his words, but Matteo paid her no mind. The line had already moved since, and he quickly placed their orders, begrudgingly including Aiden’s as well.
As Matteo and Alia spoke with the stall owner and paid for their food, Emline glowered at their backs.
"Keep the deadly stares down a notch, sweetheart," Aiden leaned down and murmured right into Emline’s ear. From the eyes of passers-by, they looked just like a pair of lovers whispering sweet nothings to one another. "Wouldn’t want your Prince Charming to catch that murderous expression, now, would you?"
Emline said nothing, rely turning to redirect the stink eye at him instead.
Aiden rely chuckled softly.
"Don’t forget," he said, keeping his voice soft while eyeing his older brother in front. "11 PM tonight. Don’t be late. A man needs his beauty sleep too, you know?"
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