Lila really didn’t expect it to be discovered by Albina what she said to the other behind her back. She became restless and distressed.
Albina pretended not to see her pale face and went straight to the sink to clean her hands.
Noticing that she did not speak, Lila could not contain herself and asked directly:
-Albina, how can you listen in on a private conversation?
At first Albina didn’t feel like listening to him because not everyone liked her. Besides, being a newcomer, she got such a good opportunity, so it was not strange that Lila was angry.
But what made her uncomfortable was that Lila conjectured her in such a disgusting way, gossiping and slandering her all over the place. Originally she was still calm but her emotions burst straight out when she saw that Lila first complained to her.
-Did I eavesdrop on you? Lila, when you say this, don’t you have an uneasy conscience? Don’t you know it’s me who came here first? I only came to the washroom but I heard you slander me.
Albina looked at her coldly:
-Lila, I didn’t record what you just said, otherwise, I may sue you for your malicious slander about my reputation.
Hearing this, Lila felt uneasy and did not know what to say, however, she did not want to make a fool of herself in front of Albina, so she raised her head and defended herself:
-Yesterday you were taken away by the police, weren’t you? What did I say wrong? Why don’t you explain yourself to everyone? Why did the policeman take you away? What I said is my guess. I don’t think there is anything unreasonable.
After hearing his words and seeing that she spoke firmly and confidently, Albina laughed coldly:
-Lila, if according to what you say, your mouth is so stinky, I also suspect that you have eaten shit at lunch.
Still not finishing her words and seeing Lila’s face that was full of fury, she continued:
-Don’t be angry, I’m just guessing. I don’t think there is anything unreasonable. I learned this way from you, why are you getting angry?
Albina showed an innocent expression.
Lila didn’t expect her to have such a strong temper although she had a rather weak appearance.
She trembled with anger:
-Albina, you’re just a rookie, what are you proud of, how dare you talk to me like that!
-How? -Albina looked indifferent and gave her a sidelong glance, “I’m the rookie but I have a position just like you. Why do you think you are superior to me? Because you worked here before me? Lila, when I joined the company, Mr. Murillo said that people in the design department work with your skill. When you can beat me at work, you can flaunt it to me, and at that time I will be completely convinced of you. Sorry, but now I need to go to work. By the way, you’d better brush your teeth before you come back, otherwise, it will be bad for the others to be bothered by your smell.
Hearing the words, Lila was so angry that she broke the lipstick in her hand.
After speaking, Albina prepared to leave without even giving her a glance.
-Stop! -Lila suddenly stopped her.
Albina turned her head away:
-Anything else?
Lila frowned, bit her lower lip hard and said nothing for a long time:
-What is the relationship between you and Mr. Murillo? When he left the design department, what did he secretly say in your ear?
She was eager to ask him the questions early. She especially wanted to know what Macos said and why they both became weird after the whisper.
Albina frowned and said to him with a very serious expression:
-It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not, Mr. Murillo and I have no other special relationship. As for what you told me, it is a personal privacy. It is not convenient for me to tell you.
She left after speaking.
Lila stood in front of the mirror for a long time and felt bad as if her heart was grabbed and her lung was scratched.
Did Mr. Murillo promise her anything, for example, if Albina won the championship, would he promise to be with her?
The words Albina had just explained were left behind by Lila. When that idea occurred to her, Lila’s gaze turned fierce in an instant.
Before Albina arrived, she was the most beautiful in the entire design department. Now that Albina was there, even though Lila didn’t like her, she had to admit that Albina was very pretty.
With Albina’s existence, it was impossible for Mr. Murillo to fix his eyes on her.
The more Lila thought about it, the more she hated her. With a frown on her face, she wanted to come up with a method to solve Albina’s threat.
Albina returned to her work station. After Lila, she became much calmer and more and more determined that she should do everything she could to win the championship in the competition. She believed that she herself was no worse than the others, but she had not published a series of ready-made clothes and was not famous, so she was always inferior to the others and even anyone could run her over and trample her.
Albina frowned and kept in mind what Macos said in her ear before leaving.
He said that people from the Carballal Group were also going to participate in the competition.
In recent years, although Carballal Group’s Yoli was of great fame and Carballal Group dominated the market in the industry, it was not because of its excellent design but because it excluded other companies and stole talents everywhere, using the improper means.
The Carballal Group’s business had become worse and worse during those years. Albina had visited all of Yoli’s stores in Sogen City but the sales clerks thought they were superior to everyone and also, the clothing styles were similar, so they had lost many customers.
However, this had not attracted the attention of the Carballal Group. They did not start with a fundamental design innovation, but instead put up more advertisements and increased publicity.
As soon as the news of the competition came out, the Carballal Group prepared to take action, hoping to take advantage of the game to gain more fame, so they placed great importance on the competition.
Macos had especially reminded her this time and had lost her to use all her efforts to compete with the Carballal Group, and because their tricks were always multiple, she had to be more careful.
When Albina started to work, Lila also returned to her work station, looking at Albina’s figure with a strange and complicated view.
It was not until it was time to leave work that Albina collected many documents and recorded all the creative inspirations that temporarily occurred to her, and finally felt relieved. When she raised her head, she discovered that the colleagues around her had already left and it was dark outside.
She glanced outside, listened to the noise of cars and people and let out a long sigh.
Albina didn’t like the dark night very much, because during the period of her blindness, in those three years, she could only see the boundless darkness and nothing else.
After she married Umberto, he was busy with work and often worked overtime. She was always left alone at home without being able to see anything. As the soundproofing effect of the house was very good, there was no sound around her except the noise caused by her own movements. She always had a feeling that she was the only one left in the world.
If the time was short, she wouldn’t mind much the feeling of emptiness and loneliness, but after a long period, it would make her feel very afraid. If it wasn’t for the fact that his mother and Umberto were still by his side, he would definitely have lost his mind and ended his life directly.
She had finally regained her vision, but the people who gave her hope at first were gone, and she was still the only one left.
The feeling of emptiness that had long disappeared in her heart resurfaced.
The phone vibrated in her pocket and the memory came to an abrupt end and it was Ariana’s call.
As soon as Albina answered, Ariana’s voice rang on the other end:
-Albina, are you working overtime?
-Well, I’ve finished work. I’ll be going home right away.
Ariana answered in a soft voice and acted like a child:
-I’ve been painting all day today. Bring me something to eat, I’m very hungry. Also, bring me some ice cream. I love you, kiss.
The voice directly dispelled all the loneliness left in Albina’s heart.
Albina felt warm as her whole heart was healed:
-All right, I’ll bring you everything you asked for. But now it’s still cold, and it’s not good to eat cold food, so forget the ice cream. I’ll bring you a box of pudding.
She was not alone at that moment. She still had a friend, Dr. Aguila and many people who cared about her, and besides, Umberto.
Ariana nodded happily.
After hanging up the phone, Albina arranged things and was ready to go back. She was very impatient to see Ariana and stay with her.
As soon as she got things settled, she received another call. She answered naturally and heard Umberto’s voice on the call.
-Albina, have you finished work? I’m downstairs in your company’s building. I’m taking you home today.