“That goofy, giggly look, like he’s full of passion. You like Ariana, don’t you?”
Albina’s eyes were full of wonder. When Ariana looked at her, she hurried to pick everything up again, only the shock still lingered in her heart.
In fact, Albina had thought it would be fine if Santiago was not Ariana’s boyfriend and was replaced by Macos.
Now, after finding out that Macos liked Ariana, she was in a trance.
-Albina? Albina, what’s wrong with you?
Ariana’s words brought her back to herself.
Albina hurried to look at Ariana and found her face full of confusion.
-You kept changing your expression. What were you thinking about?
-Nothing, nothing! -Albina answered immediately.
Before being sure, it was better not to let Ariana know. Macos didn’t tell her explicitly probably because Ariana now had a boyfriend and he didn’t want her to know at the moment.
After Albina had this suspicion, the more she thought about Macos’ actions, each action confirmed it even more.
It was no wonder Macos was so excited when he said Ariana would be staying at his house, he even sold his own house and stood there with a deadpan attitude.
It was also no wonder that when he was treating Ariana, his kind words poured out like a waterfall, and there were so many of them that they could even make people tired.
“So that was the case – it’s amazing!”
After Albina knew this, she looked at Macos with a hint of mischief, as if a relative of Ariana’s was examining him.
Macos hadn’t noticed yet and looked at Ariana with a chuckle.
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
Albina was the first to react, believing it was Umberto who had returned, and hurried to open the door, wanting to share the news with him.
However, once she opened the door, she found Santiago’s face, and her brain froze instantly.
-Is Ariana inside?
Santiago’s voice was a little hoarse as he looked towards Albina and asked her.
Albina didn’t know why, but she panicked. She was a little vain – Macos and Ariana were together right now!
But this little guilt soon dissipated. Ariana came running back in tears. Who knew if it was this damned man who was the cause of her sadness?
As she thought about this, she looked at Santiago with distaste.
Before she could think whether to tell Santiago or not, Ariana had already come up behind her.
-Albina, I’m going out with him to talk.
Ariana looked calm and looked at Santiago. Although her eyes were still kind, Santiago felt that something was missing in them.
This made Santiago feel alarmed for no reason. His heart beat abnormally a couple of times, and he frowned.
Albina reluctantly took a step back, looking worriedly at Ariana, fearing that, if she and Santiago went out, something would happen again.
Sensing her unease, Ariana gently helped her fix her hair.
-Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.
At that moment Macos also came to the door from the living room. The silly, laughing expression on his face had disappeared and he showed not a trace of emotion. His eyes were even cold as he looked at Santiago.
Santiago noticed her gaze and walked over, paused for a moment and said to Albina:
-Why is he still here? The matter was resolved, wasn’t it, why hasn’t he moved out yet?
Macos pursed his lips and was about to speak when Albina took the floor in a weak voice.
-She has sold her house and has nowhere to go at the moment, so she will first stay at my place for a few days and move out when she buys another house.
It was a reasonable statement, but with Macos’ status and properties, he couldn’t have just one house, could he?
But Santiago didn’t say much, he had never considered Macos as his love rival. Besides, he had great confidence in Ariana.
Because he could see that Ariana really liked him.
The two walked out shoulder to shoulder, their backs disappearing down the hallway.
Macos was still standing in the doorway, watching them with a grim expression as he pondered something.
Albina stood to the side, staring at his face. The more she looked, the more she felt that her assumption was correct.
Until the backs of the two disappeared completely, Macos looked back and prepared to close the door. Only when he turned his head he met Albina’s bright eyes. He was startled and almost fell through the door.
-Fuck, why are you looking at me like that? You have the strangest look on your face.
He stammered, feeling Albina’s eyes examining him so much that it even felt like she was undressing him.
With a smile on her lips, Albina stared at him and asked him directly:
-Macos, Mr. Murillo, tell me honestly, do you have an ulterior motive for shamelessly staying in my house?
Macos’ heart pounded and he said uncomfortably:
-What do you mean, brazen? That’s too much. Didn’t I say I sold my house and didn’t want to return to the Murillo family? I could only…
-You’d better be honest. Don’t forget that I’m Ariana’s best friend!
He raised his eyelids nonchalantly and said this with a touch of smugness.
As soon as Macos heard this, he knew Albina must have seen something, so he didn’t hide it and smiled at her.
-Albina, how did you know?
Albina saw that he was no longer pretending and turned toward the room.
Macos hurried to close the door behind him, followed her, and dutifully poured her tea.
-Albina, you still haven’t told me. How did you find out?
He thought he had hidden himself so well that only Umberto, that monster, could see him. Albina and Ariana shouldn’t have been able to detect it.
Albina sipped her tea slowly and methodically.
In fact, she didn’t detect it at first, because Macos had been very kind to both of them from the beginning, and his personality was lively. He usually spoke to both of them with humor, and at first glance she only thought it was because of his personality.
-You didn’t hold back your eyes a moment ago. It was too obvious,” Albina said as she looked at him.
That gaze was brimming with a passion that seemed to want to tear Ariana apart and devour her completely, exactly like the way Umberto used to look at her.
That’s why Albina noticed it.
Macos thought for a moment.
-Then I’d better restrain myself from now on.
It was because he saw Ariana smiling at him. He didn’t really hold back and he didn’t bother to hide either, so his emotions leaked straight onto his face.
Albina heard him admit it and looked at him in shock and amazement.
-I don’t understand. Since when did you like Ariana? She used to be pretty normal. Since when did your feelings change? Was it the time Lila drugged you?
Other than that he couldn’t think of anything else. At first when Albina introduced him to Ariana, Macos didn’t have that kind of feeling.
Macos was a bit shy and squirming, an aspect that Albina got a bad feeling about.
-Be normal and behave yourself. Ariana doesn’t like boys who share themselves as women.
Once Albina said this, Macos immediately sat down, with a serious face.
-The guy I like has always been Ariana’s. I didn’t give it much thought after Santiago conquered her before me. That time with Lila was a chance.
Macos blushed slightly at the thought of what he had unconsciously done to Ariana.
Albina’s gaze was full of curiosity. Ariana hadn’t told her before what exactly Macos had done to her that night. She had only said that she had thrown Macos into the bathroom. He looked very normal, and it didn’t look like anything had happened.
But seeing the blush on Macos’ face, she couldn’t help but think about it some more.
Had something really happened that night that she didn’t know about?
Macos didn’t have the courage to tell Albina directly, so he stammered:
-She saved me from Lila and preserved my innocence. Ariana was especially kind and kept an eye on me for fear that something might happen to me. She really is as wonderful as a little fairy, so I….
It was a pity I didn’t hear him talk about that night, but when I heard him praise Ariana, he raised his eyebrows approvingly.
-You have a good eye.
-Well,” Macos rubbed his head and smiled a little, “Ariana is really excellent. I don’t think Santiago is worthy of her, but I don’t think she is either.
He looked a little crestfallen when he said the last sentence.
-I can sense that he has no other feelings for me. It must be because I am not good enough, but if Santiago can, I am not willing to give up.