Chapter 32 Annoying Albert

Elena Garcia POV:

I shoved him away again, still reeling from what Albert just said.

'Sofia has a crush on Marco? When did that happen?' I thought.

My jaw dropped as I glanced over at Sofia, who was busy playing rock-paper-scissors with the girls. Then I turned to Albert, my face full of doubt.

But Albert just nodded, confirming it again.

"When did this happen? Oh my God, I had no idea! Was it after Marco came to the Garcia Mansion? That's so fast, did Sofia fall for him at first sight? Why would Sofia like him?" I was all excited and curious, so I started rambling.

But then, my excitement turned into worry.

Marco was in the mafia, and Sofia might not know that.

Falling for a mafia guy was dangerous, not good for Sofia. He wasn't exactly prince charming material.

I warned, "Didn't you tell Sofia that Marco's dangerous?"

"Honey, your concern is really something. Do you treat every family member like this? Or is it just some of them?"

I replied, "Let's say some of them, it should be everyone except my foster father. If you want, I can add you too?" 

"Alright, my bad for upsetting you," Albert said, putting on a pitiful look, but I saw a sly glint in his eyes.

"Of course I told her, but Sofia didn't care," he said, dragging out his words like he was hinting at something.

"Maybe I forgot to mention, she's a girl who loves challenges?" Albert added.

"Albert," I said, annoyed.

Albert raised his hands in surrender, signaling he shouldn't tease family members like that.

He quickly changed the topic. "Did you just talk to Marco? Why did he go back to the villa?"

"Maybe he had something to do. Sofia also said someone was looking for him," I replied.

"That was after he went back to the villa, Elena. I think you know what I mean. What made Marco leave the beach and go back to the villa?" Albert asked.

'Should I know the answer to this?' I looked at Albert, confused.

"I don't know. We just chatted for a bit, then he left. Maybe he was just tired of swimming?" I guessed.

Albert laughed out loud, his expression exaggerated. "Come on, he's not the type to leave the beach because he's tired of swimming, especially when there's still..."

"Still what?" I asked.

"Nothing," Albert mumbled and clammed up.

Then he looked at me eagerly and asked, "So what were you talking about with William just now? You two seemed really off. Your face was still red when you walked over, like one of you confessed to the other."

Jackpot! I had never expected Albert to be so sharp.

His eyes bored into mine as if they were casting a spell to enchant me into revealing my heart.

I almost instantly retorted, "Nothing happened!"

But Albert didn't buy it. He looked at my blushing face, which confirmed his guess.

"Really? Who confessed? Was it you?" Albert asked.

I took a deep breath, wanting to tell him to stop guessing.

But before I could speak, he immediately changed his guess.

"Was it William who confessed to you?" Albert then asked.

This made me hesitate for a moment, unable to refute in time.

Albert raised his eyebrows. He squinted at William, still smiling, but I couldn't guess what he was thinking.

After staring at William for a few seconds, Albert turned to look at me again, his expression puzzled. "That's really surprising."

"But I'm curious, sis. Why do you like William? I've always thought Marco was more considerate than that fool," Albert asked.

'He's genuinely curious about why I like William,' I thought.

This reminded me of the same question Marco had asked me not long ago, which I had already answered then.

And he had even said to me, "People fall in love because of certain things or words, but that might just be a fling. Could it be because he saved you at the party, and your gratitude made you have an illusion?"

'Seriously, does Albert, like Marco, think I can't figure out my own feelings?' I wondered.

Being questioned over and over made me resistant to this topic and more annoyed.

It was especially so when Albert said, "You really should choose Marco. William is not a good choice."

"You can't be so rude to William!" I snapped back.

I didn't know what went down between Albert and William. Ever since I first met Albert, he always had a negative view of William, always using some rude terms to refer to him in front of me.

"Why do you always have such a bad opinion of him?" I asked.

What I didn't get even more was why he thought that if it wasn't William, it had to be Marco

I frowned, "Don't make it sound like I'm doing a multiple-choice question, Albert. I don't know Marco well, even if you think he's considerate to me, that's your feeling, not mine. Even if I change my impression of Marco and think he's kind and considerate, that doesn't mean I would have romantic feelings for him."

"What makes you think that without William, I would choose Marco? Why are you so eager to push him on me?" I asked.

After I came out of the seawater, the sun felt even hotter, like it was about to burn me.

The beach volleyball game hadn't started yet, and I still had to chat with Albert about a topic I didn't like, all of which made me irritable.

Moreover, Albert's staring eyes made me want to give up beach volleyball and run to the shade.

Albert shrugged, "I think you misunderstood, Elena. It's not that I'm eager to push him on you."

I took two steps back, wanting to get away from Albert.

"It's that I'm eager to push you to him, don't you remember? He's practically my boss now, and solving my boss's troubles is my duty as a subordinate," Albert replied.

This sounded like some kind of provocation. He didn't hide his attitude of treating me like a commodity.

Albert seemed to see himself as a businessman, and Marco as his customer.

He was trying to eliminate other people who wanted to get the commodity for his customer.

My preferences were never in the consideration of a cold-hearted businessman.

'Damn it! How did he get like this? Cold, selfish, nuisance!' I cursed in my heart.

I wanted to shut him up, but Albert kept babbling.

Albert was still questioning my feelings for William as just a momentary impulse.

I was infuriated, so I started speaking without thinking.

I tried hard to find some words to refute and attack, and among those words, the people Albert mentioned most often and the words he used to question me became my primary targets.

"Even if my feelings for William are a fling, I wouldn't impulsively fall for a mafia member!" I blurted out.

But my words didn't hurt Albert at all.

This annoying guy, seeing my frantic reaction, just whistled and then said with a grin, "I think Sofia wouldn't like to hear that, your words sound like you're blaming her."

'Damn it! He just mentioned Sofia's crush on Marco. He did it on purpose!' I thought.

When Albert approached me, I pushed him away hard.

"Go play beach volleyball with your girls, I need a break!" I refused him.

I couldn't even look back at William and Sofia.

Albert's words seemed full of traps and malice to me, I shouldn't have agreed to come with them!

I strode towards the villa, hearing Albert behind me loudly saying to others, "She's feeling a bit unwell!"

I turned back and shouted, "You made this, Albert!"

Albert didn't even show a bit of remorse, still waving and laughing at me.