Chapter 100 Unable to Tolerate (Part 1)
She nodded silently and slipped into Jackson's car. Jackson, who never drank, was always a man of few words. It was hard to reconcile this quiet guy with the wild one who had once begged her to marry him at Rebel, a bottle in hand.
As the car sped up, Jackson broke the silence. "Alison, I ran into someone at Rebel a few days ago."
"Who?" Alison's heart skipped a beat. Could it be a lead? "Was it Erin?"
"No, it was a former bartender from Rebel."
"Where's he working now?"
"Still at a nightclub, but a different one."
"What did he tell you?" Jackson mentioning the bartender suggested he might have learned something important.
"Alison, were you taken away by someone that night?" Jackson's memory was hazy, but he needed to know.
"Did he... say that?" She struggled to remember, only recalling that she had a glass of water and then blacked out.
"Yeah, he said he saw you being taken away by a woman."
"A wo... woman?" Alison stuttered in surprise. She had always assumed it was a man.
"That's right."
"Does the bartender remember what she looked like?" She started thinking of all the women who might have harmed her, with Emily being the first to come to mind.
"I've arranged for him to come by. You can ask him directly when he gets here."
"Okay." She was eager to get to Rebel, feeling that the truth was within reach.
Her heart raced with excitement. If she could find out who it was, she could clear her name and stand tall in front of Jack.
When they arrived at Rebel, they snuck in through the back door. Alison wanted to see the bartender from back then immediately, but she knew she couldn't. She had taken twenty days off, and since she was here, she had to perform first and then find the bartender to clarify what happened. There was no rush.
On stage, Alison sang her first song back at Rebel, her voice melodious.
Under the neon lights, her eyes were fixed on Jackson's figure. When he sat next to a man, Alison glanced in that direction, feeling a sense of familiarity. Coming to Rebel was the right choice.
After finishing her song, she bowed, hurried off the stage, put on her coat, and walked towards Jackson, her heart pounding with excitement.
The closer she got, the more certain she became—the man was the bartender! She remembered him because she had watched him mix drinks while waiting for her interview, the liquid and glasses in his hands like magic.
She walked over, smiled faintly, and extended her hand, "Hey there."
The bartender looked at her, then at Jackson, and asked in disbelief, "You... you're the woman from back then?"
Alison smiled and asked, "Don't I look like her?"
"You do, very much so, but your hair... it's a bit different."
"Are you saying you don't like my hair now?"
"No, no, your long hair was just more memorable."
"You remember me?"
"Yeah."
"That night, was I taken away by someone?" It was sad that she had to ask others about her own experience.
"I remember. I was mixing drinks when I heard a loud whistle. A stunning woman walked in, catching every man's eye. She ignored everyone and went straight to you. She was so striking that I remembered her."
"Did she really take me away?" Alison pictured Emily in her mind; maybe it was her.
The bartender thought for a moment and said, "I think so. There were so many people that night, and I was busy mixing drinks. When I looked up again, you and she were gone."
What exactly happened? It was all a mess.
"Did the woman look like me?" Alison pressed for any clue.
The bartender shook his head, "I can't remember. She had a great figure but wore a hat, so I couldn't see her face."
"How old was she?"
"I couldn't tell, but she didn't seem very old."
If it wasn't Emily, Alison couldn't think of anyone else.
But who had drugged her water that night?
Maybe from the moment she and Jackson walked into Rebel, she had become someone else's prey.
Although she knew a woman had taken her, she had no other clues.
Who could it be? Who could it be?
Back home from Rebel, Alison's mind kept spinning. Who was that person?
Maybe the real mastermind wasn't a woman?
Maybe it was just a trick, and the person had deliberately sent a woman to take her.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Alison only slept two or three hours before dawn.
She kept agonizing over who that woman was and who the mastermind was.
That person was definitely connected to the Winston family. Alison really wanted to uncover the Winston family's secrets and see who else was involved.
As soon as she got to the office, a colleague approached her, "Alison, you look terrible."
"Oh, I didn't sleep well last night," Alison replied.
"Thinking about a man?" a colleague teased.
"No, I just couldn't sleep," Alison said, a bit embarrassed.
Another colleague chimed in, "Alison, you need to step up. I heard the boss left with Miss Sherry last night."
Alison smiled and said, "The boss is free to do what he wants. There's nothing between us. But I appreciate you telling me directly rather than gossiping behind my back." Although she was a bit annoyed, Alison didn't hold a grudge.
"Sorry, I just thought the boss used to treat you so well, and now he's giving Miss Sherry special attention. It doesn't seem fair. Miss Sherry isn't half as good as you," the colleague said.
Alison smiled lightly, not wanting to continue the topic, "Let's just focus on our work. I have an important task to finish."
Seeing Alison wasn't interested in chatting, the colleague shrugged, "Alright, I'll get back to work too."
Aidan had his own freedom. Although Jack always wanted her to be with Aidan, she knew in her heart that she couldn't make room for another man.