Before Maria could reply, Barbara continued, saying, "This is Mr. Cooper's fiancée, so quit making a fool out of yourself, Maria.”

Although Barbara said it in a half-joking tone, anyone could see that she was trying to sow discord between Maria and the young couple. Hearing this, Alena's heart sank.

It was no secret that many female artists in the music industry were hell-bent on stealing Jeff away from her.

Was Maria one of them?

But Alena's doubts only lasted for a second because she quickly realized something wrong.

Why did she get the sense that Barbara was trying to provoke them on purpose?

Aside from her abrupt and blunt greeting, Maria's behavior was quite normal and appropriate.

On the contrary, it was Barbara who was acting a bit weird.

Jeff also fixed his eyes on Maria for a moment, but then his gaze soon shifted to Barbara.

Being stared at by her idol, Barbara's heart began to race.

But the next second, her heart sank to her stomach. Jeff had a reputation for being a kindhearted celebrity, which was why he was a “charming prince" to countless female fans.

So why was there an unmistakable Look of disgust in Jeff's eyes as he stared at Barbara?

"Oh, no! Why do I get the feeling that Jeff doesn't like me? What the hell is going on?" Barbara whispered to herself and wondered worriedly. It took her a while to finally realize that in trying to humiliate Maria, she ended up offending the couple.

Ashamed, Barbara regretted being so reckless.

If only she could turn back time and take back what she said. She could have humiliated Maria without involving either Jeff or Alena!

ALL of a sudden, her heart leaped to her throat.

Because at that moment, Maria had turned her head to Lock her eyes on Barbara.

"You... Why are you looking at me like that?" Barbara asked, quickly averting her gaze.

Smiling, Maria asked indifferently, “That's all you got? Turns out you're so week without your grandma around to protect you."

“How dare you! How dare you talk to me like that!" Barbara was instantly outraged.

Who gave Maria the audacity to look down on her?

She was Miss Herrera, the granddaughter of Mrs. Jenkins and a promising level Four pill alchemist. How could she be despised by someone as lowly as Maria?

But then again, it was Maria who had just won first place in the family competition, which meant that she wasn't in the same league as Maria.

Thinking of the past twenty years and the origin of her talent, Barbara suddenly realized that Maria indeed had the right to despise her.