Chris plopped back down, still wearing that same indifferent look.

"Chris, what just happened?" Leila leaned in, her scent faintly lingering in the air.

Chris's face stayed blank, and he didn't bother to answer her.

Right then, Lucius's assistant got up and draped a shawl over Amelia.

Crisis averted. Amelia let out a deep breath, her heart pounding.

"Miss Tudor, come with me," the assistant whispered,taking her hand and helping her up.

Amelia was super grateful and went along without a fuss, leading the crowd in a bow. Just as she was about to leave with the others, the assistant 'steered her towards Lucius.

Amelia felt a bit panicked, hesitating to ask.

"Please sit," the assistant led her right to Lucius's side.

Amelia was stunned and looked at Luciuš. He gave a slight nod, signaling her to sit down.

With everyone watching, Amelia nervously approached and slowly sat in a seat that wasn't hers.

Lucius spoke softly, "It's okay; don't worry."

Those words did calm Amelia down.

"Mr. Howard, thank you," she blinked, her blue eyes sparkling.

Lucius's gaze was hard to read as he quietly looked at her. It felt like he was looking through her eyes at someone else. Amelia couldn't quite put her finger on it; she was just confused. Plus, Lucius seemed a bit off.

Amelia smiled slightly, picked up the wine glass on the table, and whispered,"Mr. Howard, what's wrong? Everyone's looking at you."

At that moment, everyone was casting curious glances at Lucius, especially those who knew about Amelia and Chris's relationship.

How did Amelia and Lucius get involved?

Lucius quickly pulled himself together and shifted his gaze nonchalantly.

But his expression was somewhat different today if taking a close look."

Your look today is quite special," this time, Lucius didn't look at her.

Amelia felt something was off and finally got what Gary had been hinting at, feeling incredibly incredulous. Could it be that Lucius had some thoughts about her?

"I still prefer my usual makeup," she smiled faintly and mustered the courage to ask, "Mr. Howard,may I leave now?"

She was making it clear she had no other intentions.

Lucius gave her a complex look and signaled to the assistant, who immediately understood.

Amelia's sudden preferential treatment, followed by her swift exit,became a hot topic of gossip, causing quite a stir that didn't die down for a long time.

Amelia had no time to care about this and quickly went to the dressing

room.

At this moment, the other members of the band had not yet left. Seeing her return, Gary, brimming with excitement, grasped her hand and incessantly praised her, insisting that she was indeed exceptional.

Amelia didn't actually listen to him, she pulled off the shawl, revealing the tear at her left waist.

"Mr. Barnes, someone messed with my dress, almost making me a laughingstock and dragging everyone, including you, into it." Her voice was icy, and her words left everyone stunned.

"What? What happened?" Gary was shocked too,staring at the torn dress."Who did this? Own up now!"

Silence.

"Maybe she tore the fancy dress herself; it's her own fault," Anna said.

"Yeah, she's always messing up during rehearsals and making us work overtime. Tearing a dress is nothing for her," Anna's sidekick,Gemma Young,added.

Gary suddenly turned and glared at Gemma. "It was you, wasn't it?Gemma!"

"Mr. Barnes, you can't just accuse me like that. Why would I target her?Am I that malicious?" Gemma shot back loudly.

With the crisis averted and no cameras in the dressing room, she could deny it all she wanted.

"You're so stubborn and unrepentant, refusing to admit your wrongdoing!"

Gary's face turned red with anger, and he waved his hand. "You don't need to come tomorrow; our restaurant no longer has aplace for you!"

"Why?" Gemma turned pale. "Mr. Barnes, how can you be so unfair? It wasn't me; it was her carelessness, and she blamed me. I won't accept this!"

Gary was momentarily at a loss for words. "You..."

"Gemma, Anna," Lucius's assistant suddenly entered, calling out their names. "You two, come with me."

Her face was expressiónless, but it was chilling and scary.

Amelia was also surprised; how did Lucius know who did it?

"Why us?" Anna panicked. "It was Amelia who almost ruined Mr.Howard

s birthday party; it has nothing to do with us."

"Yeah!" Gemma's voice wavered, clearly guilty.

"It's fine if you don't come with me," the assistant crossed her arms."From now on, Anna, Gemma, and Gary are fired. Amelia will be in charge of the restaurant's orchestra."

"What?" The named individuals exclaimed in unison.

"Miss, why is this happening?" Amelia couldn't help but step forward and grab the assistant's hand.

Anna asked, "Why are we being fired? We didn't do anything!"

Gemma said, "Even if there's a mistake, it's Amelia's fault. What does it have to do with us?"

Anna and Gemma continued to argue,

Gary, however,slumped to the ground, as if suddenly struck by a severe illness. He spoke in a terrified voice, "I accept the punishment."

He had intended to use some information he accidentally learned to curry favor with Lucius, but it backfired. For someone like Lucius, merely firing him without further punishment was already lenient. He knew that saying another word would be asking for trouble.

"Amelia, you are now in charge of the orchestra. Do a good job; Mr.Howard won't treat you unfairly." Before leaving, the assistant smiled and said, "My name is Sable Baker; you cancall me Sable."

Amelia, still in a daze, nodded. When she recalled everything that had happened today, she still felt like she was dreaming.