Chapter 44
+15 BONUS
Mia barked out a laugh. “I don’t need them, and I don’t need you to interfere in my matters. Let go of me!”
“You’d better watch your attitude!” Timothy growled.
As they fought, Maya’s voice rang out. “Tim!”
Mia watched as Maya and Shelly approached them from the other end of the corridor. At this moment, the grip on her wrist
disappeared. Timothy retracted his hand.
A trace of mockery flashed in Mia’s eyes. He’d let go so quickly when he saw Maya coming. Was he afraid of her getting the
wrong idea?
Maya’s gaze became colder when she saw Timothy’s and Mia’s linked hands. But on the surface, she smiled innocently. “I was
looking for you everywhere, Tim. The judges are wanted for a discussion.”
Maya strode over and looked at Mia. “I’m sorry you didn’t win anything this time, Ms. Bowen. You’re pretty talented, though.
Maybe you can try again next time.”
Mia didn’t say anything. She looked at Maya coldly.
Timothy turned away. “Let’s go.”
Maya nodded. “Okay. I’ll be right behind you after going to the restroom.”
Once Timothy was gone, the smile on Maya’s face disappeared. She gave Mia a haughty look. “This competition’s a perfect
example of what you’re facing, Mia. You were only lucky to get into the finals, just like how you were lucky enough to marry
Timothy.
“But if you insist on barging into a world and social circle that’s beyond you, you’ll only end up getting eliminated, just like how
you’ve been eliminated tonight.”
Shelly joined in on her mockery. “This competition was organized by Maya’s family, you know. Look at how she’s been put in
charge of this whole thing at such a young age! You put in so much effort for this competition to end up being eliminated. Oh, my
heart just goes out to you.
“After all, to a peasant like you, a competition like this is the only way for you to stand out among the crowd. Things are
completely different for wealthy people like us—we have plenty of opportunities laid out for us.”
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Only then did Mia understand why she’d been eliminated. There had to be some underhanded dealings going on. But as Shelly
had mentioned, the competition was organized by Maya’s family–the Lane family from Nord City.
Someone like her, who had no background, wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
Mia returned to the main hall, looking distraught. Liam came over to her. “Where did you go, Mia? I’ve been looking for you
forever.”
“I was in the restroom. Let’s go, Liam.” She’d already been eliminated, so there was no point lingering. She would only be
subject to mockery.
“Why should we? I think there’s something wrong with this competition, so I lodged a complaint and requested that the
organizers look into the placing.”
Liam had just spoken to Dominic over the phone. They’d already rigged the competition to ensure Mia would win. Why had she
ended up being eliminated? Something had to have gone wrong!
Mia didn’t expect Liam to do the thing she wanted but didn’t do. When she thought of Maya, she smiled bitterly and said, “Let’s
just forget it, Liam. Nothing’s gonna work.”
As long as Maya was around, there was no way she’d win anything.
Liam looked serious. “No, I won’t forget it. Let’s wait until the results are out before leaving.”
Seeing how insistent Liam was, Mia changed her mind about leaving. She looked at the panel of judges–they were gathered
together and discussing something. Timothy was in his seat and looking at someone’s designs. They looked like hers, actually.
At this moment, Maya approached them. She said something as she stood beside Timothy. They leaned close to each other and
looked intimate.
Mia felt like she’d been burned. She quickly retracted her gaze.
Meanwhile, Timothy looked up and glanced in her direction. When he saw Liam standing beside her and seemingly comforting
her, his gaze turned icy.
Maya noticed who he was looking at. She suddenly said, “Tim, I’m gonna announce a special prize for Mia.”