Chapter 42

Maya walked over to Timothy. “What are you looking at?”

She followed his line of sight and saw Mia. Her expression turned ugly. “I didn’t

expect Ms. Bowen to be so capable. It’s not easy to get into the finals, after all. I

found it weird earlier, but everything’s clear now that I see who her companion is.”

Timothy turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“The man beside her is my cousin, Liam Lane. He’s also an award–winning actor

from Nord City. I didn’t expect to see him here, nor did I expect him to be here with

Ms. Bowen. He’s always kept a low profile and never had any women in his life.”

Maya said these things on purpose. Sure enough, she saw Timothy’s expression turn

icier. She shut her mouth and looked in Mia’s direction. A hint of confusion flashed

in her eyes as she wondered when Mia had gotten to know Liam.

Liam and his brothers were actually quite distant from her and her family. Maya had

heard that it was partly due to the daughter that had gone missing and partly due to

Dominic bringing Maya home from the orphanage to trick their grandmother.

Liam and his brothers hadn’t been happy about Maya taking the missing daughter’s

place, so they’d kept their distance. In truth, Maya wanted to build a relationship

with them, but they always ignored her. It was all because she was nothing but a

replacement.

A trace of hatred flashed in Maya’s eyes. What right did Mia have to be so intimate

with Liam?

Maya looked up at Timothy, “I was really surprised that you were willing to join the

panel of judges, Tim. Thanks for helping me out.”

Timothy grunted in acknowledgment. Then, he turned to head to his seat.

Maya swallowed her resentment and pulled out her phone to text the person in

charge. “Have you done what I told you to do?”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Lane. Everything will go perfectly.”

m

Maya smirked. Tonight, she would show Mia up in front of everyone.

Mia took her seat while Liam sat down in the row behind her. This was because the

11 designers who’d made it to the finals were all seated in the second row.

In the first row were the special guests and judges. Mia watched as Timothy walked in her direction.

Then, he took a seat in the center of the first row. He was diagonally

in front of her.

He crossed his legs casually after sitting down. He exuded the charisma of a mature

man.

Soon, Mia heard the women beside her start to whisper among themselves. “That

man is so handsome. Who is he?”

Mia wasn’t surprised to hear this. After all, Timothy’s looks had also attracted her back in the day.

Shortly after, Shelly tottered toward the first row. Her perfume wafted into Mia’s nostrils. When she saw

Mia, she sat in the seat directly before her.

Mia held her breath. She wasn’t used to such strong perfume. Shelly turned to give her a smug look.

“My perfume’s nice, isn’t it? It was made by a renowned perfumer, and it’s not being sold anymore.”

Mia fanned herself. “Well, that doesn’t mean you need to marinate yourself in it.”

Someone heard this and laughed. This angered Shelly. She glared at Mia. “You’re just jealous that you

won’t get the chance to use this perfume in your life. Also, don’t think you can act all high and mighty

just because you got to the finals based on pure luck.‘

“1

“At least I didn’t cheat or get disqualified because I cheated,” Mia said calmly.

It angered Shelly so much that some of the powder on her face fell off. In the end, she snarled, “I

couldn’t care less about a dumb, nondescript competition like this. Timothy and I are just here to cheer

Maya on. After all, we’re going to be a family in the future.”

So, Timothy had come for Maya?