Chapter 44

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.”

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.”