Chapter 247

Chapter 247 Cheating And Elimination Madison held her phone so tightly that she was close to crushing it.

Despite the anger that surged in her veins, she kept a smile on her face aimed at the camera. “There are a few meetings to attend today. It’s close to the end of the year, so Mr. Hadley will have many things to attend to. Mrs. Hadley, I hope you can understand that.”

Hearing that, Christina furrowed her brows. Why does it sound like she’s trying to make me into a bratty woman who refuses to let Nathaniel work?

At that, Christina put on an innocent expression and said, “An assistant’s job is to prepare for the company. I don’t think you need to worry about anything else, do you?”

Madison paled as if someone had embarrassed her on the spot, and the shift in her expression was evident to all. Her gaze flicked toward Nathaniel on the side.

The man in a suit had an apathetic look on his face, and upon squinting, she noticed a hint of red on his white shirt.

Her heart ached, and she squeezed out, “If that’s the case. I won’t disturb you any longer, Mr. Hadley.” With that, she hastily ended the call.

Madison did not know how much longer she could keep it a secret. Every time she saw Christina and Nathaniel together, her heart hurt as if a rusted knife had been dragged across it. The bleeding would not stop.

After breakfast, Nathaniel sent Christina to the entrance of the mansion.

“Don’t overwork yourself,” he softly said to her.

Christina blinked and reassured him. “Relax. I’ll take good care of myself. Once I’m done, I’ll go back by myself. Just focus on your work and don’t worry.”

She knew that Nathaniel had come all the way here for her, and her heart melted at that thought. Once again, she felt motivated.

Giving her a light kiss on her forehead, Nathaniel then said, “Go on.”

Christina exited the car and turned around to give him one last bright smile before heading inside.

The two-day holiday was over, and the other designers were returning to the mansion too.

As the number of participants dwindled, the slots available to go to the next round became lesser.

For the next round-the finals-only the top seven among the ten of them would be able to stay.

At night, Selena appeared and gathered the designers in the living room. Her expression was dark and tinged with anger.

The designers began wondering what had infuriated her.

As Selena put one of the attire from a designer who survived the last round on the table, she said, “This attire is designed well, but the fabric isn’t what we’ve supplied. In other words, this is cheating.”

The designers all stiffened.

Indeed, the fabric was important for the last round. Christina recognized the attire and figured out who the designer was.

Things had been chaotic the night before, and Christina had been too preoccupied with her work to notice the details.

Selena then solemnly uttered. “Phillipa Fisher, please step forward. You’ve used fabric that has not been provided to you, and that is unfair to the other competitors, so you’ve been removed from the competition.”

Phillipa’s face was paler than a sheet. How did I found out? I clearly used something with a similar color to the provided fabric.

Then, her eyes drifted toward Holly Jenson. Back then, Phillipa had been in the front and was able to choose a relatively good fabric.

Holly was in the back, so she was left with no great options. Hence, Holly used a high price to buy another fabric from the outside and offered to trade with Phillipa.

But what am I going to do now that things have gone south?

It seemed like Holly had realized how serious the matter was, for she shot Phillipa a glare, warning her not to say anything about the incident.

What was done was already done. There was no way she was going to get kicked out of the competition with Phillipa-she felt that sacrificing Phillipa was more than enough.

However, there was no way Phillipa would let the matter go so easily. She kept her eyes fixed on Holly as she thought. If I say nothing. I’m definitely going to be blacklisted from now on. But Holly’s family is powerful, and I can’t afford to cross them...

In the end. Phillipa fell to her knees and started bawling, not at all like her earlier arrogant demeanor. She cried out, “I’m so sorry, Ms. Selena! Can you please give me another chance?”

Dignity did not matter anymore. Phillipa’s eyes were red, and she was filled with rage and resentment.

“That’s impossible. If I give you another chance, then I’m being unfair to the designers who have been eliminated,” Selena replied without hesitation.

She was a reputable woman in the industry because she had been a fervent supporter of original works. Holding the competition was for the sake of giving designers from ordinary backgrounds a chance too.

If she were to be biased toward Phillipa at this moment, then what right would she have to claim to be a woman of principles in the future?

“Staff, please take her out of here and not let her disturb the rest of the show,” Selena uttered, her expression steely Hearing that the staff member stepped forward to escort Phillipa out.

The resentment in Phillipa grew, and yet, there was nothing she could do but slink away in defeat.

The room fell silent. No one dared to speak.

If the act of cheating went unpunished, who would ever follow the rules?

Holly was ill at ease, but her anger was targeted toward Christina. She blamed Christina for standing in their way to advancement.

Selena then took out a card and read the rules. “For the next round, you will design an evening gown for me. The first step will be to look at the design drafts, and we’ll pick three excellent works from there. Do your best, and don’t plagiarize.”

That was what hurt Selena most.

It was one thing to lose the competition, for that meant that they still had room for improvement. However, plagiarizing meant that they had lost their confidence.

“Of course, Ms. Selena.”

“You only have one day. I hope you put your all into this.”

With that said. Selena left the mansion.

Designing a draft was easier on the physique than creating the finalized product.

Once Christina was back in the room, she started brainstorming with her tablet. The evening gown was going to design for Selena could not possibly be low profile, but it could not be too eye-catching either, or else she would risk having Selena seem too vain.

Right as she was stuck in an art block, someone knocked on the door.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of Holly.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Christina queried.

she Unlike her usual demeanor, Holly had a smile on her face. “We’re all designers here, so I’ll be honest with you. I’m feeling stressed out by the competition. Do you mind having a drink with me?”

She had two bottles of wine in her hand, and the smile she had on her face was stiff, almost unnatural.

Holly was the leader of the group of designers who graduated from prestigious institutes, and they had always excluded Christina and the other designers who graduated from normal institutes. Moreover, Holly always talked about her social status, so her abrupt change in attitude toward Christina was baffling.

Christina glanced at the wine bottles in her hand. If it was another time, perhaps she would have indulged. Holly, but she was currently in a competition. What she needed was a sober mind. How else was she going to come up with her piece without it?

Furthermore, Holly always scowled at her. Holly could not possibly expect Christina to respond in a friendly manner just because she had a sudden change in attitude.

Thus, Christina said, “No thanks. Why don’t you spend more time on your draft instead.“

With that said, she made to close the door.

The rejection was like a stab to Holly’s pride. She quickly extended her foot to stop the door from closing before forcing another smile onto her face.

“You’re right. Why don’t we have a drink and talk about the design, then? Have you come up with any ideas yet? What about the theme?”