Ste barely had time to process what was happening when something came flying straight at her.


    Her bodyguards, focused on holding back the surging crowd, never expected anyone to throw something over their heads. For a few seconds, no one reacted.


    Just as the egg was about to hit Ste, someone suddenly stepped in front of her.


    Ste watched, stunned, as Joshua caught several eggs in his hand with almost effortless grace.


    Before she could make sense of it, Joshua casually tossed one back.


    The egg traced a perfect arc through the air and sttered right on the face of a young woman standing at the edge of the crowd.


    A shrill scream rang out as the girl clutched her face, egg yolk and shell dripping from her hair and down her clothes. She looked utterly humiliated.


    The entire scene left everyone, even the most seasoned reporters, momentarily speechless. Then a few stifledughs broke the silence. Some couldn''t resist capturing the spectacle on their phones.


    Ste quickly pieced it together: the girl had tried to nail her with an egg, only for Joshua to intercept and send it right back.


    Now the would-be attacker-her face and hair smeared with sticky egg, shards of shell clinging to her jacket -looked as ridiculous as humanly possible.


    Even the journalists, usually so professional, couldn''t help but snicker at the absurdity.


    The girl wiped gooey egg from her cheek and, her face flushing red with rage, pointed straight at Ste.


    "Everyone, look! Ste just assaulted me in public!"


    Her name was Rowena-Felipa''s best friend. She''de here with one goal: catch Ste in apromising moment, snap some unttering photos, and post them online to smear her reputation.


    But Ste had handled herself wlessly all day, leaving Rowena with nothing. So, like Felipa, she decided if there was no dirt, she''d make some-by hurling an egg and hoping to catch Ste off guard.


    Instead, the only person humiliated was herself.


    The reporters exchanged nces and rolled their eyes.


    One of them quipped, "Miss, I''m pretty sure it wasn''t Ste who threw the egg. If you want to use her, at least try to keep a straight face."


    Another chimed in, "Yeah, we all saw who threw it first. She just gave it back-what, you can throw but can''t take it?"


    Someone else added with mock seriousness, Plenty of people caught that on video, you know. And by the way, Ste''s the charity ambassador for Neo-Vespera. Falsely using her couldnd you in legal trouble."


    Panic flickered across Rowena''s face.


    Ste nced at her once, then said coolly, "Let''s go."


    Abby snorted in disdain and turned to leave.


    Joshua offered Rowena a polite smile. "If you''re looking for payback, you know where to find me."


    —


    That night news broke online: "Ste Throws Egg at Audience Member" Abby quickly traced the source The would-be victim was none other than Felipa''s best friend.


    Abby asked, "Star, do we wait until after thepetition to expose Felipa, or do it now?"


    Ste didn''t hesitate. "Now. There''s no reason to let someone like that stay in the contest."


    She''d tried to give the organizers some face, but Felipa had crossed the line-sending her friend to make a scene was thest straw.


    Abby grinned. "Got it. I''ll take care of it."


    Later that evening, footage from the scene went viral: videos of the car ident and, alongside them, a clip of Ste generously gifting Felipa a violin.