As Howard finished speaking, Tessa started to panic.
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If it turned out Xylia really was the designer behind the dress, Tessa would have just gone and smeared Xylia’s name in front of everyone–live on national TV, no less.
The thought of embarrassing herself on a broadcast watched by the whole country made her stomach drop.
It hit herte, but now regret was gnawing at her, realizing what she’d done.
With the investigation underway, the awards ceremony came to a halt and the live stream was shut down.
The broadcast was shut down.
Xavi couldn’t hold back his anger any longer and shot Tessa a hard look.
“Ms. Schultz, you better remember this–if the investigation proves you wrongly dragged Ms. Sadler into this, then you’ll be responsible for every bit of damage thispetition has suffered,” he said, his tone icy.
Joshua got up and walked onto the stage, offering his hand to Xylia as she stepped down.
He spoke in a deceptively casual tone, but his words cut sharp.
“And about the crap you just said about my girlfriend–I’m not one to let that slide. If the investigation shows everything you imed was fake, I’ming after you for defamation. Rest assured, Garcia Group’swyers are the best in the business,” he said.
Joshua’s voice stayed light, but there was a cold edge to it that chilled Tessa to the bone.
She felt a cold shiver run down her back.
But she quickly snapped back to reality.
‘They’re just trying <i>to </i>intimidate me,’ she thought.
She’d seen Xylia’s dress designs in the lounge earlier–absolutely none of them looked like the one that model was wearing.
Xylia’s only been a designer for a few months. There’s no way she pulled off something as incredible as entry number six on her own.
No way she did this by herself–someone must’ve helped her cheat.
Even if the investigators went through every inch of Xylia’s office, they wouldn’t find a damn thing.
With that thought, Tessa started to rx, her confidenceing back.
She shot Xylia a contemptuous look. “I stand by everything I said and did. But if my dear sister’s the one who slipped up, Mr. Garcia–and all you organizers–don’t let her off the hook just because she’s got Mr. Garcia in
<b>Sun</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>
her corner.”
Even with everything that had happened, Tessa was still hell–bent on ming Xylia for all of it.
Connor was starting to think she was beyond saving.
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The audience still hadn’t left, and just as Connor was about to speak, an event official strode in and walked straight up to him.
“Connor, our investigation shows you weren’t originally on the judges‘ panel–you were brought in out of nowhere. Word is, you got in by cozying up to Secretary Li. On behalf of the organizers<b>, </b>I’m here to officially strip you of your judge status,” the official announced.
As soon as the official finished speaking, a wave of whispers swept through the crowd.
“Turns out the real backdoor deal was someone else!”
“All that talk about Ms. Sadler cheating, but Mr. Ford’s tight with Ms. Schultz. If she really cheated, no way Mr. Ford votes for her. Are those two even working together? Do they have any clue what the other’s doing?”
“Wait, isn’t Ms. Schultz kind of familiar? Is she a celebrity or something?”
“Oh, right! She was a top dancer back in the day–crazy famous in the dance world. Didn’t she quit a while ago?”
“Ohe on! I heard she’s about tond a TV role. Do these celebs even care about their public image anymore? Why would she get herself tangled up in all this drama?”
As soon as Tessa realized someone had recognized her, she instantly ducked her head to avoid attention.
‘Why do they have to spot me at the worst possible moment?‘ Tessa thought.
Connor, dragged into this mess thanks to Tessa, his face had turnedpletely ashen.
And of course, Joshua just had to twist the knife, showing zero mercy as he piped up to Connor. “Ms. Schultz has been gunning for my girlfriend from the start, always talking about cheating–who would’ve thought your ‘husband‘ is the one who really pulled strings to sneak in?”
“We’re not married!” Tessa snapped back, her voice sharp.
<b>Tessa </b>shot back without missing a beat.
Now that people in the audience had spotted her, she couldn’t risk them finding out about her wedding ns.
Getting hitched would be a total buzzkill for her showbiz career.
Connor looked like he’d swallowed a lemon, his face going even paler.
Xylia looked from Tessa to Connor, trying to read their faces.
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She thought<b>, </b>‘Guess they’re not as picture–perfect <b>as </b>they pretend to be after all.
Joshua noticed Xylia’s gaze and, a little possessive, tilted her chin up, making her meet his eyes.
“Hey, what are you looking at?” he asked, sounding a bit moody.
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Xylia, sensing the jealousy rolling off him, blinked yfully. “Just admiring my boyfriend–he’s seriously handsome!” she teased.
Joshua couldn’t help but grin.
He took Xylia’s hand and led her out of thepetition venue.
“Take all the time you need for the investigation, but I expect my girlfriend’s name to be cleared when it’s done,” Joshua said, his tone unwavering.
The designpetition hosted by Quezada & Co. was now in shambles, all thanks to Tessa’s sabotage–its reputationpletely shot.
The whole thing reeked of unfairness now.
The venue was forced to clear out in a hurry.
The awards ceremony would have to wait until the investigation was done.
Josie followed the event officials back to the studio.
Meanwhile, Joshua took Xylia to a private lounge set up by the organizers–for the sake of appearances, of
<b>course</b>.
Now it was just Joshua and Xylia in the lounge.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Joshua pulled Xylia into a tight embrace, lowering his head to gently squeeze her cheek–as if settling some scores.
“You checked Connor out three times just now,” he grumbled, obvious jealousy in his tone.
Xylia felt his yful grip on her face, her eyes widening in disbelief.
“Are you really this petty? Actually counting how many times I nced at him?” she shot back, half amused, half exasperated.
‘Is he for real? Who even does that–keeping tabs like some jealous boyfriend?‘ she thought.
“I’m not petty. <b>I </b>just don’t like you looking at him,” he said, his voice low and serious.
Xylia swatted his hand away and looked up at him, a teasing smile tugging at her lips.
“What about Xavi? Can I look at him?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nope. I don’t like you looking at any guy but me,” he said, his tone firm.
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There was a sulky undertone in his words–even though it sounded like he was pouting, Joshua’s face was all
serious.
Seeing that, Xylia started to wonder if he actually meant it.
She shot Joshua a cautious look.
“Wait, are you one of those crazy possessive boyfriends from web novels? Is it illegal for me to even talk to other guys now? What’s next, are you gonna lock me in some golden cage?” Xylia joked, side–eyeing him, half teasing and half testing how far he’d <ol><li>go. </li></ol>
Joshua seemed to actually stop and weigh her words, like he was genuinely considering whether her ‘suggestion‘ was doable.
“Honestly, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Joshua replied, sounding way too serious forfort.
Xylia, fed up, gave him a yful punch. “You’re too much!”
With a pitiful look, Joshua scooted over and hugged her again.
“Then say you love me,” he murmured, sounding shameless.
Xylia stared at Joshua, totally at a loss–her ears had gone pink. ‘Why’s heying it on so thick?‘ she thought.
“Don’t be so cheesy,” Xylia grumbled, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Cheesy? How is saying ‘I love you‘ cheesy? Whatever, I don’t care–I need to hear it,” Joshua shot back,ying on the puppy eyes. “I get insecure, okay?”
He was in full clingy boyfriend mode now.
Xylia let out a helpless sigh and hugged him back. “How could you feel insecure?”
‘Did I do something that made him feel that way?‘ she wondered, puzzled.
“I just feel like I’m never your number one. Whether it’s work or some other guy, it’s like I could be reced at the drop of a hat,” Joshua admitted, his voice raw and honest.
Joshua was beingpletely sincere now.
Xylia could hear the heavy disappointment in his voice, and it made her chest ache,
‘A sharp ache gripped Xylia’s heart, so sudden and piercing she almost couldn’t breathe.’
Xylia hugged Joshua even tighter, gently patting his back tofort him.
“You could never be reced,” Xylia whispered softly, conviction in her voice. “To me, you’re one of a kind— my one and only boyfriend.”
“Say you love me,” Joshua whined, not above begging just to hear her say it.
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“Obviously I love you–why else would I put up with you?” Xylia teased, but her words were full of warmth.
That did it—Joshua looked instantly relieved, all the poutiness melting away as he basked in her reassurance.
Joshua absolutely hated the way Connor kept eyeing Xylia,‘ he thought, the jealousy almost making his skin crawl.
‘And thest thing he wanted was for Xylia to eveny eyes on Connor–it’d just drag up all that old hurt from her past,‘ he told himself firmly.
‘He never saw Connor getting mixed up in thispetition. If he’d known ahead of time, he would’ve made damn sure Connor was nowhere near it,‘ Joshua mused, his regret clear.
<b>***** </b>
Meanwhile, after Connor was escorted out, something about Xylia’sst name suddenly hit him.
‘Why did she choose the name Sadler?‘ he wondered, his mind racing.