Chapter 262

Chapter 262

The moment Alexander opened his mouth, Jenna immediately stepped in front of Charlotte. "Mr. Forbes, Charlotte has nothing to say to you. Please leave."

Seeing Jenna blocking his path, Alexander's expression darkened.

Before he could speak again, Lucas positioned himself between Alexander and Jenna. "Mr. Forbes, you're already divorced. Why keep pushing?"

Mid-sentence, Lucas suddenly shot Jenna a pained look. "I'm trying to help you here, and you're stepping on my foot?"

Jenna lifted her foot, looking utterly unapologetic. "I don't need your help."

Watching Jenna's attitude toward Lucas, Charlotte couldn't help but find it amusing. At least it gave her an opening to speak.

"Alexander, just go. We really have nothing to discuss."

Alexander swallowed his irritation. "Charlotte, I came here to give you friendly advice—drop out of the competition."

"Because no matter what you do, you can't beat Sabrina."

Charlotte laughed in disbelief. "Can't beat Sabrina? Drop out? Friendly advice? Alexander, did you forget to take your meds today?"

Alexander frowned. "Meds? Why would I need meds?"

Charlotte's voice turned icy. "Because you're sick!"

Alexander's face darkened with anger. "Charlotte—"

Before he could finish, Charlotte had already linked arms with Jenna. "Jenna, the air quality here is terrible. Let's go."

Jenna shot Alexander a gleeful look. "Absolutely. Everything was fine until Alexander showed up and killed the mood."

The moment Charlotte and Jenna left, Lucas couldn't stick around either. He hurried after them.

But not before throwing one last jab at Alexander. "Mr. Forbes, if you're sick, get treatment. The sooner, the better!"

Watching Lucas's smug retreat, Alexander's fists clenched involuntarily.

Sabrina quickly approached, gently placing a hand on his arm. "Alexander, don't let it get to you. Your health is what matters."

Calvin walked over as well. "Alexander, next time I'll find a chance to teach Lucas a lesson for you. Get some payback."

Alexander shot him an exasperated look. "Forget it. Just stay away from them—that would help me more."

Calvin and Sabrina both lowered their heads.

'She's even won over a troublemaker like Lucas? Charlotte, you really have some skills,' they thought bitterly.

All ten contestants assembled backstage right on time.

Some of the early arrivals, however, couldn't keep their mouths shut.

"So who do you think will win? Sabrina or Charlotte?"

"Who knows? But those two have completely stolen the spotlight this competition."

"If you ask me, Sabrina has the better odds."

The others pressed for details. "Why?"

The contestant who'd spoken glanced around conspiratorially. "You guys haven't heard? Apparently, the moment Mr. Lewis arrived in River City for the finals, he met with Sabrina. They even had dinner together."

A collective murmur of understanding rippled through the group.

The contestant continued, "Last time in the semifinals, the only reason Sabrina came in second to Charlotte was because of that hot springs resort incident. Otherwise, who knows who would've won?"

The others nodded knowingly.

Looked like the finals were going to be interesting.

Charlotte arrived backstage just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. She said nothing, and even pulled Jenna back when her friend moved to defend her.

There was no point saying anything now. Once they were on stage, everything would speak for itself.

The finals finally began.

The ten contestants took their seats and focused intently on bringing to life the designs already etched in their minds.

Time ticked away.

Down in the audience, Alexander found his fists clenching involuntarily.

This time, Sabrina had to win!

Not just for Sabrina's sake—but for the Forbes Group's.

Thanks to Zenith Enterprises Group's aggressive tactics, the Forbes Group's business had taken a serious hit lately. Even some long-standing clients had been poached by Zenith.

So beyond his ongoing business battles with Landon, he needed Sabrina to win the championship title to restore the Forbes Group's reputation.

And Nova's contract was about to expire with still no indication of renewal. His only hope now rested entirely on Sabrina's shoulders.

If Sabrina won the championship, it would not only help the Forbes Group regain ground—there was also a strong chance Nicholas would take her on as his student. She could quickly become the next Nova!

And then Landon and Charlotte wouldn't stand a chance against the Forbes Group!

"Nervous?"

A low male voice suddenly spoke beside him.

Alexander snapped back to reality, quickly unclenching his fists. "Nervous? What are you talking about?"

Landon's lips curved in an ambiguous smile. "Good. Then just enjoy the competition."

With that, Landon settled into his seat with Philip.

Alexander had just started to relax when Philip asked his father, "Daddy, Charlotte's definitely going to win, right?"

Landon nodded. "Yes. Absolutely."

Hearing this, Alexander felt an uncomfortable tightness in his chest.

But with Landon present, he couldn't—and wouldn't dare—argue with a child.

In that moment, he desperately wished Calvin would jump in and fire back on his behalf.

Unfortunately, Calvin had just been humiliated by Lucas, and even he wasn't stupid enough to provoke Landon. So he kept his mouth shut.

Alexander shot him several pointed looks, but Calvin remained completely unresponsive. Alexander mentally cursed him: 'Useless!'

Meanwhile, Philip chattered away happily beside them.

At the same time, Jordan was at home, packing his luggage with barely concealed frustration.

He'd been waiting for the right moment to give Charlotte the bracelet and confess his feelings.

But lately, Charlotte had been caught up in the design competition, one crisis after another.

To avoid distracting her, he'd forcibly suppressed his intentions.

When Debra told him about Charlotte's trip to the mountains and the incident at the hot springs resort, his first instinct had been to rush to her side and comfort her.

But every time he called, Charlotte was busy—either with work or competition prep.

He couldn't bring himself to ask her out for a meal.

Left with no other option, he'd pinned his hopes on Lucas.

But lately, Lucas had been oddly distracted and hadn't managed to arrange a single meeting with Charlotte.

Finally, when he learned today was the finals, he'd planned everything perfectly. He'd cleared his entire schedule to attend and cheer Charlotte on, then take her to dinner and confess.

But this morning, he'd been woken by a call from the hospital administration.

There was an important international medical conference, and they specifically requested his attendance.

He couldn't refuse. Given the director's serious tone, he reluctantly agreed and began packing for the trip.

As he walked out the door, Jordan told himself that the moment the seven-day conference ended, he'd rush back and confess to Charlotte.

What he didn't know was that in seven days, his chance would be gone completely.