Chapter 95
Elara caught only a faint sound, as if something had dropped into the bag.
Before she could react, Charlotte exclaimed, “Oops, sorry—something just fell into your bag."
As she spoke, she reached straight into the bag and pulled something out.
It was calligraphy ink paste.
Elara's heart lurched. She glanced down quickly.
"Ah!"
As if she had seen something horrifying, she screamed on the spot.
Worried about damaging the Forbes Family's image, Cynthia quickly grabbed Elara's arm and hissed: "Don't scream, mind your image."
Elara was already too shaken to speak. She simply opened the bag: "The dress..."
Her cry finally drew everyone’s attention, and they all turned at once.
A dark, inky black stain had splattered across the snow-white dress, instantly staining that corner of the skirt black.
For a moment, the entire group stood stunned.
Everyone had thought that when Charlotte said Sabrina didn't need to compensate for the dress, it meant she was letting the matter drop and backing down.
Instead, she had been waiting for this moment, and struck back at Sabrina with a devastating blow!
Charlotte looked at Sabrina with an innocent smile: "Earlier you ruined my dress by stepping on it, and now I've dirtied yours. We're even."
With that, she pulled Philip and turned to leave.
Suddenly, a strong grip closed around her wrist.
"Charlotte." Alexander's voice was ice-cold, chilling to the bone. "Sabrina already apologized to you. It wasn’t on purpose. Why do you still have to hurt her like this?"
Charlotte turned back , her expression frosty: "If a simple apology could earn forgiveness, then what would be the point of laws? What would be the point of justice? Also, if you care about her so much and don't want her to suffer even the slightest grievance, then tell her to stop acting so shamelessly in front of me from now on."
After a pause, Charlotte emphasized: "Otherwise, I can't guarantee what I'll do next time."
Her gaze dropped: "And let go of me."
Meeting Charlotte's icy stare, a flicker of complex emotion crossed Alexander's eyes.
After releasing his grip, he instinctively wanted to explain: "Actually, I—"
But, before he could finish, Charlotte had already walked away with Philip, never looking back.
Seeing this, Jenna chased after them with delight. "Charlotte, Philip, wait for me."
Calvin was so angry he wanted to rush forward, but Alexander silently held him back.
Frustrated, Calvin kicked the wall hard: "This is infuriating!"
"Her own dress was already ruined, yet she still dragged Sabrina down with her. She's despicable!"
Suddenly, as if as if a new thought struck him: "If you ask me, she definitely had bad intentions from the start."
"She set up this whole trap just to stop Sabrina from winning first place —even if it meant sacrificing her own dress to keep Sabrina off the stage.”
"Yes, that must be it."
Staring at the stained dress in her hands, Sabrina's fingers trembled with rage.
She had poured an entire week of painstaking work into this white dress, even drawing inspiration from Lynn’s earlier pieces.
She had thought that since the parents at this kindergarten were all wealthy, and the invited judges were all master-level figures in the design world, this would be a perfect opportunity to make an impression on them, raise her profile, and clear her name online.
Instead, Charlotte had ruined it all again.
Sabrina ground her teeth in fury.
No! No matter what, she couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
'Charlotte, you just wait! First place can only be mine!' she thought.
In the restroom, Jenna laughed so hard her stomach ached. "Charlotte, well done!"
"You didn't see Sabrina's face just now—she looked like she might twist out of shape with anger."
Philip eagerly claimed credit. "Charlotte, was my ink paste useful?"
Charlotte smiled and gently pinched his soft little cheek. "It was so useful! Thank you, Philip."
Earlier, seeing that Sabrina and the others stubbornly refused to compensate for a change of clothes, and with the competition about to start, Charlotte had decided not to waste any more time arguing.
But refusing to argue did not mean she would let Sabrina off the hook. So she had a flash of inspiration and remembered the calligraphy ink paste Philip had brought to give to his classmates.
If you won’t let me have any peace, Sabrina, then I definitely won’t let you have any either.
Just then, there was a knock on the rest room door.
The teacher overseeing the performance order stepped in with an update.
Because of the earlier incident, the principal had consulted with the judges and decided to schedule both Charlotte's and Sabrina's groups at the end.
Sabrina’s team had already chosen, giving the final performance slot to Charlotte.
After the teacher left, the curious Jenna couldn't resist asking, "Isn't performing last the best position? Given Sabrina's personality, why would she hand such a prime opportunity to you?"
Charlotte smiled knowingly: "In a gala performance, the opening and finale are indeed the most important parts. But in a competition, going last is far from ideal. Think about it—people’s attention and energy have limits. After the judges and audience have watched so many performances, their mental state is no longer what it was at the beginning, so they easily experience aesthetic fatigue and might even overlook the competitors' highlights. There's also an even worse possibility. If everyone just watched a spectacular performance, when they watch the next one, they'll unconsciously compare the two..."
Hearing this, Jenna finally understood: "Now I get it. Sabrina must think she'll outshine you, so she deliberately chose to perform before you. That way, the judges will compare you to her, making your performance seem even more ordinary."
Charlotte nodded. "Exactly."
Jenna clenched her teeth. "She's so sneaky."
But Philip hugged Charlotte's arm and shook gently. "Don't worry, you'll definitely be the best!"
Charlotte's heart warmed: "We should say, we'll be the best."
Without another moment’s delay, Charlotte soon began contemplating the several holes in her dress hem...
Worried that staying in the rest room might disturb her, Jenna quickly took Philip and tiptoed out.
Outside, the competition had already begun.
Not only was the event being livestreamed, but they had also invited some local celebrities and reporters from the city's major media outlets. It truly lived up to the reputation of River City's top kindergarten.
Jenna simply found seats with Philip and prepared to observe the other performances for Charlotte first.
The first to take the stage was a mother-daughter duo performing in an adorable style.
The costumes and performance were fairly standard, but the warm, heartfelt interaction between mother and daughter won them 95 points.
After watching for a while, Jenna suddenly noticed that the parents and children didn't seem very enthusiastic.
After thinking about it, she finally understood the reason.
Earlier backstage, the judges had lavished praise on Sabrina, even claiming that the first place in the competition would definitely go to her.
So after hearing that, the parents lost their drive to compete.
The more Jenna thought about it, the angrier she became. What's so great about graduating from Aurora College?
Back then, if it weren't for her grandfather's poor health and needing to stay in the country to take care of him, Charlotte would also be an Aurora College graduate.
In the rest room, Sabrina gazed at her modified creation with satisfaction.
Calvin was even more effusive in his praise: "This is fantastic! Let's see what Charlotte has to say now!"
But Sabrina turned to Alexander, who had been silent the whole time: "Alexander, what do you think?"