Chapter 199 Ultra-High Elimination Rate
Chapter 199 Ultra-High Elimination Rate
Betty's POV
"What did you just say?!"
I was lying back in the recliner getting my nails done, perfectly relaxed, until those words hit me. I shot straight up, my voice jumping about eight octaves. I didn't even notice I'd smeared my freshly painted nails.
"I said Joseph showed up in person as a judge! And right in front of all the media, he announced he came specifically for Sophia, then gave her a perfect score on the spot!" Evelyn ranted, laying it on thick. "Betty, did your brother drink some kind of love potion or something? Pulling strings for her that openly, where does that leave the rest of us?"
My fingers tightened around my phone, knuckles going white. My face twisted with a jealousy I couldn't hide.
My brother actually showed up in person to back Sophia?!
It felt like someone had stuffed a handful of burning kindling into my chest. The jealousy was eating through what little reason I had left.
Joseph was cold and quiet by nature. With me, just the adopted one, he'd always been distant, never warm. I'd spent years trying to win him over and never got so much as an extra glance from him.
So why did Sophia get to walk back into our lives after growing up somewhere else, and suddenly have Joseph lowering himself to show up at some public competition just to support her? Just because she actually shared the Spencer family's blood?!
The bitterness hit me like a wave. A vicious flash crossed my eyes, but I forced it down, and when I spoke, my voice came out soft and wounded, like I was barely holding it together.
"Evelyn, don't say that..." I bit my lower lip, my voice so fragile it sounded like I might cry any second. "She and I aren't blood-related, but since Mom and Dad have accepted her, she's still family. Joseph's always so busy, it makes sense that he'd make time for her. I'm... I'm not upset at all."
"Not blood-related?!" Evelyn zeroed in on that immediately, her eyes lighting up.
It was like she'd just stumbled onto the scandal of the century. Her mind was already spinning out the whole drama.
No wonder Sophia always carried that air of someone who didn't quite belong. No wonder everyone in their circle recognized me as the Spencer family's daughter. Sophia wasn't their real child at all, she was just an adopted girl with no blood ties to the family whatsoever.
The unease Evelyn had been feeling dissolved instantly, replaced by a sharp, contemptuous satisfaction.
"I knew it! That tacky way she carries herself, there's no way she's the real Spencer daughter!" Evelyn laughed coldly, her words cutting like a blade. "No degree, no connections, an orphan who only got a VP position at the branch company because the Spencers took pity on her, and now she has the nerve to show off at an international competition! That perfect score? Pure charity from Joseph. Absolutely shameless!"
Listening to Evelyn tear Sophia apart, I felt a dark, twisted rush of satisfaction. I didn't correct her. Instead, I played along and let out a quiet sigh. "Evelyn, please don't spread this around. She has a lot of pride, I'd hate for her to get hurt..."
"You're just too kind-hearted! That's why two-faced people like her keep walking all over you!" Evelyn snapped, then seemed to remember something, her voice sharpening with urgency. "Betty, you need to wake up! Do you have any idea, this girl who's living off your family's charity actually has her eye on your man!"
I blinked. "What?"
"Joshua!" Evelyn rushed to fill me in on everything that had just happened in the hallway. "She called Joshua right there in front of everyone and basically implied he was her fiancé! Betty, Joshua has been your fiancé since you were both kids, and this shameless adopted girl is out here dropping his name in public to make herself look important. She's clearly trying to use him to climb higher. You cannot let her get away with this!"
The blood drained from my face. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely breathe.
The truth was, I'd never corrected anyone when the rumors spread about me being Joshua's fiancée. I'd let it become part of my image. And now that Evelyn had said it out loud so plainly, I couldn't bring myself to set the record straight, I was terrified of watching the whole carefully built version of myself fall apart.
"I... got it," I managed, keeping my voice as steady as I could, deliberately vague. "Thanks for telling me, Evelyn. Keep an eye on her for me and text me if anything comes up."
"Leave it to me! I'm not letting that fake get away with anything!" Evelyn declared.
The moment I hung up, every bit of the gentle act dropped away.
I stood up sharply and swept everything off my vanity, expensive skincare, perfume bottles, sending it all crashing to the floor.
"Sophia... you little snake! What gives you the right to take my brother's attention?! What gives you the right to have Joshua looking at you?!" I was shaking, my chest heaving, my eyes blazing with something wild and hateful.
There was no way I was going to stand by and watch Sophia plant her feet in the Spencer family. And I absolutely was not going to let her marry into the Foster family.
---
Evelyn's POV
Backstage at the competition, I hung up the phone and leaned out from behind a support column. I fixed my gaze on the direction of Sophia's dressing room, a cold, deliberate smile spreading across my face.
An adopted girl living off the Spencer family's generosity, and she thought she could show off in front of me?
I'd love to see how she held up in the next round without Joseph rigging things behind the scenes. No degree, no real talent, just a fraud. And I was going to expose her in front of everyone.
---
Sophia's POV
The first round came to a close in an atmosphere of intense pressure and stunned silence.
It was never really in doubt. Lisa and I, with our ivory-white gown called "Spring Breeze," took the top spot on the qualifying board, the only team in the entire competition to receive a unanimous perfect score.
Of the two hundred ambitious emerging designers who had walked in before the round, the brutal elimination rules had cut the field in half. Only a hundred teams remained.
The mood in the venue didn't lighten. If anything, it grew heavier.
After a short break, the large screen at the center of the venue lit up again.
The host walked onto the stage, card in hand, expression serious. "Congratulations to the hundred teams still standing, but don't celebrate just yet. Round two will be significantly harder than round one. Only twenty teams will advance."
The room went dead silent, then filled with sharp, collective inhales.
An eighty percent elimination rate. That was brutal.
Then, one by one, rolling racks of old clothing were wheeled out onto the stage by the staff.
The pieces were outdated in style, faded and uneven in color. Some had holes, stains, fraying edges. They gave off the musty smell of things that had been packed away and forgotten.