Chapter 102

"Mom, Mommy, this is amazing! Selina won the championship!" Ashley's smile felt frozen, her inner feelings obscured by the words.

"Did Selina come up with this design?" Sara was stunned by the sketches' creativity and detail. While she wouldn't have been surprised if Ashley, with her interest in jewelry design, had created "Shackled Hearts," it was Selina! Sara pinched herself, hard. The pain confirmed it wasn't a hallucination. She was thunderstruck that this countryside girl, missing for twenty-one years and without a high school diploma, could design such a breathtaking piece. Trevon's lips curved slightly as he turned to head downstairs.

"Wait for me, Trevon…" Charley knew Trevon was eager to see his wife and wanted to join the excitement. Edwin promptly grabbed him. "Give it up, Charley. If you keep this up, I won't be able to save you from Trevon's wrath." Trevon, mellowed since finding his wife, would have otherwise dealt with Charley's troublemaking far more harshly.

Ashley watched helplessly as Trevon rushed to Selina, jealousy consuming her. Why did good things always happen to Selina, and never to her?

"Oops!" Timothy snapped back to attention, quickly pulling out his phone to contact his assembled reporters. Without explicitly aiming to ruin Selina's reputation through negative press—a tactic too obvious and easily traced—Timothy had manipulated media coverage of the event, instructing them to highlight the winners, especially Selina.

But everything had backfired! Selina had won first place, shattering Timothy's plans and rendering his potential partnership with Angel null. Clark Jewelry was relegated to second place.

Just as Timothy was about to call, a TikTok trend notification popped up. “[The Sokovis Jewelry Design Contest Concluded Successfully, Champion Revealed!]” A second later, his Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and other social media accounts were flooded with trending notifications. Timothy's behind-the-scenes marketing accounts had promptly placed the results on the trending list, creating an instant sensation.

Furious, Timothy dialed. "Are you out of your mind? Why the rush?! Take it down now!"

The person on the other end was confused. "Mr. Clark, didn't you want us to do this?"

"Just take it down!!!" Timothy snapped. The news had only been trending briefly, but deleting it would create a significant splash for Selina.

The trend was quickly removed, but before Timothy could breathe, a new trend appeared: “[The Sokovis Jewelry Design Contest—A Goddess Among Us!]” Clicking, Timothy saw a picture of Selina. She was strikingly beautiful, her eyes captivating. This was just a photograph; in person, she was even more mesmerizing.

Chapter 109

Likes, shares, and comments soared.

[I just saw the trend and clicked. My eyes! Isn't she a goddess?] [Wait, isn't this beauty the lead guitarist from the viral band The Rose a while back?] [Now that you mentioned it, I remember! That unique face is so recognizable! It's easy to tell it's her!] [OMG! A jewelry designer and an underground rock star, beautiful with long legs, she's like an ethereal fairy!] [What I'm into is the ship of Selina and the mysterious hunk. Those photos where their gazes tangle up are what's keeping me going these days!]

Timothy made another angry call. "Didn't I tell you to pull the trend? What are you, just loafing around eating all day?"

"No, Mr. Clark, we pulled the trend. This one's a grassroots trend; it shot up on its own, now topping the list!"

"I don't care what it costs, take it down! I don't want to see anything about Selina on the trends again! And have you lost your mind? Why would you release such a flattering photo of her?"

"Mr. Clark, it's not us, for real. Out of all the photos we found of Selina, this was the least attractive one…"

"Anyway, solve it quickly!" Timothy's command worked, and the trend was swiftly removed. This unintended promotion, however, made Selina even more popular online.

Unaware of her online popularity, Selina would have laughed if she knew Timothy was shooting himself in the foot.

After his outburst, Timothy glanced at his phone and saw Selina's photo… and, seemingly possessed, found it attractive and secretly saved it.

Ashley witnessed this. Jealousy surged. Selina was trending with compliments, capturing Trevon's attention. "Mummy, Timothy, I need to go to the bathroom," Ashley said, fleeing before a reply. She couldn't maintain her composure against her rising envy.

On stage, the champion's central position was reserved for the winner, with runners-up on either side. Derrick was beside Selina, but Manuel was absent. "Could designer Manuel please come to the stage to accept his award?"

Only after several calls did Manuel react, clenching his fists. He knew going onstage meant facing Selina's supposed ridicule, but refusing would dishonor the Harvey family. He couldn't afford to lack grace. Every step felt heavy. He braced himself for Selina's scorn, only to find she was cheerfully talking with Derrick.

Being ignored was even more painful. His past doubts and humiliations felt like invisible, stinging slaps.

When Manuel reached her, Selina said, "Congrats on the runner-up."

Manuel was speechless.