The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet

The organizer stepped forward, addressing Thalassa with a tone of compromise. "Ms. Everhart," he began, "let's make a deal. For Mr. Sinclair's sake, we'll let this whole situation slide. It won't go public, and you're still welcome in the design world. How about you gracefully bow out of this competition, as if you never participated? Deal?"

Thalassa's heart clenched, and she immediately refused. "I'm sorry, Cody, but we need to get to the bottom of this issue, and I cannot withdraw from the competition."

If she let this go without contesting, everyone would assume she used cheap plastic to craft jewelry and even accused her of endangering customers with tacky designs. Her reputation would be tarnished beyond repair.

Cody's promise of silence didn't mean the story wouldn't leak. Bad news always has a way of spreading far and wide, a truth known since time immemorial.

She couldn't naively take Cody at his word.

Besides, if she didn't clear the air now, she'd lose any future chance to explain herself.

Now was the best opportunity to prove her innocence. Missing it would mean no amount of damage control could cleanse her name afterward.

"You-" Cody choked on his words, frustration evident as he exhaled sharply.

If it weren't for Lysander's influence, he would've had her escorted out already.

Thalassa defended herself, "I submitted my jewelry piece to the organizing team last night, encased in a delicate blue box. Every material I used is genuine. Pure platinum and sapphires-nothing of mine is plastic!"

"How could that be? I'm the model showcasing your designs. When I received the piece, it was nothing but cheap plastic! Are you accusing the show's crew of stealing your real jewelry now?" Susan sneered with doubt.

The crowd's opinion leaned towards Susan since Thalassa lacked physical proof. Empty claims held no weight.

Thalassa firmly countered Susan, "Is it possible you switched them?"

1

"You're accusing me!" Susan panicked her eyes darting and breathing uneven, "I was under constant surveillance while wearing the jewelry. How could I possibly switch it? You're clearly lying!"

Susan insisted, "You're just a nobody from the sticks, barely two years into college and without a diploma! What

makes you think you can in

a jewelry design competition? You've never held a decent job in your life. Where would you get the money for real jewelry? You're poor and desperate for fame, so you resorted to using plastic, thinking you could fool everyone. But the audience isn't blind!"

To lend credence to her claims, Susan loudly outed Thalassa's background.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Claiming she was a nobody from the countryside, too poor to afford genuine materials for her designs.

"Really, a country girl in a high-end jewelry design competition? What a joke!"

"Ha, what a farce," someone in the audience jeered, igniting a wave of mockery towards Thalassa.

Though Lysander's presence prevented physical confrontation, his current involvement with Rosalind emboldened the crowd. They pointed and sneered at Thalassa, their words sharp and merciless.

Their taunts buzzed in Thalassa's ears, a relentless swarm. The public humiliation was suffocating, her face pale with distress.

Yes, she didn't finish college, but every design was her creation. To have her past laid bare was a humiliation beyond words.

As Thalassa felt a chill envelop her, the entrance door swung open, and a confident male voice filled the room, "Who said she's from the countryside? She is the daughter of the Whitman family, a true heiress!"