anwhile, the music director at UE was swamped with tasks, juggling coordination with the recording studio to lock in a schedule for recording the song, while also working closely with the marketing departnt to strategically release music snippets at just the right monts.
All of this was in preparation for Logan’s upcoming debut. Yes—Logan Walker was debuting too. And coincidentally, or perhaps not, his debut was set for the sa day as Lucas’, his so-called best friend.
After the championship, Xavier treated Hera and her friends to dinner at a high-end, reserved restaurant with a stunning panoramic view of Paris. As evening fell, the Eiffel Tower lit up in dazzling lights, adding to the enchanting atmosphere. Everyone was in high spirits, congratulating Hera one after another for her well-earned victory.
Athena, in particular, was beaming with excitent, constantly praising Hera for defeating the original female lead. Only the two of them truly understood the deeper aning behind those words.
Since Alice had been rushed to the hospital, no one ntioned her again. She beca like a sewer rat crossing the road—avoided, dismissed, and scorned. Even in the hospital, Alice’s reputation had plumted so drastically that the nurses openly gossiped about her without bothering to hide it.
Speaking in French, they knew she could hear them but simply didn’t care. After all, they were only stating the truth. If Alice couldn’t handle the public opinion, she should never have committed those actions in the first place.
The French, when they were an, could be rciless—and Alice was learning that the hard way. She could only bury her head beneath the hospital quilt, stifling her sobs. The final blow ca when the prestigious organization from their ho country, the sa one that had once nad her second only to Andarta Aria, blacklisted her.
Even though the design she submitted in the semifinals was her original work, no one believed her anymore. That disbelief twisted into a deep bitterness, leaving Alice consud with resentnt over how everything had unraveled.
’This is all that damn whore’s fault! She ruined my na!’ Alice seethed, placing the entire bla on Hera without even a sliver of self-reflection. She refused to acknowledge her own actions, believing with certainty that this wasn’t how things were supposed to be. In her mind, she was ant to be the darling of this world—the star. Yet, day by day, her luck only worsened, and she couldn’t understand why.
After all, Alice had a dream when she was reborn.
She had died unjustly in her previous life, and upon receiving a second chance, she had sworn to climb to the top of the entertainnt industry. She wanted to escape the sa grueling fate, one where she wasn’t even sure if her corpse had been left intact. This ti, she was determined to protect herself, take revenge on those who had wronged her, and make the most of every opportunity.
Part of that dream involved pursuing love—the kind she thought she never had a chance at before. Xavier and Rafael had played crucial roles in her past life. They were her silent supporters, the only ones who seed to believe in her—at least, that’s what she had thought. So, she decided to approach them early in this life, make them fall for her quickly, and secure their protection and influence before anyone else could.
But things hadn’t gone as planned.
When Alice t their entire friend group, she realized Xavier and Rafael weren’t the only exceptional ones. Greed took root. She wanted all five of them for herself and began plotting how to seduce each one. What she didn’t account for, however, was Hera—a wild card she had never seen coming.
The dream she had after her rebirth convinced her that this life was a reward—a cosmic compensation for the injustice she suffered in her past one. She believed the world itself was giving her a second chance and supporting her ascent.
In that dream, she saw herself basking in success, adored and surrounded by the five n who were utterly captivated by her. Hera, by contrast, was nothing more than a dim background figure—soone who couldn’t even hold a candle to her. In fact, Hera had died unjustly in the dream, but Alice barely spared a thought for it.
Still, it was just a dream—vague and fragnted. She couldn’t rember exact details or specific information. All she could recall were the feelings, the adoration, and the intimate monts with those five n.
That was enough for her. It cented her belief that they were ant to be hers, not just Rafael and Xavier anymore, but all five. And so, she treated that dream as a prophecy waiting to be fulfilled.
According to the dream, Hera was supposed to be nothing more than a foil—soone ant to highlight Alice’s brilliance, not compete with it. That’s why, every ti she saw Hera, Alice couldn’t help but look down on her. In her mind, Hera was insignificant, a background character in her story. As that belief solidified, Alice ca to a dangerous realization: maybe she was the world’s favored child.
That thought sent her confidence soaring, and as days passed, her actions beca increasingly bold, even ruthless. She had to be. Hera was sohow claiming every opportunity that should’ve belonged to her, stealing scenes and attention that Alice believed were destined for her alone.
Desperation took root, and Alice began chasing the future she saw in her dream with growing urgency. To her, the dream wasn’t just a fantasy—it was a glimpse into a hidden future, a divine cheat code showing her which paths to choose at each fork in life. She only needed to follow it to get everything she deserved.
Right now, Alice couldn’t help but hate Hera even more, convinced that all of this was her fault.
"Argh!!!" she shrieked, throwing her quilt aside in a fit of rage. She shoved the glass and the pitcher from her bedside table, sending them crashing to the floor. Luckily, she was alone in the private hospital room.
Since the incident happened during an official competition, the organizers felt responsible for her, especially because she was a foreign participant. But despite this obligation, Alice had beco a pariah.
Her actions had caused massive losses, and many staff mbers resented her. Nearly half the staff involved in the bribery and plagiarism scandal were now under investigation, and Alice was also expected to be questioned once she was discharged.
Handling the coordination with the police and overseeing the collection of evidence from the event venue was none other than Antoine; he wasn’t just a regular staff mber of the IGI Expressions Competition, but the event organizer himself, and a close friend of Alexandre, one of the major shareholders. After witnessing what Hera had gone through during the event, Antoine had no choice but to step in personally.
And why had he gone to pick Hera up when she arrived and pretended to be a regular staff?
It was because he had been intrigued—captivated, even—by the mysterious new designer who appeared out of nowhere like a dark horse. He wanted to be the first to lay eyes on her, so he pretended to be part of the IGI Expressions Competition staff.
As it turned out, his instincts had been spot on. The woman in question wasn’t just talented—she was a complete stunner. So much so that even his best friend ended up completely smitten, like a fish caught on a hook... and willingly jumped into the tank himself, sacrificing his freedom for her.
And yes, that best friend he was talking about? It was none other than Alexandre.
After witnessing the quiet tug-of-war between Alexandre and Xavier, Antoine quickly realized he had no chance of joining the fray. If he dared, he might end up as collateral damage in a clash between two titans. Despite coming from a powerful family himself, he was no match for the Arnaults, whose net worth soared into the hundreds of billions.
So, he wisely bowed out of the unspoken competition and took up the best seat in the house—on the sidelines. And from there, he watched sothing that amused him to no end: Xavier hovering around Hera like a fiercely protective hen, while Alexandre played the part of a wounded wolf in sheep’s clothing, angling for sympathy from every possible angle.
Antoine, seeing this rare side of Alexandre for the first ti, was having the ti of his life. He might not have gotten the girl, but he certainly earned himself a golden piece of future blackmail material—one that could cheer him up whenever life hit hard.
All he’d have to do is replay the footage and smugly mutter, "At least I’m doing better than you, Alex. I didn’t have to scramble for a single piece of at or abandon an entire forest just to fight over a tree already claid by vultures."
And so, Athena’s audience grew larger as yet another spectator joined the spectacle. This ti, it was Antoine, adding himself to Alexandre’s silent campaign of tailing Hera. The two self-appointed chaperones "just so happened" to reserve a table right next to hers, feigning it as nothing more than a coincidence. After all, this was their turf. No matter how powerful Xavier’s family might be, Paris wasn’t under their full influence.
Here, Antoine and Alexandre could easily keep up. And while Antoine was clearly just there for entertainnt, Alexandre fully embraced the role of a wounded puppy trailing after its indifferent owner—his pitiful expression as carefully crafted as any performance on a grand stage.
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