Billionaire And His Son Betrayed Me: Brothers Back Me Up novel Chapter 221

Chapter 221

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Chapter 221

Tessa sat in the audience, her face a mask of indifference as she watched the fashion show unfold.

But inside, she was burning with anticipation. She couldn’t wait for the models wearing Xylia’s designs to step out–then the whole room would finally see it for themselves.

‘Xylia is nothing but a publicity–chasing phony, Tessa thought bitterly to herself.

‘She doesn’t even deserve to be called a designer!‘

“Wow! That dress is stunning!” someone in the crowd gasped.

“Seriously, it’s gorgeous! I thought the first few models were amazing, but this dress blows them all out of the water!” another person exclaimed.

“Have you guys noticed? It’s not just some fancy gown–it’s actually super versatile. You could totally wear it out for something casual and it would still look incredible!” a third voice chimed in.

“I already voted–this dress totally deserves MVP today!” someone else declared.

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The show wasn’t even over yet, but Tessa could already hear bursts of admiration from behind her.

Joshua gave Xylia’s hand a gentle squeeze, leaning in close to her ear, his voice playful and a little flirty.

“Hear that? Everyone can’t stop talking about your designs,” he murmured, grinning.

Xylia looked at Joshua with clear confusion, her eyes narrowing. ‘Wait, I never actually showed you any of my designs,‘ she thought, her suspicion growing.

“I’m pretty sure I never let you see the clothes I made,” she said quietly.

Joshua really had been hanging around her studio lately, but whenever she was working, she kept him at arm’s length. That way, he ended up stuck in the office–he definitely hadn’t gotten a peek at her new designs.

Joshua flashed her a sheepish grin.

Xylia could tell in a heartbeat–he’d definitely sneaked a look at her designs behind her back.

She couldn’t even bring herself to be upset; honestly, Joshua was just acting like a big kid.

He snuggled up against Xylia’s shoulder, clinging to her like a big, needy puppy and not caring one bit how he looked.

“The moment I laid eyes on your finished designs, I just knew you had the win in the bag,” Joshua said, his voice brimming with pride.

Xylia really wasn’t used to this much PDA, especially out in public.

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Chapter 221

She gave her shoulder a light shake. “Hey, seriously, we’re out here in the open.”

“Whatever, I’m not shy,” Joshua replied, flashing a carefree grin.

Xylia just rolled her eyes. ‘Like I care whether you’re shy or not,’ she thought.

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Joshua was absently playing with Xylia’s hand, and since everyone nearby was glued to the runway, she just let him be, not bothering to stop his antics.

He lounged against her shoulder, sunglasses already discarded. Joshua glanced up at the judges‘ table, locking eyes with Connor.

The moment their gazes met, a smug smile tugged at Joshua’s lips.

Without missing a beat, he raised his free hand and slowly flipped Connor off.

Connor, on the other hand, was absolutely livid.

But with Joshua’s blatant provocation staring him down, all Connor could do was grit his teeth and plot his revenge, thinking darkly, ‘Just wait, one day I’ll make you pay for this!

Tessa sat through the whole show, eyes fixed on the runway, but that dress Xylia designed? She never saw it once. ‘What’s going on? Did I miss it?‘ she wondered, feeling more and more frustrated.

She had gotten a good look at Xylia’s gown backstage earlier, so she hadn’t even bothered paying attention to the number back then–she was so sure she’d recognize it when it showed up.

Now she couldn’t help but suspect–had Xylia swapped out her design at the last minute or something?

Or maybe word got out about her sneaky connections, so she bailed before things got messy?

But the organizers didn’t say anyone had dropped out, which just left Tessa even more confused.

The judges began to vote, chatting about which outfit on the runway had truly wowed them.

In the end, they all unanimously went for number 6.

And number 6? That was Xylia’s design.

When the host finally announced the winner, both Connor and Tessa froze in shock.

Connor’s eyes widened as he stared at the screen. “That name–Xylia? Since when did she start calling herself that?‘ he wondered.

‘Did she really just change her last name?‘

‘Is she really so desperate to avoid me she’d change her whole name for it?‘ Connor thought bitterly.

Tessa was so stunned that Xylia had actually won, she didn’t even notice the whole last–name change thing at

all.

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Chapter 221

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When she saw Xylia going up to accept her award, Tessa literally jumped up from her seat.

Not caring one bit that she’d already made a scene before, she just went off again—yelling right at the stage like nothing could stop her.

“She didn’t even have a single outfit walk the runway, and she still gets the prize? Are you kidding me—isn’t this just a total scam? Seriously, can none of you see what’s going on?”

Tessa’s words left everyone in the room completely baffled.

Number 6 was that stunning dress that had blown everyone away.

The audience had been raving about it all night, so when it won, nobody thought twice about it.

From what Tessa was saying, it almost sounded like that dress wasn’t even Xylia’s design.

Tessa’s never–ending antics were really starting to get on Xavi’s nerves. As the main organizer, he looked more and more fed up with the whole mess.

He shot Connor a pointed look and frowned.

“Mr. Ford, your person keeps causing drama at our competition again and again. Seriously, aren’t you going to step

in and do something about it?”

Connor wasn’t a fan of Xavi lecturing him, honestly–it always rubbed him the wrong way.

But even he had to admit, Tessa was seriously out of line this time.

‘How did I never spot Tessa going after Xylia so hard before?‘ Connor thought, a surge of annoyance rising up inside him.

It was pretty obvious–Tessa had been trashing Xylia non–stop all day, but she didn’t have a single shred of evidence to back it up.

And now, at the end of the competition, she was pulling yet another stunt.

At this point, anyone could see she was just trying to stir up trouble on purpose.

Connor turned to Tessa, his voice cold and angry.

“Cut it out–not here.”

“Me? I’m the one causing trouble?” Tessa snapped, clearly pissed that Connor was sticking up for Xylia. “Connor, so you’re really just going to trust her and not me now?”

Tessa totally ignored Connor’s warning, marching a couple steps forward before turning around to face the

entire crowd.

“Everyone, listen! I went backstage today and saw what Xylia Schultz actually designed–it was nothing but a black lace top and a skirt. Definitely not that gorgeous number 6 dress everyone’s raving about!”

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Chapter 221

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“I called her outfit ugly in the dressing room, so she must’ve gotten all salty. Then she used Mr. Garcia’s connections to swipe another designer’s masterpiece, threw any old dress at the real designer, and now she’s trying to steal someone else’s glory!”

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