That final, decisive vote officially flipped the game on its head. The girls were now the knights, and the guys were the princesses.
Vivienne immediately shot Marissa a knowing look. Understanding the cue, Marissa led the staff through the crowd, distributing the roses to every girl present.
Lara was utterly blindsided. Her meticulously plotted moment in the sun had just been hijacked to glorify someone else.
Consumed by bitter resentment, she waited for Vivienne to step off the stage, then lunged forward, grabbing her wrist and yanking her into a secluded corner.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
Vivienne rubbed her aching wrist. "Did what on purpose?"
Lara was practically vibrating with rage. "You knew you couldn't compete with me, so you just rigged it so the girls couldn't even participate as princesses!"
Vivienne actually laughed. "Is your worldview really that narrow? Well, there's no helping you, then. I've done all I could."
"Cut the act," Lara hissed. "Other people might buy your fake innocence, but I don't. Listen to me, Vivienne Lexton. You just crossed a line, and you'd better watch your back."
Vivienne simply shrugged.
Lara flashed a tight, venomous smile, shoved Vivienne hard, and spun around, marching fiercely back into the crowd.
Marissa happened to walk past and politely offered her a red rose. Without even sparing it a glance, Lara swatted the flower to the floor and stormed off toward the society matrons, never once looking back.
"Some people just refuse to wake up," Vivienne murmured, bending down to retrieve the discarded rose.
Just then, someone brushed past her. Vivienne instinctively reached out and grabbed the girl's arm.
Aurelia gasped sharply. She had been shoved down the stairs by Lara earlier that afternoon, and the scrape on her arm was still raw. Vivienne's grip had landed squarely on the tender injury.
"Oh, my bad. I didn't mean to do that," Vivienne apologized with an innocent expression, holding out the rose. "Here. For you."
A flash of wariness crossed Aurelia's eyes as she ducked her head and took the flower. "Thanks," she whispered, before instantly slipping away into the crowd.
Vivienne smiled, standing on her tiptoes to peer over the guests. She had no idea what Aurelia was trying to hide from. With that glaring, neon-green status tag floating above her head, there was absolutely nowhere she could hide.
Oh!
And then there was that newly updated tag.



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