She Walked Away With His Twins While He Begged the Ground She Walked On novel Chapter 155

Miles's brow furrowed with sharp displeasure. "Macy, don't judge people so carelessly. What makes you think he's ugly?"

"Even if his appearance is ordinary, a decent character and a kind heart are far more valuable than a superficial exterior."

Macy pouted. "Miles, I was just making a joke. You don't have to scold me over it."

Jade instantly slipped into her gentle, peacemaker persona.

"Miles, she's still young. Don't be so harsh on her."

She then leaned in and whispered to Macy, "Your brother just holds himself to an impossibly high standard. Everything he does screams old money elegance. Don't take it to heart."

Macy covered her mouth with a giggle. "I know, Jade. I'm not mad at him. You two really are a match made in heaven. He's praised you the exact same way before."

Jade flushed a brilliant shade of pink, shooting Macy a playfully bashful look.

On stage, the emcee wrapped up his introduction, signaling the start of the event.

Macy clacked her thunder sticks together, cheering wildly for Leo.

There were three intense elimination rounds designed to whittle the eight candidates down to a final four.

The first round was visual comprehension—testing the children's ability to articulate an impromptu narrative based on a given image.

The second was an English translation challenge, requiring them to describe an illustration entirely in English.

The final hurdle was a rapid-fire mental math buzzer round, demanding blazing speed and absolute accuracy to advance.

Leo already knew the exact prompts. He had spent hours memorizing his answers at home. For the visual comprehension round, he was perfectly prepared.

He flawlessly recited a three-hundred-word paragraph like a polished essay, drawing roaring applause from the audience.

The crowd was practically buzzing with praise. "This kid's articulation is incredible. He only looked at the picture for three seconds and built such a cohesive narrative!"

"I know, right? Even I would have stuttered through that, and I'm a grown adult."

Then it was Caleb's turn. The image the emcee flashed on the massive high-definition screen was easily ten times more complex than Leo's.

The audience held their breath, exchanging wide-eyed, stunned glances.

The prompt was ridiculously abstract and obscure. Even the adults in the room were scratching their heads, completely lost.

Could a three-year-old genuinely make sense of this?

Pity swept through the crowd as people worried the toddler would crash and burn.

"No! Caleb is definitely going to win first place! He's the best out of all of them!"

Hearing her daughter's fierce belief, Quinn instantly swallowed her own cowardly doubts. If Luna wanted him to win, she shouldn't be secretly hoping he'd lose just to stay hidden.

Since he had worked so hard to get here, he deserved to go as far as his talent could take him!

Yara squeezed both their hands tightly, her eyes flashing with renewed fire. "Quinn, our kids are absolute rockstars!"

"That's right! They're the absolute best!"

Quinn shoved away the last of her anxiety. Caleb was spectacular—the brightest star in the entire room.

We're rooting for you, baby. Can you hear us?

Near the stage, Miles felt a bizarre tightness grip his chest. His deep, predatory gaze locked onto the boy, swirling with unexpected tension.

He found himself genuinely terrified that the boy would freeze up.

He couldn't wrap his head around why he was so emotionally invested in a stranger's child.

Was he still just feeling guilty for the misunderstanding back at the robotics exhibit? Was that why he was rooting for him so hard?