The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 141

Chapter 141 The Furnace of Applause 2

Eve’s POV

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The MC began to introduce the concept of the competition, building anticipation with every pause, making the audience lean in. He spoke as if he was revealing secrets, as if he was handing them something

exclusive.

“And who will be deciding their fate?” he asked, stretching the question long enough that people started

chanting before he even answered.

He grinned.

“Our judges.”

The first name rolled off his tongue with a practiced rhythm, he didn’t say it yet; he prepared them for it.

He talked about “star power,” “global influence,” “icons,” and the crowd grew louder with each word.

Eve felt Ryan’s hand shift slightly on his thigh, as if his body was unconsciously bracing.

The MC lifted the microphone closer.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, voice rising like a drumroll, “put your hands together for… TEVIN!”

The studio exploded.

It wasn’t applause. It was a detonation.

Screams tore through the air like fireworks. People jumped to their feet. Phones flashed as if the room had become a night club. Someone near the front yelled Tevin’s name so loudly it cracked.

Eve felt it in her ribcage, applause that hit like a physical thing.

Tevin walked out with the kind of smile that said he expected nothing less.

He moved like praise was background noise and power belonged to him by right. He waved at the crowd, turning slightly so the cameras could catch his best angles. His outfit was stylish, modern, curated for the

exact kind of attention he was receiving.

He took his seat at the judges’ table with effortless authority, leaning back as if he was settling into a

throne.

Eve didn’t react outwardly.

But inside, something old shifted.

Not fear.

Not jealousy.

Just memory.

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Chapter 141 The Furnace of Applause 2

Frenando’s.

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The night she had seen him there, seen Ryan there, and felt her world crack in silence while everyone else

laughed.

Even now, even when she had built a new life, new boundaries, new strength, some memories came back

like a taste in the back of the throat.

Bitter.

Unwanted.

The MC waited, letting the crowd burn itself out, then raised his eyebrows as if asking them if they had

more.

They did.

He laughed, pleased.

“Oh, you think that’s all?” he teased. “Oh no. No, no, no. We’re just getting started.”

He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice, drawing them into suspense.

“And now… the man you’ve been begging for. The man you’ve been screaming about on social media. The

man who needs no introduction,”

He paused.

The crowd began to chant in anticipation, as if they already knew.

Eve held still.

The MC’s grin widened.

“MAXWELL!”

The reaction was even wilder.

As if the studio had been waiting for this second explosion to justify the first.

Maxwell entered with a swagger that matched the noise. He didn’t look surprised. He didn’t look humbled. He looked entertained, like the crowd was performing for him.

He approached the judges’ table and clasped Tevin’s hand in a grip that was half greeting, half display. They laughed together, leaning in close enough for cameras to capture the “friendship,” the “energy,” the

iconic duo.,”

The audience ate it up.

Eve could feel Camila stiffen beside her.

Not dramatically, Camila was too controlled for that, but the shift was there. A tightening around her eyes.

A slight sharpening of her attention.

Chapte 141 The Furnace of Applause 2

Clam

Mitre’s expression didn’t change much, but his gaze moved toward the judges and lingered.

Tevin and Maxwell, carried attention like a scent trail. They didn’t just attract eyes. They attracted stories,

rumours, temptation, mess.

And mess was dangerous.

The MC continued.

He introduced the other judges with respectable praise, the ones who actually belonged in a culinary

environment, professionals whose names carried weight in kitchens and restaurants rather than gossip

circles.

The crowd applauded for them too, but it was a different kind of applause, polite, brief, less emotional.

Then came the executive producers.

The MC turned the moment into ceremony. He said titles as if titles were crowns. He made people stand,

wave, smile, and accept the applause that came with their power.

And then…

He pivoted.

His gaze swung toward Eve’s section of the seating like a spotlight.

“And now,” he said, voice warming, “the woman who needs no introduction in this world. The woman whose story has inspired thousands. The woman whose name carries not just talent… but resilience.”

Eve’s throat went dry.

The studio lights didn’t change, but she felt as if they had.

As if every bulb had shifted its focus onto her skin.

“And tonight,” the MC continued, “she is not just here as a guest. She is here as a leader. A producer. A

chef. A judge of excellence.”

He took a breath, letting the room hold its own anticipation.

“Ladies and gentlemen… EVE ASHBROOK!”

Her name echoed across the studio, amplified and huge.

For a second, it didn’t sound like hers.

It sounded like something carved into stone.

Applause rose again, loud and earnest. Not the hysterical fan-screaming kind Tevin and Maxwell got, but real applause, the kind that came with respect, curiosity, admiration.

Eve stood.

She moved smoothly, deliberately, smoothing her outfit with one calm hand, offering the measured smile

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Chapter 141 The Furnace of Applause 2

she had practiced in mirrors. Her heart beat steadily, but she could feel the weight of every gaze.

This was the part people didn’t understand.

They thought standing in front of applause was easy.

They didn’t know how exposed it made you.

They didn’t know how applause could turn into a weapon if the crowd decided they wanted a fall.

Ryan’s hand touched the small of her back briefly, steady, protective, present.

Not claiming her.

Anchoring her.

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