Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 59

Damon stared at Mira, his brow furrowed, and didn’t answer.

Mira’s song ended. The audience was silent, as if still lost in the music, unable to snap back to reality.

A few moments later, thunderous applause erupted.

Of the ten judges, nine gave her a 9.8.

Even though he knew the outcome was set, Damon couldn't accept it and gave her a 9.0, knowing it would be dropped as the lowest score.

But his action sent a clear signal to his colleagues: he didn't want Mira to succeed. Those who had a good relationship with him would surely give Mira lower scores in the next round.

When the host read out Damon's score, Liora said, “Does that Damon have a grudge against Mira or something?”

A spectator nearby commented, “Maybe her own brother just wants her to stay grounded and not get cocky at such a young age.”

“Bullshit,” Natalie retorted. “They’re both his sisters. Why didn’t he give Mara a low score when she was singing? He’s clearly just trying to prop up that manipulative girl.”

“It’s okay, it’ll be dropped as the lowest score,” Celine said, ever the calm one.

“Then why would he do something so pointless?”

Liora was still fuming, and Natalie also wanted an answer, but the more innocent Celine couldn't figure out the underlying scheme either.

The audience had assumed Naomi's score was the ceiling for this competition, but they never expected someone to score even higher. Mira’s average score was 9.8.

Just like with an essay, you rarely see a perfect score in music, so this was effectively the highest possible score.

Before Mira had even left the stage, several entertainment company executives were already eyeing her, their eyes gleaming, ready to recruit her.

But Mira told them, “I don’t want to debut. My studies are my priority right now.”

Reporters came up for an interview, but Mira said, “Sorry, there are still two rounds to go, and I need to prepare. Let’s talk after the dust settles.”

At the end of the first round, Mira was in first place, Naomi second, Sienna third, and Hannah fourth.

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