Unloved Unwanted Unstoppable (Seraphina and Dominic) novel Chapter 42

At the judges' table, the panel whispered among themselves, their expressions betraying neither surprise nor disappointment.

Lauren had assumed her work would leave the entire room in awe.

But now, the reception was falling drastically short of her expectations.

Not far away, Seraphina narrowed her eyes.

From the second the piece appeared on the screen, her gaze hadn't wavered.

It was too familiar.

It was so familiar that a sense of pure absurdity bubbled up in her chest.

A moment later, her grip tightened around her number placard.

She finally remembered.

This was a design from six months ago.

To be exact, it was the emergency draft she had submitted to Lockwood Jewelry six months prior.

At the time, Dominic was dealing with ruthless attacks from competitors, and Lockwood Jewelry urgently needed to expand its portfolio.

She had stayed up for half a month, revising the design countless times before finally sending it to the Lockwood corporate inbox.

But after that, the draft vanished into thin air, never to be mentioned again.

She had assumed her skills just weren't up to par, or perhaps it had been weeded out during the layers of corporate review.

She never would have imagined that she would see it again in Lauren Lennox's hands.

Right then, a soft, melodic laugh drifted over from the side.

Seraphina instinctively looked up, her gaze cutting through the crowd to land squarely on the front-row VIP seats.

Dominic was sitting there, and Cynthia was seated right next to him.

Cynthia murmured something, and the man tilted his head slightly. The habitual coldness between his brows seemed to thaw as he reached out to adjust the shawl slipping off her shoulder, his movements incredibly natural.

Cynthia looked up at him, a shallow smile dancing in her eyes.

She gave him everything, keeping absolutely nothing for herself.

She stood by his side as he rebuilt his empire, yet he had never once given her a shred of warmth.

And now? Cynthia was back.

Clinging to his arm, standing beside him with a radiant smile, acting as if she had never abandoned him in the first place.

The thought made Seraphina slowly pull her gaze away.

Whatever meager emotions still lingered in her chest completely faded into nothingness.

She was here today for the competition, not to watch them play house.

Just then, the host's voice rang out again.

"Next up, let us welcome our following competitor—Cynthia Ross."

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Many attendees sat up straighter, clearly holding sky-high expectations for the renowned industry designer.