Chapter 2

Elsa walked over. As a globally renowned jewelry collector, her word dictated trends and launched careers across the market.

This time, her eyes swept past me and locked onto Chloe.

"Chloe, I want you to take charge of designing the setting for the Heart of the Ocean."

Gasps rippled through the surrounding designers.

The Heart of the Ocean!

A legendary, flawless natural sapphire valued at over ten million dollars!

Whispers had circulated that tonight's competition was secretly meant to select the artisan for that very stone, but almost no one had dared believe it.

The gem was simply too rare and too costly.

Out of the corner of my eye, several high-profile veteran designers looked like they wanted to swallow their own tongues in regret.

Had they known the prize was the Heart of the Ocean, they would have thrown everything they had into tonight's drafts.

Whoever brought that stone to life would immediately cement their place among the global elite.

And yet, that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was just handed to an obscure novice.

Chloe looked ecstatic, her cheeks flushed with greedy triumph. She clearly hadn't anticipated such an insane windfall.

While the room digested the shock, Julian couldn't wait to jump in and seal the deal.

"Chloe has always been an exceptionally diligent worker with incredible raw instinct. Being recognized by you is the greatest blessing of her life."

Hearing him, I barely kept my face straight.

Diligent? If staying out clubbing all night and missing every single studio deadline meant diligent, sure.

Raw instinct? Since when was my design her instinct?

Relying on the fact that I lacked hard evidence, Chloe offered a smug little smirk and casually swept her hair behind her ear.

As her arm moved, her designer sleeve slid back, revealing a bespoke gold bracelet around her slender wrist.

The tight smile on my face vanished.

That bracelet looked painfully familiar.

A month ago, I caught a glimpse of Julian’s phone receipts.

He had secretly placed a custom order with a high-end French jeweler for a matching set of lovers' bracelets—that exact design.

Back then, my heart had fluttered. I naively thought he was prepping a surprise for our upcoming anniversary.

Turns out, the girl he bought it for had been standing right under my nose the whole time.

I dropped my gaze, suffocating the surge of betrayal and fury rising in my throat.

Inhaling deeply, I kept my voice perfectly measured.

"Yes, Chloe is certainly persistent. I used to worry her foundations weren't mature enough, but seeing this, I feel relieved."

Catching my calm reaction, Chloe looked at me with uneasy suspicion.

Ignoring her, I offered Elsa a graceful nod.

"I truly apologize for not submitting tonight. But Chloe has clearly found her footing. Handing the Heart of the Ocean over to her sounds like a splendid idea."

Elsa looked mildly surprised. She had clearly expected me to hold a bitter grudge.

After all, competition in high jewelry was cutthroat.

Her tone softened toward me. "Of course, Sophia. I still look forward to your upcoming personal collection."

I smiled politely, raised my crystal glass, and downed the champagne in one smooth swallow.

Chloe wanted to see me seething with envy, humiliated and cast aside by my peers.

She wasn't going to get that satisfaction.

Looking at the high-stakes project she just accepted, I felt like laughing out loud.

Did she really think she had the spine to carry that weight?

That blueprint required my family's proprietary gem-cutting and tension-setting formulas. Without those exact calculations, nobody could ever assemble the finished piece shown on that screen.

I couldn't wait to see how Julian and Chloe planned to deliver the final product.

And more importantly, I wondered if Chloe could afford to pay for a ten-million-dollar sapphire when it inevitably broke into pieces.

Once the formal speeches concluded, Elsa pulled Chloe along to mingle with high-profile patrons.

It was obvious to everyone that Elsa intended to groom her as her new protégé.

A few petty colleagues who had long resented my success seized the chance to drop snide remarks.

"Wow, we all assumed you'd take first place tonight, Sophia. Guess your junior outclassed you."

"Younger talent just has that spark, you know? Unlike veterans who eventually run out of juice."

"Honestly, your boyfriend is so sweet! Look at how supportive he is of young talent—he's practically glued to Chloe's side."

I stood still, letting their petty words slide off like water off a duck's back.

Watching Julian trail Chloe across the room, his eyes brimming with tender, devoted adoration, my stomach churned with pure revulsion.

I should have opened my eyes a long time ago.