Chapter 4

Reporters pressed forward relentlessly, forcing me to retreat behind the gate. I hugged myself, feigning a nervous and frightened demeanor.

"Everyone, let's not scare our great champion Mu. Since she has the nerve to show up for the competition, she must have something interesting up her sleeve.

After all, back then, she was just a penniless nobody from an orphanage who entered the contest hoping to marry into money.

Now that she's been kicked out of the Stratton family, she can only crawl back to this competition,

Desperate to run into someone familiar, hoping to scrape together enough for her next meal."

Vivienne finished with a hearty laugh.

The reporters struggled to contain their own laughter as they captured my terror on camera for the whole world to see.

"Neve, I never thought that without me, you'd have to resort to such despicable means just to survive."

Dane, who had been silently watching the spectacle, finally spoke up coldly.

"I used to believe you were as pure and flawless as those stunning hands of yours. But now I see,

You're no different from those other women, using your looks to secure a meal ticket for life. How vulgar and nauseating!"

"That's not true! You're lying!"

I cried out, tears in my eyes, appearing terrified as if they'd hit a nerve.

Seeing this, Vivienne became even more animated. She walked over to cause a scene, growing more delighted the more helpless I appeared.Everyone around knew she was now Dane's fiancée, and no one dared to stop her, stripped of all dignity.

"You want to take this chance to sell yourself, I'll help you!

I used to hate that low-class nobility of yours the most. Now, I'm quite interested in saving those rough hands of yours for last, to let the whole world see,

You're nothing but complete trash now! You cheap whore!"

I trembled, curling up into a ball on the ground, enduring the flashes of cameras on my body, a public execution.

A flicker of pity flashed in Dane's eyes, but after glimpsing my cheap, coarse gloves, it turned to disgust.

"What an embarrassment!"

Dropping those words, the two walked the red carpet towards the VIP seats.

They didn't notice that behind them, the corners of my mouth had curled up slightly.

I had just changed clothes in the restroom and come out,

The eye-catching headline "Hand Model Contest's Prospective Judge Disqualified, Begs Men for Shelter on the Spot" had already spread across all major media outlets.

My humiliating photo, crudely censored with ill intent, appeared on the front page.

As a result, upon entering the venue, I unexpectedly became the center of attention.

"How disgusting, this shameless slut still has the nerve to come and compete!"

"She's just here to steal the spotlight, looking for some blind, horny guy to pick up after her!"Having been chased out by the young master of the Stratton family, what decent man would want her?"

"I hear her hands are now yellow and black, and very rough. I'm afraid they'll soil our eyes!"

I walked onto the stage with composure amidst the murmurs.

Because I had registered last, I became the final contestant to appear.

Of course, with all the buildup, I also became the biggest focal point of the competition.

Vivienne sat at the judges' table, exchanging a smile with Dane in the VIP guest seats, waiting for the show to begin.

I walked up to the display platform, glanced at the jewelry props on it, took a deep breath, and began to remove my gloves.