"Are you feeling alright?" Antonio asked once Elara stepped out of the room.
The girl looked at him, her eyes even colder than before. She looked composed, a complete contrast to how he had seen her sob earlier.
Nate and Noah, who wanted to talk to her when they learned Andrew had come to speak to her but had been stopped by Antonio at the entrance, stood from their seats and walked to her.
"What happened?" They said at the same time.
"You’ll know," Elara said and walked ahead.
Noah and Nate looked at each other in confusion, but they didn’t have any choice other than trusting her judgment in this scenario.
"Nate, keep the proof ready, just in case," Elara said, and Nate nodded.
They soon went to the adjacent building, where everyone was supposed to gather after the hour-long break for the final judgment.
The conference room was cleared of all the earlier props. Instead, 12 seats were placed on the stage in a semicircle format.
The room smelt of coffee and, more than that, silent chaos in everyone’s heart as they waited for the judges’ final verdict after the uproar caused by the "original songs only" rule.
Elara nodded at Antonio, Nate, and Noah before she sat in a seat that would keep her out of sight of most cameras.
She was one of the most composed participants in the contest. She didn’t fidget. She didn’t need to.
Besides her, Carla glared at the woman because of what Andrew asked her to do.
Carla bounced her leg in agitation, her lipstick half smudged because of the constant biting, while Beatrice stood behind her to massage her shoulders in silent support. But mostly because the girl needed to be in the camera and gain more footage. Elara scoffed inwardly at the old tactic.
The judges finally entered the auditorium one by one.
The main judge, a well-respected composer, sat with his coffee mug before clearing his throat.
"After reviewing the rules and discussing the concerns raised by the viewers, we have reached a decision," he stopped.
The participants tensed, some even holding their breaths. The camera light blinked red as the livestream resumed. The cameraman focused on the table, and the judges sighed.
"For this competition, we originally encouraged the contestants to perform original pieces to see their creativity, too. However, we did not explicitly forbid covers. Thus—" The judge paused dramatically.
"All contestants will stay, and the top six will be chosen based on the voting system that ended just a few minutes ago."
Carla relaxed in her chair in relief, and Beatrice smiled at the camera. Andrew’s shoulders relaxed. It meant Elara wasn’t pressing any charges, indeed.
The names were displayed on the screen, and everyone had a mixed reaction.
Then one judge lifted a finger.
"The reason both Carla and contestant twelve are staying is not only because of the voting but also because both held exceptional value. The lyrics of Carla’s song were marvelous, while Elara has a voice that shook the entire panel and crashed the streams," the judge said.
The murmurs started again.
Carla started clapping automatically, but stopped when she realized she was clapping for Elara, her rival. As if the girl realized it too late, her smile faltered, and Elara suppressed the urge to scoff at the girl’s fakeness.
"With that, we would like all the selected contestants to prepare for the second round that will happen tomorrow."
Everyone rose from their seats, but Elara remained seated, her calm and cold gaze flickering to Andrew.
The judgment was passed, but one thing remained.
Andrew nodded and looked at Carla before motioning her to get moving. Carla clenched her fists before standing once the livestream ended so that the damage would be less.
Her heel clacked on the stage sharply before she grabbed the mic from the host.
"Everyone, I would like to announce something," she said.
She took a deep breath before turning to Elara.
"I would like to apologize to Elara for taking her song. She wrote this song. I didn’t know the song was hers. I just casually grabbed it from the studio and mixed my personal tone into it. It was my fault for not asking for permission," Carla said.
Everyone looked at her in shock. Just a few minutes ago, the judge said they were impressed by the lyrics, but it turned out they were Elara’s.
The judges looked at Elara to see her reaction.
Elara looked at Carla. Her trembling eyelashes, the restless fingers, the tapping of her foot on the floor impatiently, her strained breath—everything screamed of the hidden fury the girl was suppressing for being made to apologize to a woman she hated.
Elara, however, felt nothing. Not anger, but not satisfaction either, just detached amusement at the circus.
"Thank you," Elara said with a nod.
Her words were simple. She forgave the girl and thanked her for admitting her wrongdoings. That was what everyone thought, but to Elara, her apology meant nothing, and she didn’t want to stretch this matter, not when she had bigger things in mind.
Carla looked at the girl, confused.
"What? I mean, okay. Whatever," she said, her words loud enough for Elara only.
The producer, who had heard Elara’s voice earlier and really wanted her to make the singer, walked to her.
"You did well. All the best for the next round," he said.
Elara nodded politely before leaving.
She walked around the stage to where Noah and Nate were already waiting for her, wanting to know how the hell she would pull it off.
Elara explained to them exactly what happened when Andrew arrived, offering a middle ground, obviously omitting the part where he mentioned having a baby.
Once she was done, she looked around, confused.
"Where did Andrew go?" She asked.
Nate looked around, too.
"He was here just a few minutes ago. Where did he go?" He said.
At the same time, Antonio, who had seen Andrew walking to the fire exit to be able to make a business call, looked around.
It was the perfect place. There were no cameras. He smirked.
Without thinking twice, he threw the cloth sheet that he had taken from the chair earlier, covering Andrew’s half body before he raised his hand and landed a hard punch on the man’s face.
But that wasn’t enough to control his anger. That was why he punched Andrew in the face a few more times.
"Who is it?! How dare you?! Do you know who I am?!" Andrew roared in anger, flailing his hands helplessly as he was nearly blinded, unable to move.
Once Antonio felt a little satisfied, he kicked Andrew on the stairs and walked away from the scene, flexing his fists with a scoff.
Elara told him that he couldn’t mess with the man because he was influential and would make trouble for his family, but he could do it only when he knew it was him, no?
Antonio smirked.
He had been controlling his anger for a long time, but when he watched the CCTV footage and found out it was Andrew who made her cry again today, he just lost it.
"Antonio? Where were you?" Elara asked as soon as he walked to them.
"I am sorry, Miss Elara; this subordinate doesn’t perform his duties well. I’ll stay with you now," Antonio said.
Elara noticed his wounded knuckles and raised her brows, but didn’t ask what it was, thinking he probably encountered some evil man and not wanting to talk before Nate and Noah.
At the same time, Andrew, who finally got free from under the blanket, rubbed his bleeding nose with the back of his sleeve.
Beatrice, who had been looking for him, widened her eyes as soon as she saw him coming out of the fire exit area.
"Andrew? What happened to your face? Who did it?" she asked.
Andrew glared at no one in particular.
"I don’t know which bastard it was," he nearly growled before spitting blood.