The mood at the venue did a complete 180.
"Angelica, what do you have to say for yourself?! You're the one who plagiarized! You lied to all of us!"
Angelica's face flushed red, then pale, then red again — the humiliation unbearable.
Why? Why, after all her careful planning over the years, was Selina once again standing above her?
She couldn't let Selina crush her. She just couldn't…
"This must… must be some kind of misunderstanding…"
Tears welled in Angelica's eyes and rolled down her cheeks, her voice cracking with helplessness. The crowd hesitated.
"I've made it through so much over the years… I know how devastating plagiarism is for a designer's reputation. Why would I risk everything I've built for one title?"
A murmur of doubt spread.
She had a point. Angelica had a proven track record. Why would she gamble it all just to win one more competition?
