Way Back Into Love novel Chapter 97

Enemies are bound to meet in a narrow alley. Sunny alone was a hurdle to deal with. And now, with Leila's arrival, things were bound to be harder. Essie was consumed by fear.

If Leila became an unfair judge, it could spoil Essie's life.

As expected, the points that Leila gave were very low, and she also pointed out a lot shortcomings. Relentlessly, she accused Essie of not following the theme. She also said her work lacked creativity and essence.

'What the hell!' Essie shouted in her mind. According to her, Leila was a petty person who had used personal issues in the professional sphere. It was quite a low blow. On top of that, Zac could be watching the show right now. 'Aren't you afraid that he will see the ugliness inside you?' she wondered.

The two judges who had been bought off by Sunny's family also took the chance to add insult to injury. As ordered by Sunny, one gave her score five and the other gave her six.

Even the host was shocked by the result.

Even though Essie and Nicole received full points from Hanson, the other three judges' scores brought them down to the last place.

In the spectator's stand, a man, unable to take this crap, stood up and shouted, "The judges are being unfair to them!"

Upon hearing this, Nicole's fans, who were already angry, got the courage to speak up. They liked Essie because she was with Nicole. Hence, Nicole's fans had slowly begun to become Essie's fans too. When they saw that their idol was being treated unfairly, they couldn't help but stand up for her. Together, they spoke against Leila and the two judges. They chanted they didn't deserve to be here at the Beauty on Runway.

A moment ago, everything was fine. But things became chaotic now.

The men's team, which was supposed to perform the last show, had to come out to sing a song, hoping to cool down the audience.

Siting in the middle of the audience, Zac stayed calm. Everything had gone as per his plans. 'Let the contemptible scoundrels who wanted to ruin Essie's career watch their plans get backfired,' he thought with some satisfaction. Instead of looking at this as an issue, Zac wanted to take advantage of it. This uproar would bring Essie a lot of supporters. It would also raise her popularity.

Essie, Nicole and the other group were now in the PK.

Nicole was bereft of any worries. She knew she wouldn't be knocked out as she could tell that Hanson cared a great deal about Essie. If she failed in the PK, he would use the resurrection right to save her. However, she was still angry. They deserved to be the champion, but instead they had reached the PK! Her frustration was getting out of control.

After that, Essie changed the dress. This one was hollow and had a cut in the front, giving it the shape of waves.

When Nicole put on her new dress and walked out of the fitting room, all the guests burst into applause.

The host gave the microphone to Nicole, whose eyes were brimming with hot tears. "I don't think it's easy for my designer. The first dress which we worked on was damaged by an anonymous creature. With the limited time, we started making a second one. It wasn't easy but we managed. As if to throw salt to our wounds, another contestant poured hot coffee on our well-tailored cloth. My designer's hand was scalded too. Yet she endured the pain and continued to work. I have never admired anyone the way I admire her now. She is really talented, capable of turning wealth out of waste. Even if we can't make it to the end because of some very jealous people, I don't care. This experience was wonderful since I have formed a beautiful friendship."

In the audience, her fans shouted, "Nicole, I love you. Essie, I love you!"

Standing next to her, Essie was touched by her words. Whether Nicole meant it or said it for the sake of formality, Essie didn't care. Her words were quite touching. When she took over the microphone, she praised Nicole repeatedly. Indeed, it was fun working with her.

Before the final knocks, Jacob stood up and announced, "The former dress was perfect. I think they are the champion today." He spoke in English but it was quickly translated. "Now that it has been changed, I feel a bit weird. If someone thinks it wasn't beautiful, I think something must be completely wrong with their aesthetic sense. I would go as far as saying that such a person isn't suitable for the fashion industry."

That was a positive response, lifting Essie's spirit. It also went like a sharp stab to Sunny whose efforts to destroy Essie weren't working. As the top-ranking designer in the design world, Jacob was the god and his comments were like imperial edict.

The audience burst into a warm applause. A lot of fans howled with excitement.

"Miss Essie," he continued, "you have applied for Istituto Marangoni, haven't you?"

Essie was shocked and replied in English, "How do you know?"

"Because I was your interviewer and your work left a very deep impression on me. I recognized you as soon as you set your foot in the studio." His words began to bring some memory back to Essie's head.

When she was in Milan for the interview, she was extremely nervous and didn't dare to pay much attention to the interviewers. The last thing she wanted was to seem like an impolite girl. As a result, she forgot she kept her gaze on the table for the most part.

"Professor Jacob, I'm glad to meet you again!" she said with a confidence she hadn't shown earlier.

"I'm glad to see you again, Miss Essie. Among the students I have interviewed, only two of them were extremely talented. You both left me stunned. The first one was you and the second was Hanson, who is sitting beside me right now. You got the first place among all the students who had been enrolled that year. Without any second thoughts, the school approved of your application for full scholarship. But to our utter surprise and disappointment, you rejected our invitation. May I please know the reason behind your unwillingness to come?"

Hearing that, the corners of Essie's mouth twitched a little. At this moment, she could not help but glance at Hanson.

"Hanson." Essie broke free from his grip and stepped backwards to keep a distance between them. "Let bygones be bygones. You never asked me for anything, I did it on my own accord," she said lightly, as if she hadn't done something big.

A pain surged through his heart. He couldn't let her shrug it all off like it was nothing. "My mother had a heart attack and was in dire need of a surgery. She didn't want me to be with you. I had no other choice but to oblige. I was hoping to wait until she recovered so that I could explain things to you."

Essie trembled again. She knew he was forced by his mother, and she couldn't forget how the old woman had insulted her. In the past, her mother's mother-in-law had been extremely hard on her mother. She picked on her, humiliated her, and finally kicked her out. Thinking about her mother's experience, Essie was quite worried the tragedy would be repeated if she married Hanson.

"If she can't accept me, why do you have to force her?" Essie demanded. A girlfriend or wife could be easily replaced, but nobody could take a mother's place. Between his mother and her, he would always choose his mother, just like her father had done back then.

"She will. She is just worried that my position will suffer. If I prove to her that I can become the president of Bella without Sunny's family's support, she will be fine. And then, there will be no objection against our relationship from my mother." Hanson walked forward and wanted to hold her hand, but she shrank back. His words hadn't convinced her. "What if she still won't accept me?"

"I will marry you then. I have set my mind to it. Her rejection won't change my mind." It seemed that he was making a vow, but she didn't feel any comfort in her heart. If anything, his determination worried her. In the past, her father had married her mother in spite of his mother's objection, thinking that sooner or later she would accept. However, that old lady was stubborn and wouldn't change her mind. She did everything possible to create troubles for the pair.

From what she knew, Florey couldn't be less cruel than her grandmother. And she didn't have the energy to live a life that was full of obstacles.

"Hanson, I am very happy and satisfied with the time I had spent with you. There is no need to go forward, especially when we know how hard it is going to be. Let's call it an end. We have some beautiful memories to live by."

"No, I don't want our relationship to end like this," he said, shaking his head. He couldn't let her give up on them. He rushed to her and held her tightly again. No matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't stay still. Holding her was akin to holding onto a handful of sand, it slipped away from his fingers.

"Give me one more chance. Essie, I promise no matter what happens, I will not break up with you. I am here to give you happiness, not to hurt you." His voice was trembling. He was on the verge of begging.

In her heart, there were only ashes left since her heart had been burnt out. "Hanson, I've loved you for five years. I'm really tired. I don't want to be your prisoner anymore."

"I am not here to make you a prisoner. I want you here so I can shower you with my love." He buried his head in her hair and breathed in her fragrance. She turned her head away, trying to maintain a distance. "Do you really love me?"

"Yes. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you at school," he confessed for the first time.

His confession filled her with astonishment and amazement. Even though she wanted to believe, she couldn't believe him. "Then why haven't you confessed in the past five years?" she demanded, unable to hide her shock.