Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 260

Crystal Lennox couldn’t sit still any longer.

“Are you sure there’s not been some mistake?”

Lisa, the event coordinator, immediately recognized her—Kismet Collective’s owner. She set down the finalist list. “Miss Lennox, I know Kismet Collective didn’t make the cut. I’m sorry, but I need you to remain calm.”

“Come on, we’re all in the design world here. If your work didn’t make it, just take the loss gracefully,” Carmen, the last name called, chimed in with a smug grin.

A murmur rippled through the room.

Crystal stood her ground beneath the curious stares, refusing to back down. But Lisa wasn’t about to indulge her—she offered no further explanation.

“If there are no other questions, we’d like to ask those who weren’t selected to please make their way out,” Lisa said, her intention to clear the room all too obvious.

Crystal frowned, weighing her next move. She knew pushing any further would brand her as difficult, and any hope of future collaboration with The Prescott Group would be even more out of reach.

After the tense sprint to get here, Celestine’s mind felt unusually clear. She stepped forward, her voice soft but steady. “Excuse me, could you check if my name—Celestine—is on the registration list?”

Lisa barely glanced at her, flipping through the forms. “Yes, it’s here.”

“Thank you.” Celestine continued, calm and respectful. “Miss Lisa, if I may ask—do you remember my submission, ‘Dawn’? Would you mind sharing your thoughts on it?”

As coordinator, Lisa personally reviewed all the entries before the final selection. Although a committee did the first round, she always double-checked to ensure nothing exceptional slipped through. The bar for the initial round wasn’t even particularly high—half the entries usually made it.

Lisa prided herself on her memory, but honestly, she couldn’t recall anything about a project called ‘Dawn.’

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