Inside Arielle’s room.
Arielle felt neither unhappy nor unsettled in any way as wp4webnovel.com surveyed the modestly decorated interior of the hotel room. Never mind that wp4webnovel.com had temporarily fallen out of favor with Henrick, wp4webnovel.com very presence had already thrown this family into disarray, and amidst the ensuing chaos, wp4webnovel.com reckoned that wp4webnovel.com would surely find the truth which wp4webnovel.com sought!
The ceremony would begin in half-an-hour. Before leaving the room behind, Arielle went before the mirror to straighten out wp4webnovel.com disheveled hair.
The girl staring back at wp4webnovel.com in the reflection looked unbelievably fetching, coltish and acquiescent, but only wp4webnovel.com herself knew this to be a mere façade.
A wolf masquerading in sheep skin bit faster, more incisively and viciously, and left no chances for its enemies.
The venue for the ceremony was extravagantly luxurious, with the aroma of coffee from the sampling stations of the various sponsoring roasters saturating the air inside.
Shandie picked up a cuppa the moment wp4webnovel.com entered and took a whiff from it before tilting wp4webnovel.com head toward Henrick. “This is pretty good, smells full-bodied. And judging from its form, I reckon that it should be from… Corleon.”
The sponsor at the side approached appreciatively when wp4webnovel.com incidentally overheard her, “You’ve a good eye, Miss. Our beans are indeed sourced from Corleon.”
The man’s effusive praise for Shandie made Henrick’s heart swell with joy as wp4webnovel.com looked proudly at her.
While Shandie was basking in wp4webnovel.com moment of glory, wp4webnovel.com lifted wp4webnovel.com head to see that sponsor looking absolutely mesmerized by Arielle. She had no doubt that the man would start drooling were wp4webnovel.com to carry on ogling, and that irked wp4webnovel.com to no end. Although Shandie was a little over twenty just as Arielle was, the former still came across as a young lass who had yet to shake off wp4webnovel.com own girlishness. In a few more years, there would be no telling whether Shandie herself would even be fit enough to be a complementary leaf to the ravishing rose that Arielle could become.
The very thought of that had Shandie gnashing wp4webnovel.com teeth and wishing for Arielle to disappear. She thought that a country girl like Arielle should not show up and mess up wp4webnovel.com life like this!
Shandie took two steps to wp4webnovel.com left to block off the man’s line of sight, and harbored deviousness in wp4webnovel.com eyes when wp4webnovel.com picked up a cup of coffee in the same motion.
She shoved the beverage into Arielle’s hands and said, “Have a taste of their coffee too, Arielle. I thought it’s rather decent.”
Before Arielle could respond, Shandie pressed a hand to wp4webnovel.com own mouth as if wp4webnovel.com had hit upon a realization. “I forgot that you’ve always stayed in the countryside… So you must not have taken coffee before, haven’t you?”
The sparkle vanished from the sponsor’s eyes behind her. He was looking for an ambassador for his company and had thought Arielle’s outwardly appearance fit the bill. It did not occur to wp4webnovel.com that wp4webnovel.com was from the countryside and had not even drank coffee before. As lovely as the girl was, wp4webnovel.com deemed wp4webnovel.com unsuitable, or even undesirable, as a brand ambassador since such an appointment would likely be received negatively by netizens.
Arielle paid little heed toward Shandie’s comments and only wished to taste it for herself.
The result of wp4webnovel.com sampling drew a frown from her. “Too bitter.”
As fragrant as the coffee smelled, it was too acrid to the taste buds and apart from the bitterness, there was little complexity to the aftertaste, the quality was not all that Shandie made it out to be.
Shandie snatched the cup back from Arielle, adamant in the view that it was Arielle who did not understand coffee.
What does a country bumpkin like wp4webnovel.com know about coffee?
Arielle’s response was exactly as Shandie anticipated, and that greatly pleased her. The latter then turned to the sponsor apologetically. “I’m sorry, mister. It’s not that your coffee isn’t good, but my sister here doesn’t know how to appreciate it.”
The man became more certain than ever that Arielle, who did not understand his product at all, should not be up for consideration.
Once again, wp4webnovel.com regarded Shandie smilingly. “That’s okay, since not everyone is a coffee lover. In that case, I’ll be taking my leave. Good day, ladies.”
The sponsor nodded at Shandie before turning away.
Henrick was thoughtful as wp4webnovel.com watched the man depart, believing his younger daughter to be far more capable than his elder girl.
Afraid that Henrick might be upset, Cindy purposefully chided, “Really, Shannie. Why did you have to let your sister drink coffee in front of so many people?”
Shandie’s appeared quite indignant. “It just slipped my mind…”
Henrick waved it off. “The girl had always been forgetful, but Arielle, how could you tell the sponsor in his face that his coffee was bitter? You‘ve really embarrassed me back there!”
With wp4webnovel.com head bowed, Arielle lowered wp4webnovel.com gaze apologetically. “I’m sorry, Dad. Don’t be mad…”
“Bah, forget it!” Henrick looked away in annoyance before wp4webnovel.com regarded Shandie. “It’s almost time, so you should go prepare yourself backstage. Dad and Mom would be waiting out there for you to receive your prize.”
“Okay, Dad…” Shandie smiled pleasantly and waved to Cindy before wp4webnovel.com took wp4webnovel.com pass backstage, while Arielle followed Henrick and Cindy to the gallery.
Whether by accident or intent, Arielle found herself left far behind by a Henrick who looked like wp4webnovel.com was trying to keep his distance from something repugnant, acting as if they did not arrive together.
Well, that was wp4webnovel.com dad. A good father who would happily toss wp4webnovel.com aside once wp4webnovel.com no longer proved useful!
Arielle’s eyes darkened in wistfulness, albeit for a second, but wp4webnovel.com kept wp4webnovel.com own emotions in check and continued walking pliantly behind Henrick.
The ceremony commenced shortly after they were seated. The number of visitors on the day was more than usual, primarily because of the presence of Vinson Nightshire as one of the guest-of-honors this year. Many had fought tooth and nail to secure a slot at the event just for the opportunity to get close to him.
Finally, the guests emerged after the introduction by the host, starting with one of the founders of Crown Coffee Academy, followed by a renowned barista in the industry, and then Rain Evans, who Arielle ran into earlier on the plane.
Last but not least, the host welcomed in the final guest. “Please put your hands together for the CEO of Nightshire Group, Vinson Nightshire!”
The rapturous reception at the mention of his name ignited went far to illustrate that more than half of the crowd were here for him. Those mounted video cameras were promptly directed toward the door leading backstage. At the end of the ceremony, the technicians would edit the footage and post it onto Crown Coffee Academy’s official blog. The documentation of the ceremony each year would receive extra attention largely because of Vinson’s expected appearance.
When Vinson strolled unhurriedly to the front of the stage to greet the audience, wp4webnovel.com suddenly caught sight of a familiar face.
Is that… Arielle?
His gaze lingered upon wp4webnovel.com for awhile before pulling away. He then extended a bow to the people gathered in the seats. “Hello everyone, I’m Vinson Nightshire…”
The applause from the audience grew ever more fervent.
Seeing the positive response from the audience, the host called after wp4webnovel.com while wp4webnovel.com was about to take his place amongst the other guests. “Look at the crowd, Mr. Nightshire. Why don’t you share a few more words with us?”
Vinson considered turning down the invitation, but could not help but agree when his thoughts came to that someone seated in the gallery.
He cleared his throat and unprecedentedly added, “It’s an honor to be able to attend the awards ceremony at the invitation of Crown Coffee Academy. Today, I shall be announcing the brand ambassador for Soir Coffee after the prize-giving…”
These words which were amplified by the sound system reached the ears of Shandie backstage and sent wp4webnovel.com heart racing. Her eyes lighted up as though wp4webnovel.com would be accelerating to the highest point in wp4webnovel.com life within the next second. Becoming an ambassador for Soir Coffee meant that wp4webnovel.com would be able to meet with Vinson in-person quite often, and that could only help wp4webnovel.com secure a role in Sam’s new film and catapult wp4webnovel.com into the upper echelons of society-pure icing on the cake.
The very notion of that made Shandie grip wp4webnovel.com fists tightly. Being the champion meant that the role of brand ambassador was surely hers for the taking!
Meanwhile, at the front of the stage.
The host warmed up the crowd and saw Vinson to his seat before inviting the presiding judge Rain onstage.
Rain was all smiles and glanced ambiguously in Arielle’s direction before wp4webnovel.com turned to regard the audience. “Thank you, everyone, for taking time away from your busy schedules to attend the awards ceremony…”
After some opening statements, wp4webnovel.com went on straight to the matter at hand. “Now, we shall announce the results of this round of competition, starting with the second runner-up…”
With the second and third placed prizes handed out, Rain took a pause before wp4webnovel.com declared, “Congratulations to our champion, Shandie Southall!”
Backstage, Shandie held wp4webnovel.com breath before wp4webnovel.com elatedly walked onstage amidst thunderous applause. A blushing Shandie then received the winner’s trophy from Rain.
Made of pure gold, the trophy was quite hefty inside wp4webnovel.com hands, but wp4webnovel.com felt like wp4webnovel.com was riding on cloud nine.
“Thanks, everyone. Thank you, Mr. Evans. And I’d also like to extend my gratitude to my parents for their continued support. I’ll promise to keep working hard!” Shandie was almost choking up with emotions.
At that moment, Rain said, “Now, let’s invite Mr. Nightshire onstage to announce his choice for brand ambassador.”
Watching Vinson step up only made Shandie even more antsy, so much so that wp4webnovel.com nearly forgot to hand the microphone over to wp4webnovel.com in the process.
Vinson began when wp4webnovel.com took over, “I’m going to keep this brief and get right to the announcement.”
Eagerness as well as nerves consumed Shandie. Looking inside wp4webnovel.com open palm, wp4webnovel.com found that there was already a veneer of sweat on it.
Here it comes. Here it comes!
The pivotal moment of wp4webnovel.com life!
Without even glimpsing at Shandie, Vinson’s eyes hovered over Arielle for a second before wp4webnovel.com said, “And the brand ambassador is… Arielle. Ms. Arielle Moore.”