Seeing that soft, glowing expression on Zane's face—one she had never seen before—Maura's chest heaved with mixed emotions.
"You really did something stupid, giving up your position to someone else just because you wanted Selina to fail if she lost a model," Sean taunted.
The jab was salt in her wound. The room felt suffocating as she yanked herself up from her seat and walked away, her heels thundering against the polished floor in defeat.
Unbeknownst to Selina, Zane had been sitting in the shadows behind the crowd. Deep down, he was shocked. He hadn't expected her to take second runner-up, especially by modeling herself in that state.
He couldn't deny her hard work was worth it. His palms came together, clapping with his lips curved into a genuine smile.
"You made it, Selina. You won at last," he murmured, his gaze filled with a respect and admiration that lingered on her as she stood there, unable to stop smiling.
