The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Stella's tickets sold out in less than five minutes—not only that, but people were already flooding the forums, asking when the next batch would be released. The contrast couldn't have been more obvious.

Was all this hype really just because Stella made it to the finals?

Rachel had made the finals too.

She couldn't bear the thought of losing face in front of Haynes, letting him think she was somehow less than Stella. So, she called Jasper first.

But Jasper, after offending the Burtons, was under house arrest by Galen Wilkinson. He barely managed to say a few words before someone from the Wilkinson family snatched the phone away.

Rachel didn't dare ask Mr. Walden for more help. He'd already agreed to be her special guest she couldn't ask for more without seeming desperate.

If she went back to her mentor again, wouldn't that just be admitting she didn't have the same pull as Stella?

Left with no choice, she turned to Joshua.

She didn't expect Joshua to help, but to her surprise, he agreed instantly—and even came up with a clever plan.

“Instead of scrambling for publicity and begging people to buy tickets—which barely works anyway-why not just buy up the rest of your tickets yourself?

If you win the championship before the concert, people will be clamoring to get their hands on your tickets, and they'll pay a premium for them.

I'll help you resell them and we might even make a profit.

And if, in the end, your tickets still don't sell, I'll take care of it. I'll distribute them to my staff, and they can give them to their friends and family. At the very least, you won't have to deal with the embarrassment of empty seats at your concert."

She had to admit-Joshua was a born businessman, sharp and resourceful.

All she'd thought to do was ask for help with promotion, hoping someone could drum up some sales for her.

It never occurred to her that she could just buy the tickets herself.

"But..." Joshua shifted tone, "having Mr. Walden as your special guest gives you

plenty of buzz and attention from people in the industry. But the number of insiders is limited. If you want to outshine Stella, you'll have to win the championship."

Rachel bit her lip in frustration.

To beat Stella? Easier said than done.

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew deep down-Stella's talent really did surpass her own.

Still...

A cold glint flashed in Rachel's eyes.

Her senior classmates would be coming as special guests. Maybe, just maybe, they could tip the scales in her favor.

This year's competition would take the top ten performers into the finals out of a huge pool of contestants.

Since the finalists would go on to face champions from other countries-a kind of international showdown-the stakes and the attention were higher than ever.

Even the less popular categories were getting a lot of buzz online, just because they'd be part of the international rounds.

Social media was alive with chatter:

"I can't believe Antoney isn't competing this year. We've always relied on him to keep us from finishing dead last. Without him, are we doomed?"

"Did you hear? The Solmaris region's violinist is Aurora-gorgeous, insanely talented and the heiress the Williams family. Rumor has it she's also a top-tier race car driver!"

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"I know Solmaris's piano representative is Lauretta Chapman, another heiress. Word going around is that is Chapman might get engaged to the eldest William by the end of the year-a power couple if I've ever seen one. That's what real romance looks like."

"Speaking of piano, Colby from Silverthome seems pretty impressive too... Sigh, we used to

have a decent shot at the violin

trophy, but now that Antoreys out, it looks bleak."

"Not necessarily we still have Stella. She's a breakout star this year, and honestly, she's just as good as Aurora."

"Oh, come on. Stella's just a product of the hype machine. If you want real talent, look at Rachel. She's Mr. Walden's last and most prized student."

"Yeah, exactly. If Stella was really all that, why wasn't she chosen as Mr. Walden's protégé?"