CHAPTER 97: AWARD SHOW

Nathan was stunned for a second before he parted his lips to speak. "I’d like to ask for your hand in dancing later if you don’t mind."

Alisha was more than stunned when she heard him.

She furrowed her eyebrows at him in question.

She glanced around and noticed that no one was dancing. Then she turned to look at him like he had gone mad.

"No one is dancing," she said as a matter of fact, and he nodded, scratching his head as though embarrassed.

"I know. Which is why I have come to ask for your hand in dancing later," he repeated.

"I’m sorry, I came with my husband," she stated.

She was about to leave, but Nathan held her back. Immediately, she yanked her wrist out of his hand.

"I know we might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but I want to be your friend," he said.

Alisha couldn’t believe her eyes. To think she was once in love with this man before her. Who would have thought he was such a womanizer, completely beyond the thoughts she had of him.

"Well, I don’t want to be your friend," she said, her eyes narrowed at his grin that made him look like a clown.

Nathan was about to say something else, but a voice immediately cut him off.

"Did you not hear my wife?" Dante questioned.

He had been observing them for a while now and thought it was time to interrupt.

It was obvious Nathan wasn’t going to leave her alone even when she had rejected his offer.

"She said she doesn’t want to dance with you. I’m sure you don’t want me involving security in this simple matter," Dante threatened.

Nathan forced a smile on his lips but could only apologize.

"Please forgive me, Mr. De Rossi."

Dante cringed at that name but didn’t say anything.

Nathan gnashed his teeth together before he turned to leave.

Dante pulled Alisha toward him and kissed her head.

"You should have let me handle it. I wanted to kick him in his groin," she said, while a grin stretched across Dante’s lips.

"Then I’ll let you handle it next time," he promised.

Meanwhile, Katherine had been watching their interactions. She saw Nathan approach Alisha and even Dante stepping in. She had seen it all, but she wasn’t as affected as she thought she would be.

She had already secured her win in the top model awards, and she couldn’t wait for the event to start.

She spotted Joshua Fernandez, the man she had spent a few nights with. He had promised her that she was going to win in her nominated category.

Not long after, the event started.

Dante and Alisha, together with Maxine, took their seats, ready for the event to begin.

A speech of gratitude was given to the sponsors who held the show, followed by a music band’s performance. After that, a few models walked the stage as part of the entertainment.

Then, the categories were announced, with winners coming on stage to receive their awards and give a speech of gratitude.

Alisha’s heart thundered against her chest.

Katherine was not only her rival in that category but there were other influential top models as well, so Katherine was the least of her problems.

If she won this award, her name would stretch further into other cities and even neighboring countries.

Katherine was thinking the same thing. She had been staying out of scandals, making sure she only went to work and came home in peace. Even when staff at some agencies were rude to her just to rile her up and get her trending on social media in a way she didn’t appreciate, she had managed to overcome the temptation.

After sleeping with Mr. Fernandez, she was sure that she was going to get her win.

"And the top female model of the year 2025 is..." The host paused, keeping everyone in suspense.

The hall was silent now. Everyone was waiting. Time seemed to stop until the name was called.

"Alisha De Rossi!!"

Everyone clapped for Alisha, while she sat frozen stiff in her seat. She didn’t know how to react, but she had won. And that was all that mattered.

She had been training to be a model since she was sixteen, though people probably thought she only started four months ago. Winning such a big award was certainly going to raise doubts.

Dante nudged her gently to go get her award.

Alisha tried to stabilize herself as she walked down to receive her award, her hands trembling. It still felt too impossible to believe, so when her fingers touched the crystal award, tears streamed down her face.

"Thank you so much, to my friends, my family, and most importantly, my husband who is my number one supporter. I never thought I would be holding this award today, especially since I’m in the same category as other top models. But I believe I’ve earned it. So thank you so much."

Alisha quickly wiped her tears so she could see everyone, and her eyes landed on someone who definitely wasn’t happy with her win.

It was none other than Katherine Cross.

Katherine’s hands were clenched tightly, anger surging through her skin so much that she could explode and no one would notice.

She glanced at Mr. Fernandez, but the man didn’t even spare her a glance.

She came back to her senses and realized she had just been scammed out of her win. Thankfully, she had recorded her conversations with him, so if he tried anything stupid, she was more than ready for him.

Still, Katherine was enraged that she didn’t get the award. She wanted to walk up to the stage and yank the award right out of Alisha’s hands, but doing so would only land her in another scandal.

She gulped down her saliva and could only watch in silence while Alisha held the award that she believed belonged to her.