Chapter 109
The room erupted with Intense cheers,
On the stage, Rafael stepped out slowly, his demeanor casual yet his presence overwhelmingly commanding. The other models were Instantly reduced to mere backdrops, their luster dimmed.
He came to a stop, flashed a devilish grin, and snapped his fingers. His silver earring caught the light in such a way that it seemed to defy the world’s illumination,
In the live stream, comments flew across the screen in rapid succession, momentarily crashing the system.
[OMG, he’s just too much! Why is my boy Rafael here?!
I’m crying. My bestie had two tickets and gave me one so o we could go watch it together, but I didn’t go! I missed my chance to see Rafaell]
[Same! Can I still make it if I hop on my helicopter now?!]
Ladies, calm down. Aren’t we missing the point here? Why would Rafael be modeling in this kind of competition?]
Girls, I found out! Rafael is wearing clothes designed by someone named Kaylee]
[Who’s this under–the–radar designer Kaylee? Never heard of her. Rafael always sets the bar high. How come he’s suddenly modeling for a newcomer? This smells like juicy gossip!]
“Flora, the model you got at the last minute was
s Rafael?!” Dane and the others were also caught up in the excitement.
“Ah,” Flora nodded, her eyes fixed on the radiant Rafael on stage, her lips curling into a smile.
Show–off. She chuckled to herself.
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On stage, the other models were having a meltdown. Nobody expected Rafael to appear out of the blue.
A less experienced model stumbled, nearly falling on the runway. Though she regained her balance in time, the mistake was made. She rushed off the runway, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Backstage, Kaylee was covering her face, on the verge of tears.
Her dream had come true. Rafael was wearing the clothes she had designed and was standing on the stage.))
The once unreachable man seemed a little closer to her now.
At the judges‘ table, the judges were overwhelmed by the noise from the audience as they evaluated Rafael’s attire and scored.
The cheers from the front were deafening, clearly audible even backstage.
One designer made a comment to Kaylee with a hint of sarcasm, “We really underestimated you. You actually knew Rafael and even got him to model for you.”
Apart from the judges‘ scores, a hundred randomly selected audience members also got to vote.
The final score for the contestants would be a combination of both
The audience, not necessarily experts in fashion, focused on two things.
One, if the model was attractive.
Two, if the clothes looked good.
Rafael’s influence was undeniable, and the audience’s scores were bound to be high.
Some designers were green with envy.
“Kaylee, how do you know Rafael? What’s your relationship? Are you a couple?”
Curiosity got the better of everyone, and they couldn’t help but gossip, Several pairs of eyes were fixed on Kaylee.
“No, no, we’re not… a couple…” Kaylee frantically clarified, trying to dispel any misunderstandings about her and Rafael to avoid causing him any trouble.
“I’m not that close to Rafael… Today is only the second time I’ve seen him in person.”
Nobody believed Kaylee’s words. If they weren’t close, why would the aloof Rafael agree to model for a newcomer like her?
Their relationship, it seemed, was deeper than she let on.