Chapter 361 Who Exactly Is Shameless
At the same time, on the same day, the folks running the fragrance competition dropped a bombshell. After Madison's self-report, they investigated that her perfume formula and samples were straight-up copied from someone else.
All the judges got put under the microscope too. It turned out that, while Madison didn't slip any cash to the judges during the finals, she did pull some strings and grease some palms to get through the prelims. So, they yanked her third-place award.
Madison was livid when she saw the news. Self-report? What the heck were they talking about?
She thought she just misspoke; it wasn't like that at all!
Just a few days ago, when the winners were announced, she had already bragged about it on Twitter and spent a ton on promotions to market herself as a fragrance genius.
The World Fragrance Competition was the gold standard in their field, known for being fair and just. Winning an award was supposed to prove she had the chops.
But before she could even bask in her victory, Madison got busted for all sorts of shady stuff.
Her hard-earned award was gone, and she turned into a laughingstock the moment the announcement dropped. She got roasted online, and no amount of PR could save her.
Tons of media outlets were calling for interviews, and Madison was too scared to pick up the phone.
How could this happen? It was all Grace's fault!
Grace must have ratted her out, telling everyone that the perfume in the finals was hers!
Today, Madison was supposed to get her award, but now everything was gone, and she was a joke.
Grace and Xavier headed backstage at the award ceremony and ran into Jett. Jett walked over, shook hands with Grace, and then with Xavier. "You must be Mr. Montgomery. Thanks for your help."
Grace was confused. Jett actually knew Xavier, and Xavier had helped out?
Jett said, "Mr. Montgomery, If it weren't for your help finding the evidence, we wouldn't have caught Madison so quickly."
Grace was surprised. So Xavier had indeed helped with this.
"You're welcome. Keeping things fair and just is something we should all do," Xavier said, all cool and collected.
"Alright, you guys go ahead. I've got some other stuff to take care of," Jett said before taking off.
Grace looked at Xavier, still surprised. "You knew about this?"
Xavier nodded. "Yep."
Grace asked, "But what happened in the office that day was so hush-hush, and there were only a few people there. How did you know?"
Xavier replied, "Even though there weren't many people, their backgrounds were all over the place. Some were from other companies, and with Iris's true identity being such a big secret, the news that you are Iris has already spread."
Grace fell silent. She hadn't been online and didn't know about this.
"So, is there anything you don't know?" Grace sighed.
Xavier really seemed like he knew everything and could dig up info faster than anyone else.
"I'm just a regular guy, not all-knowing. There's still a lot I don't know." Xavier smiled.
"What don't you know then?" Grace asked, curious. She believed Xavier knew everything and could even predict what others were thinking.
Xavier said, "Before this, I didn't know my girlfriend had such an impressive identity."
Grace felt a bit embarrassed. Compared to Xavier's impressive background, hers seemed pretty minor.
"It's not a big deal," Grace said. "I've loved making perfumes since I was a kid. When I heard about this competition, I signed up. Winning first place was a shock, and I've been competing every year since. Jett was awesome for not spilling the beans about me."
Grace just wanted to compete; she never planned to use her Iris identity to boost her company.
Even though her secret was out, Grace didn't feel any different. Iris was her, but she wanted to lead Iris as Grace.
Xavier said, "You're already better than most people."
"But I want to be like you," Grace said, looking at Xavier with admiration.
Xavier looked at her deeply. "Don't put me on a pedestal. My skills have limits. For example, I'm no good at making perfumes."
Even though Xavier was trying to comfort her, Grace felt pleased.
She went to get her award, and Jett handed over all the previous awards to her at once.
This was Iris's first public appearance to receive an award, and the foreign media went nuts taking photos.
On stage, Grace shone brightly, radiating appreciation.
She was confident and decisive. Even with a plain face, she exuded pride.
Not far away, Xavier watched with a constant smile.
He knew she was always someone who aimed high, never backing down. Even if the road ahead was tough, she'd push through.
Her uniqueness was what drew him to her.
There were so many trophies that Grace couldn't hold them all.
Grace held four, and Xavier helped with the other four.
Since Madison's third place was revoked, the awards were passed down.
Madison was fuming and caused a scene outside.
Especially when she saw Grace coming out with so many trophies, jealousy burned in her bloodshot eyes.
Denied entry, she blocked Grace outside.
"Grace!" She rushed at Grace, but before she could get close, Xavier stepped in.
Xavier's eyes were cold and intimidating.
"Get lost," Xavier said with a chilling tone.
Seeing Xavier, Madison was first surprised, then scared by his gaze.
"You..." Madison had heard about Grace and Xavier's close relationship but had never seen Xavier defend Grace like this. "You jerk! No wonder Grace broke off the engagement. Turns out she was fooling around with you. Xavier, being with your nephew's fiancée, you two are shameless!"
Madison's insults made Xavier's face darken.
Not to mention that Grace and Ryan only had a verbal engagement; they weren't even dating or married. Xavier and Grace were aboveboard.
Before Xavier could get angry, Grace stepped forward. "Madison, who's shameless? It's not your place to comment on my relationship with Xavier. But you, Daniel is your mom's godfather, right? So being his mistress isn't that shameless? If this gets out, I'm sure people would love this news. You could even accept such an old man. Madison, in this regard, no one can beat you. I really admire you."
Grace hit Madison's sore spot, leaving her speechless with anger. "You... you..."
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