Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 260

Crystal Lennox couldn’t sit still any longer.

“Are you sure there’s not been some mistake?”

Lisa, the event coordinator, immediately recognized her—Kismet Collective’s owner. She set down the finalist list. “Miss Lennox, I know Kismet Collective didn’t make the cut. I’m sorry, but I need you to remain calm.”

“Come on, we’re all in the design world here. If your work didn’t make it, just take the loss gracefully,” Carmen, the last name called, chimed in with a smug grin.

A murmur rippled through the room.

Crystal stood her ground beneath the curious stares, refusing to back down. But Lisa wasn’t about to indulge her—she offered no further explanation.

“If there are no other questions, we’d like to ask those who weren’t selected to please make their way out,” Lisa said, her intention to clear the room all too obvious.

Crystal frowned, weighing her next move. She knew pushing any further would brand her as difficult, and any hope of future collaboration with The Prescott Group would be even more out of reach.

After the tense sprint to get here, Celestine’s mind felt unusually clear. She stepped forward, her voice soft but steady. “Excuse me, could you check if my name—Celestine—is on the registration list?”

Lisa barely glanced at her, flipping through the forms. “Yes, it’s here.”

“Thank you.” Celestine continued, calm and respectful. “Miss Lisa, if I may ask—do you remember my submission, ‘Dawn’? Would you mind sharing your thoughts on it?”

As coordinator, Lisa personally reviewed all the entries before the final selection. Although a committee did the first round, she always double-checked to ensure nothing exceptional slipped through. The bar for the initial round wasn’t even particularly high—half the entries usually made it.

Lisa prided herself on her memory, but honestly, she couldn’t recall anything about a project called ‘Dawn.’

Every year, The Prescott Group hosted a handful of boutique design competitions, recruiting new talent for their team and scouting fresh ideas. That meant today’s contenders included not just established design houses, but plenty of independent designers, too.

Carmen bristled at Lisa’s willingness to make an exception for Celestine.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Once the design department at The Prescott Group cuts your work, there’s no second chance,” she sneered. “Honestly, Kismet Collective is a joke without me—can’t even get one person through.”

She’d always held her tongue a bit around Crystal Lennox before, but now that she’d landed a spot at Zephyrus Atelier and scored an invite from The Prescott Group, she was feeling bold.

The head of Zephyrus Atelier, notorious for his smooth-talking, quickly echoed her. “You made the right choice, Carmen. Kismet Collective is all hype and no future—sure, they get a few online orders, but there’s no real growth there.”

The last Magnolia Awards had left Zephyrus Atelier reeling, after Mirabelle’s drama gave Kismet Collective an opening to snatch up a chunk of their business.