The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Mr. Walden said, "Competitions are ruthless. No matter what happens, it should never sway the judges' scoring. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair to the other contestants."

He'd served on the panel of many major events and had witnessed more than his share of unexpected accidents. Even if a performer collapsed halfway through and had to be rushed to the hospital, the rules were clear-there would be no second chance. If everyone fainted during their turn and demanded a do-over, the entire competition would descend into chaos.

Rena chimed in, "If someone's truly talented, that brilliance will always shine through. Our youngest contestant is more than capable; missing one round isn't the end of the world. I checked the schedule-she's up last in the second round of the tournament. She'll still have the chance to face Stella and could even take the championship."

Learning that Rachel hadn't shown her full potential, everyone in the room seemed to breathe easier.

Meanwhile, online viewers, many of whom had been ready to click away, found themselves glued to the broadcast as the drama unfolded.

"My god, Rachel's not only sick, but her hand is injured too. If she were at her best, I can't even imagine how incredible she'd be," someone commented.

"She's dealing with all these setbacks and still faces it all with a smile-not a single tear. That's real strength!"

contestants who sob and play the victim. We watch these shows to relax, not to get dragged

so inspiring! I'm voting for

walking away

talking about? Stella won fair and square-it wasn't just luck! What, you think if Rachel was at her best,

everyone says, she wouldn't have brought up her illness at all.

The comments section exploded

at each other, each insisting their idol was the true star Before long, people were digging

livestream director suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. "Director Shaw, we've got a massive surge of viewers-way more than when

shot up to 1.5 million viewers. The

you to make sure the

baffled. "The system's designed to handle millions of viewers at once. We're only at

up. "I've seen this before. When a huge number of users join all at once, it can cause bottlenecks. But Lacy and