When it came to jewelry, nothing captured attention quite like the scarf in Niamh’s hair.
Quentin watched her as she bent over the microscope, completely absorbed in her work. The longer he stared, the deeper his frown became.
“I had no idea our boss had skills like that,” Sophia whispered, nudging Natalie with her elbow.
“Are my eyes playing tricks on me?” Natalie murmured, incredulous. “How did she set those stones? I can’t even see any metal prongs.”
Up front in the VIP seats, Liam Grant and Devon sat side by side, each lost in their own thoughts.
“That Niamh…” Liam Grant began, eyes fixed on her.
Devon couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. His expression flickered with unease.
For outsiders, watching a live demonstration of jewelry making is, frankly, pretty dull. Preston Winslow had been sitting through it for nearly two hours and was already getting restless.
But because of Niamh, he forced himself to stick it out for four hours straight–without nodding off once.
As the competition finally neared its end, Preston Winslow couldn’t take it anymore. He really needed to use the restroom.
Meanwhile, across the city in the distant financial district, inside the Neville Corporation building, Julian was secretly watching the livestream on his phone–covertly, of course.
He’d been glued to the screen for four hours now.
“Julian, are you busy?”
The office door swung open unexpectedly. Julian hastily flipped his phone
face–down on the desk.
He was quick, but not quick enough–Susy saw everything.
Feigning innocence, Susy strolled over and began to massage his shoulders.
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“If you’re really swamped, we can always reschedule the wedding dress fitting, she suggested.
“No, it’s fine. Today’s the day, so let’s just do it.” Julian’s words were agreeable, but there wasn’t a trace of excitement on his face at the prospect of dress shopping with his bride–to–be.
“Well, if you say so, I’ll go along with it,” Susy replied sweetly. “Oh, by the way, I think Mr. Whitmore was looking for you just now.”
“Probably about the West Coast project…”
“Should I step out for a bit?”
“No need, I’ll go see him myself.”
Julian stood up and left the office.
Now only Susy–and Julian’s phone–remained.
Susy picked up the phone from the desk and turned it over. The screen was still lit, the livestream still running.
“What’s this? A jewelry design competition?” Susy muttered, puzzled, a faint smirk tugging at her lips.
Since when was Julian interested in this sort of thing?
Could he really be picking out jewelry for her to wear at their wedding?
The idea made her smile to herself.
She was about to set the phone back down when the camera cut to a close–up of a .contestant.
Susy recognized her instantly.
As Niamh appeared on screen, fully absorbed in her craft, the smile slowly faded from Susy’s face.
Back at the Sapphire Summit Hall, the Nova Jewelry Design Awards had entered the scoring phase.
Things hadn’t gone exactly as Marina had planned, but this was her mom shine. She pulled herself together and gave her best performance.
to
“My earrings use platinum and flawless South African diamonds,” Marina explained. “The design combines 3D printing and a high–polish finish to create a
Chapter 178
earbuds, but they’re also futuristic and tech–forward–perfect for the Al theme, both beautiful and practical.”
The judges awarded her a stellar 90 points–the first and only entry so far to break the 90 mark.
Now it was Niamh’s turn.
Her hair scarf was the very picture of luxury, unmatched by anything else on display.
If the other contestants had created jewelry, then Niamh had crafted a masterpiece worthy of a private collection.
And yet-
“Contestant number one, can you explain how your design relates to the Al theme?”
Chapter 179
