Serena sat down at the piano.
The brilliant lights of the chandeliers cascaded over her.
The white piano and the fiery red dress created a stark, stunning contrast that was almost impossible to look away from.
Karen sneered inwardly, still convinced Serena was just putting on a show.
With a slight smile, she offered a seemingly well-intentioned reminder, "Miss Lancaster, you'd better perform well. Don't ruin Brianna's mood, and more importantly, don't dishonor the status of our... 'honored guest,' Nicholas."
"She's right, you know."
A sweet, soft voice piped up.
Brianna stood, her bright, clear eyes filled with a smile. “If we absolutely have to determine who's better, then... I think there should be stakes to make it interesting!"
"If this Serena's skills really are better... shouldn't you all publicly apologize to her for your rudeness and doubt?"
Apologize to Serena?
Impossible!
How could a country girl ever deserve their apology?
"Oh... you don't dare?" Brianna's face fell into a look of disappointment as she sighed. "And here I thought you were so confident in yourselves. Turns out you know you can't beat Serena after all-"
As the guest of honor, her sigh was impactful.
All eyes immediately swiveled to Isabella and Karen.
Their gazes all seemed to ask the same question—*You really don't dare?*
Isabella and Karen's faces turned grim. Pinned by everyone's stares, they were trapped.
Instantly, Karen blurted out, "Stakes it is! Fine, we'll compete! Let's have Isabella and that woman face off!"
She squeezed Isabella's wrist, her sharp gaze stabbing toward Serena. "But if we're going to play, let's play for something big. Make it more interesting, more thrilling."
"After she plays her piece, we'll have Mr. Kessler judge! We'll see whose skills are truly superior!"
"The loser not only has to apologize
in front of everyone, but they will
also have to get on their knees and craw all the way out of the
Blackwood estate! fo FindNovel.net
The declaration sent a shockwave through the hall.
No one expected Karen to raise the stakes so high.
Brianna's face flushed with anger. "Karen, you've gone too far! A bet like that is humiliating!"
Karen sneered. "Weren't you just saying we were afraid of that country girl? What? Is she the one who's scared now?"
"If she's scared, then she should just admit defeat and apologize! Admit she was talking nonsense, admit that she's nothing but a worthless nobody A failure Wisn't even
qualified to be compared to Isabella."
"-I accept the bet."
Seated at the piano, the girl's voice was cool and calm.
Isabella quickly grabbed Karen's arm. "Karen..."
A triumphant smirk spread across Karen's face.
This country girl had no idea what she was getting into.
She pulled Isabella to the side of the stage and whispered with a colde laugh, "Just you wait. She won't be able to keep up this act for long. ou just stand here and watch her humiliate herself."
"But..." Isabella felt like something was wrong.
She bit her lower lip, her heart pounding with an uncontrollable panic. She glanced helplessly at Brianna.
But she saw that after Serena accepted the bet, Brianna had turned to Nicholas,
lifting her chin with a proud little expression.
She even patted her chest.
As if to say "I did a good job, didn't I?!"
Isabella's heart dropped.
She yanked on Karen's arm, wanting to call off the humiliating bet.