Chapter 599
Brendon caught the mic, his expression sour. “You’re dreaming if you think I’d ever ask you to stay. Even if you begged on your knees, I wouldn’t let you linger.”
With a cool smile, Christina turned to her three protégés. “Looks like we’re not welcome. Come on, let’s go.”
“Hold on!” Before any of the three could respond, Katie stepped forward, blocking their path. Disdain dripped from her voice as she snapped, “Christina, we only asked you to leave. Just get lost already! Quit being a nuisance! Those three are the Dawson family’s honored guests. They’re more than welcome to stay.”
Christina’s only response was a faint lift of her eyebrow. “I was actually going to invite them out to dinner,” she replied lightly.
Katie scoffed and folded her arms. “And you really think they’ll join you just because you ask? Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Why wouldn’t they accept?” Christina replied, perfectly calm. “I am their mentor, after all.”
Mocking laughter spilled from Katie. “They’re just humoring you to spare you the embarrassment! As if you could ever replace Tiana. You’d do well to remember your place.”
Christina met her gaze head-on, her voice steady. “Maybe you should save that advice for yourself,” she said, turning slowly to face the guests below. Stepping into the spotlight, she made her announcement with poise. “If you must know, I didn’t come here by chance. I am their mentor, Tiana.”
Christina’s voice rang out like thunder on a clear day—stunning, unexpected, impossible to ignore.
The crowd froze, eyes wide, all fixed on her poised figure. Calm, unshaken, and utterly unapologetic.
“Did she just say she’s Tiana?”
“Wait a minute—wasn’t she Brendon’s ex-wife? Wasn’t she just some housewife? How could she be Tiana?”
“That’s insane. There’s no way. She can’t be—”
“But think about it. She wouldn’t dare lie with those three maestros right in front of her. If she were lying, they would’ve called her out on the spot!”
“Oh my God! No wonder she looked so familiar! She’s the racer who crushed Elliott—and the sharpshooter Rose who outgunned Dillan!”
“Hold on, are you telling me she’s also a professional racer and a shooting champion? If she beat both Elliott and Dillan, then… Damn, just how capable is she? Unbelievable. She’s a total legend!”
For a few stunned seconds, the room seemed to hold its breath. The revelation that Christina was not only a legendary racer but also a decorated shooting champion sent fresh waves of disbelief rippling through the crowd. Several guests now stared at her with wide-eyed awe, their earlier ridicule replaced by starstruck admiration.
“Ahhh! Someone get me her socials! I need to follow her—immediately! She’s unreal!”
As her growing number of admirers scrambled to find her online presence, others began to emerge from their daze.
Brendon stared at Christina with a storm of emotions brewing in his eyes. His fists slowly clenched as the truth settled in. Did he ever truly know her at all? He had never seen these sides of her, never cared enough to look beneath the surface. She had hidden so much from him… Or perhaps, he had simply never bothered to ask.