Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother - Chapter 258

Chapter 258: Perfume Competition Chapter 258: Perfume Competition A tall, robust-looking bodyguard stepped out and opened the door to the back passenger seat.

Briena and Clara recognized the bodyguard-it was none other than John.

Their eyes remained fixed on the car door, knowing exactly who was about to step out.

Natalie stepped out of the car, surprising everyone at first, but then they quickly calmed down-after all, she was famously known for having a powerful “sugar daddy” backing her up.

She was dressed in her usual style of comfortable yet chic clothing: a three-piece suit.

A white V-neck top paired perfectly with a fitted peach-colored blazer and trousers, completed by sneakers.

Though simple, the branded attire highlighted her natural elegance.

She looked extremely confident and beautiful in her own unique way, drawing everyone’s attention and admiration.

Unlike Briena, Natalie didn’t smile at anyone or acknowledge the crowd, which led some to perceive her as arrogant.

As she walked toward the venue, where reporters were still speaking with Briena, she ignored them entirely and strode ahead.

However, the reporters quickly shifted their focus to her, determined not to let her leave without answering a few questions.

Briena and Clara could only watch in frustration as Natalie effortlessly stole the spotlight.

Natalie hadn’t done anything, yet all eyes were on her as usual.

“Ms.

Natalie, who does that car belong to?” one reporter asked.

Natalie turned to the reporter, her expression unfazed.

“Didn’t I say last time I have someone rich backing me?” Her blunt response left the reporters with no room to trap her or make her feel embarrassed.

“Who do you think stands a chance to win this competition?” another asked.

“I’m not a fortune teller,” she replied, her demeanor calm and composed.

“How do you feel about returning to the competition where you were once declared a plagiarist?” “I feel nothing,” she answered, her tone unwavering.

“What do you think your chances are of winning?

With Briena Ford here-Aroma herself-do you think you can compete against her skills?” a journalist asked.

Natalie glanced at Briena, who gave her a smug look.

Natalie replied calmly, “With skills like hers, even someone with no skills can win against her.” The smug expression on Briena’s face immediately turned into an angry one, but Clara quickly held her hand.

“Keep your calm.

Everyone is watching,” she whispered.

Briena listened to her mother and both of them walked inside, trying to maintain their composure.

“Ms.

Natalie, what do you mean by that?” the journalists pressed, while Briena’s fans fumed, outraged at Natalie’s insult toward their idol.

“I answered what you asked.

Don’t make me explain my own answers,” Natalie replied coolly, before walking ahead.

John and Ryan flanked her on both sides, shielding her from the crowd.

Once more they could do nothing against this arrogant woman.

All the participants in the competition were directed to the waiting area behind the stage, where they would later showcase their perfume-making skills live.

There were around twenty participants, out of whom only five would make it to the second round.

From there, the top three would move on to the third and final round.

The event hall was packed with viewers, and the competition was being broadcast on television.

The five judges had taken their seats, ready to evaluate the participants.

The perfumers were called in batches of five, dividing the participants into four groups.

Five tables, equipped with all the necessary perfume preparation tools, were arranged on the stage.

Each perfumer had to pick an envelope from a container, which contained a theme for their perfume.

They were required to create a perfume based on the theme inside the envelope, making it a surprise round right at the start.

Briena was placed in the first group, while Natalie was scheduled to participate in the last group.

When Briena opened her envelope, her theme was Seasons and Nature.

She smiled lightly, as it was an easy theme for her.

She already had a formula for it and had practiced it many times.

Her grandmother had been smart enough to provide her with formulas that could match almost every possible theme used in the competition.

Briena and the other four participants in her group began preparing their perfumes.

Briena, confident from her practice, wrote down the formula she had memorized on the provided paper and started creating her perfume.

The others followed the same procedure, as writing the formulas was mandatory.

Briena was the first to finish and took her creation to the judges.

They tested it, and from their expressions, Briena could tell they were impressed.

The results would only be announced after all twenty participants had completed their round.

With nothing else to do, Briena walked back to the waiting room.

Everyone was impressed by how quickly Briena finished her perfume.

From the judges’ expressions, it was clear they were pleased.

The second group went to the stage.

Meanwhile, Briena glanced at Natalie, who was sitting with the members of her own group, waiting for their turn.

Briena smiled smugly and started chatting with one of the participants from the third group.

The participant nodded in agreement with what Briena said and glanced at Natalie.

Once the third group was done, it was Natalie’s group’s turn.

Natalie walked to the stage and stood in front of her table, only to find it in complete disarray.

Chemicals were spilled, and some had even been mixed together.

The timer started immediately.

Natalie realized that if she requested replacement chemicals, she would lose valuable time.

Instead of panicking, she carefully assessed what she still had on her table.

Meanwhile, the participant from the previous group, whom Briena had spoken to earlier, approached her.

“Ms.

Briena, I did what you told me to.

I messed up all the chemicals on her table.” That participant had ‘three’ number tag on her clothes just like Natalie, so both were going to use the table number three.

Briena smiled and took the girl’s phone number.

A moment later, the girl’s phone buzzed-it was a money transfer from Briena.

The amount was far beyond anything the girl had imagined.

Grinning from ear to ear, she thanked Briena and returned to her seat happily.

In the waiting room, Briena watched Natalie on the screen.

What are you going to do now, Natalie?

You’ll be out in the first round-forget about competing with me in the final.