Heir to an Indispensable Family

CHAPTER 12

The crowd around Sarah erupted with voices all speaking at once, all directed at James as he stood at the podium.

“She made a mistake! Can't you see how deeply in love with you she is?”

“A woman doesn't confess her feelings this openly for someone she doesn't care about!”

“She is madly in love with you, Wesley! You have to forgive her!”

“Let it go! Anyone can see she is completely devoted to you!”

The crowd was completely on Sarah's side now, and the energy was shifting beautifully in her favor. James stood at the podium saying absolutely nothing, his expression unreadable as the voices washed over him from every direction.

But deep inside Sarah's mind, behind the smile she was desperately holding together, a storm was raging.

She had almost missed her chance with James. That thought kept stabbing at her like a knife that wouldn't stop twisting. Twenty five million dollars was standing right there in front of her and she had almost let it walk away. She couldn't breathe properly thinking about it. The Ross Group had already destroyed her investment dreams and Fashion Icon was hanging by a thread. Was she really going to lose everything in one single night? Her company, her investors, and her future - all gone in one go?

She couldn't let that happen.

She refused to let that happen.

Then James finally moved. He turned from the podium and beckoned Sarah forward with a single look that made the whole crowd go quiet again.

“Congratulations on winning,” the Ross Group spokesman announced smoothly into the microphone, his voice filling every corner of the football pitch.

“The representative who will be presenting your winning cheque of twenty five million dollars is currently on their way.”

Upon hearing those words, James Wesley couldn't help himself anymore.

A smile broke across his face so wide it looked like it might split his cheeks open.

Twenty five million dollars.

He kept turning the number over in his mind like he was trying to make sure it was real. Twenty five million dollars. Him. James Wesley. He hadn't even been expecting this. He had shown up tonight like everyone else, just another face in the crowd with a lottery ticket and a dream. And now here he was, standing on a podium with the whole university watching him and a cheque worth twenty five million dollars on its way to his hands.

His mind started racing in every direction at once.

What was he going to do with this money? Where was he even going to begin? The possibilities were endless and overwhelming and absolutely intoxicating all at the same time. He could invest. He could travel. He could build something extraordinary from the ground up.

But first things first, he needed a car.

He laughed quietly to himself at the simplicity of that thought and shook his head.

Around him, the crowd had started shifting and murmuring, every neck craning and every eye searching for whoever was about to walk forward with that cheque. Nobody had moved yet. The anticipation was building with every passing second.

Then they saw him.

Hector

The moment Hector's figure emerged and started walking steadily toward the podium, Sarah's jaw tightened so hard it could have cracked stone. Her eyes locked onto him with pure disbelief burning behind them.

She couldn't believe Hector was still here.

Of course he was still here.

Her mind moved lightning fast, calculating, rearranging, finding the angle she needed. If Hector was still here, and walking towards the Podium, it simply means he's to to stop who was going to presente that cheque to James, if that's the case regardless, she could use this moment. She could flip the entire narrative right now and make everyone believe her little confession had been nothing more than a joke at Hector's expense.

Before another second could pass, Sarah's voice cut through the crowd like a blade.

“Hector! What the hell do you think you're doing walking up there?” she snapped loudly, her voice dripping with theatrical outrage.

“Haven't you caused enough trouble tonight? Just imagine - ME, Sarah, screaming at the top of my lungs saying I love you because of you! Do you have any idea the embarrassment you almost put me through? I just cannot believe those words actually came out of my mouth!”