My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 266

“What are you thinking about? I’ve called your name several times and you didn’t even hear me.” A woman leaned closer, her voice lowered. “Hey, today… was that really you up there, or are you faking it?”

Emily Blair had no fondness for these contestants. Her reply was cool, almost dismissive. “What do you mean, ‘really or faking’?”

The woman seemed anxious, her voice rising. “I could’ve sworn you weren’t this good during the preliminaries. How did you suddenly get so amazing overnight?”

Emily gave a small, amused laugh. “You must be mistaken. My performance today wasn’t anything special. I’m not even sure I’ll make it to the finals.”

The woman frowned, clearly unconvinced. “That’s impossible. Everyone saw—”

“There’s nothing impossible about it,” Emily said, her face composed, her eyes unreadable. “You know, sometimes people just improve overnight. Maybe you all misheard.”

The woman’s suspicion only deepened. She exchanged a few glances with her friends beside her.

She muttered under her breath, “How could that be? We all heard it.”

Emily shut her eyes, cutting the conversation short. “That’s enough. Don’t say another word. There’s still someone performing on stage. Let’s not distract her.”

The woman snapped her mouth shut, glaring at Emily in frustrated embarrassment before dragging her companion back to their seats near the front.

Emily was exhausted. After dealing with the semifinals and the whole mess with Larry Mitchell, fatigue pressed down on her. The gentle notes of the piano drifted around her, and soon she drifted off to sleep in her chair.

When the surrounding chatter grew louder and more restless, Emily slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was Isabella Austin on stage, hands poised over the piano.

Emily’s gaze was steady as she watched the woman in the white dress.

Isabella sat tall at the grand piano, her long dress cascading to the floor like a waterfall. The off-shoulder neckline perfectly framed her graceful, pale shoulders and neck. Her face, elegant and composed, wore a soft, warm smile as her fingers danced across the keys.

She really was stunning.

Even someone as wary as Emily had to admit: Isabella Austin had more than enough charm to captivate men like Andrew Lane, Alex White, Xavier Gonzalez—and not just those three; she’d had many accomplished men fall hopelessly for her.

With her arms crossed, Emily watched Isabella with icy eyes.

But before any of that, she needed to settle the matter with Isabella—and Larry Mitchell.

Applause echoed around the room as Isabella rose from the piano bench, one hand pressed lightly to her chest. She bowed gracefully to the judges, her every movement poised and pleasing to the eye.

Emily didn’t hold back her applause.

Amid the clapping, she heard whispers nearby:

“Isabella Austin is just incredible. After all this, I bet she’s still going to be the top pick in the semifinals.”

“Well, she’s already won awards abroad. She really is that good, you have to admit.”

“I don’t know… I think Emily Blair could take first place this time. Her performance was outstanding too.”