Chapter 142


    The final Belle & Hunk election showdown was a speech contest. It was scheduled for 2:00 pm at


    Cavenridge International Academy.


    Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Early that morning, the teacher overseeing the contest, Wanda Walker, posted a notice on the


    school forum and bulletin board: "Finalists from the auditions, please report to the backstage of the


    school auditorium at 1:00 pm this afternoon."


    Christopher took a screenshot of the notice and sent it to Hera but received no response. He


    couldn''t help but wonder why she hadn''t been replying to his messages since the previous day.


    Believing he had a valid reason to contact Hera, Christopher scrolled through his contacts and


    called the contact that was saved as "Goddess" for the first time. However, the call didn''t go


    through, indicating Hera''s phone was switched off.


    Concern gnawed at him. Christopher couldn''t help but wonder if Hera was in trouble. He hurried to


    the teacher''s faculty to find Kerry Lane, the homeroom teacher of junior year ss K.


    "Hera messaged me two nights ago, saying she needed two days off for personal matters," Kerry


    remarked as she checked her phone for the message.


    For over a week now, Hera had been heading to theb shortly after she arrived in the ssroom


    every day.


    While Kerry had been willing to overlook Hera''s ssroom absence, she disapproved of her


    skipping the speech contest.


    Kerry tried to persuade Hera to return to school many times, but Hera didn''t respond to her


    messages. Kerry had even tried calling her, but Hera''s phone remained switched off.


    "Ms. Lane, Christopher, you can''t reach Boss—uh, I mean Hera—either?" Katie interrupted, having


    overheard their conversation. She was there to submit the homework on behalf of her ss.


    "I can''t reach her either!" Katie added, cing therge pile of workbooks on Kerry''s desk.


    She thought Hera had deliberately ignored her because she found her too bothersome.


    "Is she in some kind of trouble?" Kerry asked, her tone tinged with concern.


    A shiver ran down Katie''s spine as a worrisome thought crossed her mind.


    "Could she have been kidnapped? I mean, Boss is beautiful…"


    Christopher pondered silently for a moment before speaking up.


    "Please contact her parents, Ms. Lane."


    "Of course. I''ll do that right away."


    Kerry nodded.


    While they were preupied searching for Hera, a gossip post titled "Hera Taking Leave Possibly


    to Avoid Competition" emerged on the school forum and quickly gained traction as the most popr


    post of the morning.


    "Taking leave to dodge thepetition? What game is she ying at?"


    "Wasn''t she busy flirting with Christopher two days ago? Did she strike out?"


    "Obviously! Our Christopher wouldn''t fall for her."


    "Go, Christopher!"


    "What the heck? Is she chickening out? Then why bother campaigning?"


    "I smell a conspiracy behind the people pushing Hera''s campaign."


    "Who posted this? Do you have any evidence? Delete this now! Hera wouldn''t skip out on the


    speech contest!" Katie responded to the post.


    "Katie, are you Hera''spdog or something? I''ve noticed you always defend her."


    "Lapdog andckey, I''d say. I really don''t get why the mayor''s daughter is so sycophantic toward a


    country bumpkin like Hera. What''s in it for you, Katie?"


    "Katie, my source is solid. Hera won''t be participating in the contest this afternoon."


    …


    It was 1:00 pm. The audition finalists reported to the backstage of the auditorium promptly.


    Lily, the first finalist to arrive, stood at the registration counter, counting the finalists who came to


    sign in.


    Once all the finalists had registered, she couldn''t help but feel disappointed and scornful that Hera


    hadn''t shown up. It confirmed the gossip post on the school forum about Hera''s decision to skip the


    contest.