The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

The livestream chat exploded. Comments flew by at lightning speed:

"Do the dog impression! Come on, bark like a dog! I wanna see it!"

"Let's all bark together! Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!"

Seeing the chaos, Howard Shaw quickly set up a live poll.

He invited everyone to vote: should he bark like a dog or should he quit the competition?

And as for a third option... there wasn't one.

Back when this all started, Harry hadn't given Stella any other choices. He wasn't some benevolent saint who'd let a foreigner humiliate one of their own.

The host, hearing about the poll from the director, thought privately, "Howard's

finally catching on. That's a brilliant way to stir up controversy."

Controversy, after all, was the secret recipe for going viral these days.

The bigger the scandal, the more attention it drew.

Addressing the viewers, the host announced, "We've opened up a live poll online. You can all go and cast your votes-think of it as giving Mr. Harry a bit of advice."

No one from the event organizers, not even the host, had any intention of helping Harry out of this mess.

Instead, they seized the moment, using Harry as bait to rake in views and engagement.

The conflict between Harry and Stella was irreconcilable. Without hesitation, everyone sided with Stella.

Why hang onto a foreigner when there was a homegrown prodigy right in front of them?

They weren't as foolish as Mr. Walden, who'd ignored a genius and picked Rachel —a choice no one understood to this day.

People whipped out their phones, eager to vote online.

Some chatted as they voted:

"This show is wild! I have to come to the next round in person. Better book tickets online now, or they'll be gone."

"You're only thinking about tickets now? They sold out five minutes ago! I couldn't even get one."

Seeing all this unfold, Harry was so furious he nearly passed out.

Instinctively, he glanced at the audience, searching for Mr. Walden, hoping he'd say something to help.

Mr. Walden opened his mouth, hesitated, and then swallowed his words.

Harry had lost. If Walden defended him, he'd lose both face and dignity. Steeling himself, Mr. Walden looked away.

The host, catching Harry's desperate glance, felt only disdain.

This was the same man who'd

insisted others quit or embarrasset

themselves. Now, when it was his turn, he didn't want to keep his own promise.

The host didn't bother exposing him. Instead, following the director's que, he announced, "The poll results are in-eighty percent of viewers want Mr. Harry to do the dog impression instead of quitting." '

The main reason? People wanted to see Harry embarrass himself even more.

Stella watched Harry with a polite,

asured smile. "Mr. Harry, the audience has spoken. It's time for to make your choice."

your

Harry wanted nothing more than to deny it all, maybe even fake fainting.

But under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he knew he couldn't get away with any tricks.

If he tried, he'd lose not just his pride, but his reputation too.

And all those violinists he'd lost bets to in the past? They'd come forward and call him out for not keeping his word.

Taking a deep breath, Harry abruptly dropped to his knees.noveldrama

“Ms. Cameron, I apologize to your mother, Mrs. Nora, and to your mentor, Antoney. I shouldn't have insulted them."

Kneeling in front of everyone was humiliating, but at least he kept his promise.

Afterward, some people might even sympathize with him, saying Stella had gone too far.

Stella's smile was perfectly composed. She said nothing, simply watching him. Harry closed his eyes and took several heavy breaths.