Chapter 228
Author’s POV
The day of the race finally arrived, bringing with it a whirlwind of excitement and tension.
It was a speed competition with substantial prize money on the line-$500,000 for first place, $300,000 for second, and $100,000 for third.
Aria found herself flanked by her longtime rivals who seemed to have coordinated their strategy. The moment the race began, they surged forward in tandem, deliberately squeezing her toward the back of the pack.
But Aria hadn’t claimed so many first-place victories by accident. This petty tactic hardly fazed her. Watching carefully for her opportunity, she seized the moment as they rounded a marker buoy and smoothly overtook them from the right side, her jet ski cutting through the water with precision.
“Go JJ!” Lillian screamed at the jumbotron, her voice cracking with excitement. The spectator stands were positioned quite far from the actual race course, making it impossible for competitors to hear any cheers, which was why fans rarely bothered shouting encouragement.
Lillian didn’t care that her voice had gone embarrassingly shrill. Her eyes remained glued to the massive screen displaying the race, her body tensed with every turn Aria made on the water.
Her enthusiastic outburst caught Elena’s attention. Elena recognized Lillian immediately, her eyebrows furrowing into a frown as questions formed in her mind. Aria’s best friend was here, but where was Aria herself?
She arched an eyebrow thoughtfully, hesitated for a moment, then surrendered to her curiosity. Rising from her seat, she made her way toward Lillian.
The race was reaching its most intense phase when Lillian felt a tap on her shoulder. “Watch the race, Claire!” she blurted automatically, assuming it was her friend.
Claire, sitting beside her, shot her a confused look. “What’s wrong, Lily p>
Lillian realized her mistake and turned to find Elena standing there. She barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. “And you are she asked, her tone deliberately cool.
“Miss Bennett, I’m Elena Pierce. We’ve met before-I’m Lucas’s friend,” Elena replied, her voice sickeningly sweet.
Lillian let out a cold laugh. “Lucas who? Don’t know him p>
“I’m sorry, I forgot you might not know his middle name. Lucas is Aiden Carter. I just saw Aiden in the VIP section and was curious-Miss Jones isn’t here today p>
“Why the hell would you care if Aria’s here or not?” Lillian’s attitude was downright hostile, but Elena appeared unfazed.
“That’s not what I meant. I just ” She paused as the jumbotron showed a close-up of JJ maneuvering her jet ski with expert precision. Elena pointed at the screen. “That’s JJ-she was Lucas’s first love. I thought Miss Jones might be curious enough to come watch p>
Lillian immediately rolled her eyes. “What kind of psycho obsesses over their husband’s ex? Everyone has exes, including Aria! What about you, Miss Pierce? Don’t you have any exes p>
Elena pressed her lips together. “You misunderstand me, Miss Bennett. I was simply asking. I won’t disturb you while you’re watching the race p>
“Everyone’s trying to enjoy the competition, and I suggest you do the same! You said JJ was Aiden’s first love, right? Then watch how amazing she is and think about why someone as exceptional as her was his first love, while you Lillian left the rest unsaid, but her meaningful look conveyed everything.
Elena’s face darkened instantly. She didn’t respond, just turned and walked away with a frigid expression.
She couldn’t understand why Aria’s friend was acting so smug. Checking the time, she calculated that this heat of the competition would finish in about thirty minutes. Returning to her seat, she regretted arriving so early. Without Aria present, her anticipated pleasure had significantly diminished.
Meanwhile, Aria had already left her saboteurs in her wake, circling the course with remarkable speed and control.
Half an hour later, the first heat ended with JJ predictably securing first place with a time of 56 minutes and 33 seconds.
Ethan, watching his first-ever jet ski competition, found himself unexpectedly engrossed. When the announcer called out JJ’s winning time, he instinctively glanced at Aiden. “Impressive, man. First place,” he remarked, then paused briefly. “Though I should remind you no matter how amazing JJ is, she’s in your past. You have a wife now p>
Aiden shot him a disgusted look. “Shut your mouth. Do society a favor and stop talking nonsense p>
“Tsk p>
Ethan chuckled, pulling out his phone and switching to video mode. He recorded Aiden for a few
seconds, then panned to the
Jumbotron and finally capture
some footage of the spectator
stands. After saving the video, he immediately sent it to their friends’ group chat.
He waved his phone at Aiden with a mischievous grin. “I’ve got it all on video. You’d better be nice to me, or I’ll send this to Aria! If you two ever get divorced, I’ll personally use this footage to roast you p>
Aiden merely scoffed, completely ignoring him.
After exiting the race course, Aria sat in the backstage rest area, toweling off her wet hair. The two competitors who had tried to box her in earlier approached with fake smiles.
“JJ, congratulations! Looks like you’ll take first place again!” one of them said.
Aria glanced at the extended hand, set down her sports drink, and picked up her phone to text Claire instead.
Seeing her silence, the woman’s expression soured. “Come on, JJ, don’t be like that. I wasn’t really trying to sabotage you p>
Aria grabbed her phone and walked straight out of the rest area without acknowledging them.
Lillian had sent her several photos. At first, Aria assumed they were screenshots of her on the jumbotron, but when she opened her messages, she discovered they were pictures of Aiden! He was at the venue?
Her hand trembled slightly, her heartbeat inexplicably accelerating as a wave of nervous tension washed over her. The second heat had already been underway for more than ten minutes and would likely finish in about an hour.
That hour proved excruciating for Aria. When the announcement came that the race had concluded, her pulse quickened once more.
After the competition, all competitors were directed to the stage area for the awards ceremony and a group photo. It was nearly noon, with the sun beating down mercilessly.
The other competitors looked visibly
fatigued, while Aria, wearing her
Venet
signature mask, stood out prominently among then The audience had already bequ murmuring with curiosity as the announcer prepared to reveal the
first-place winner.
This time, Aria didn’t take first place. A newcomer from the second heat, Rachel King, had beaten her time by six seconds, relegating Aria to second place.
“Looks like you’re slipping, JJ,” her rival taunted with a smug smile.
Aria completely ignored her and stepped onto the stage. Though she’d stood on many award podiums before, she’d never felt as nervous as she did now.
Which one of Elena’s arranged people would make their move? If nobody did, when would be the best time to remove her mask herself?
As these questions circulated in her mind, the announcer called her name: “JJ seems lost in thought-she’s not even taking her trophy p>
Aria snapped back to reality and accepted the trophy from the ceremony hostess. The announcer playfully asked, “JJ, how do you feel about not taking first place this
time p>
With the microphone thrust before her and cameras trained on her face, Aria coolly replied, “I’m pleased to finally have a worthy opponent p>
The statement sounded arrogant coming from anyone else, but from JJ, it seemed perfectly normal.
As the awards ceremony for the top three concluded, Aria frowned slightly. Where was Elena’s planted person?
Suddenly, someone bumped into
her. Before she could react, she felt the elastic band of her mask snap The inevitable moment had arrived her mask fell away from her face as countless camera lenses zoomed in on her exposed identity.