The man appeared perplexed.
She became a judge even though she didn’t know anything? That was a little too much, wasn’t it not?
“But you…” He couldn’t find the right words.
“Please, you have to keep this a secret.”
Abigail still looked very worried that she would be exposed, and the man actually understood why.
Seeing her vulnerable look eventually convinced him. “Alright. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Thank you.”
The man grinned. “Well, I have to help a woman as beautiful as you. That said, I think you have the figure of a good dancer. Even though starting young is ideal, you can take up dancing now as an exercise and maintain your body shape. I can be your instructor if you’re interested.”
Abigail smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t spare the time–I’m married, and things can get busy with my child.”
The man did a double take–he certainly didn’t expect Abigail to be married with children!
“You don’t look that old to me… You said you already have a child?”
Abigail said, “I’m not that young, actually.
The man appeared disappointed for a moment, but soon smiled. “I couldn’t tell. Anyone who didn’t know better would take you for a university student… Well, I’m guessing you’re an employee at some company, since you weren’t involved in dance?”
Abigail shook her head. “I’m a doctor, actually.”
The man was once again surprised. “What’s your specialty?”
“I’m a surgeon,” Abigail replied simply.
The man’s eyes widened. Her figure was so dainty that she didn’t appear to be the type who wielded a scalpel, not to mention that all surgeons needed a strong heart and stomach.
A lady who appeared as delicate as her certainly had no business being a surgeon.
“Then, what could be your strengths-”
Before he could finish, one of the helpers entered and told them that the event was starting.
The man had to stop, and helped Abigail get her score cards. He even taught her how to use. it. “The contestant will take to the stage in rounds, and each pair would have a number tag. Just give a tick to the pairs whom you think have done well.”
“Thank you.” Abigail smiled.
The contestants quickly filed into the stage and took their positions.
The lights overhead flashed as the music started, signaling the start of the competition.
On the sidelines, the cameramen would capture perfect snapshots of the contestants, while their parents watched from the seats above, keeping a close eye on their own children.
Passionate jazz, bombastic latin and alluring cha–cha–as the rounds proceeded, the thrill of the competition peaked. The cheers for the contestants were thunderous.
Nonetheless, the host suddenly announced before the last round, “Ladies and gentlemen, although the competition has proceeded to the last round, we must apologize as the results of the competition will not be counted…”
The entire sports complex erupted in an uproar before the host could finish–every parent was absolutely livid, while the contestants were dumbstruck.
They had been sitting there and waiting for so long, only to be told that the competition didn’t count.
“Why?! Our children had practiced so hard and did so well! Why shouldn’t this count just because you said so?”
“That’s right! I even applied for leave to watch my kids!”
“Are you calling the entire competition moot? What happened? We need an explanation!”
The parents were soon filing out of the audience seats and entered the court, causing pandemonium.
“Please calm down, everyone. We’ve just received word that one of the judges is an impersonator, which is why we cannot accept the scores legally.”
The voices of discontent only grew louder.
“What’s happening? How could someone impersonate a judge?”
“It’s your own oversight, isn’t it?”
As various complaints were belted at the organizers, the man who spoke with Abigail just now came to a retaliation. Leaning in to whisper into her ear, he asked, “Do you think you’ve been found out?”
Abigail, however, was certainly aware that she was being targeted.
Right now, Robin must be hiding somewhere, watching and anticipating Abigail making a clown of herself.
Pretending to be terrified, Abigail asked, “What should I do?”
“Why don’t you leave for now?” The man suggested.
Abigail knew she would never escape, but agreed nonetheless. “Yeah.”
As she started to move, however, Robin darted out of nowhere and caught her by her wrist, while shouting to the disgruntled parents, “It’s her! She was pretending to be a judge although she doesn’t know how to dance, let alone adjudicate! She’s the reason this competition is moot. Blame her if you want!”
At her voice, everyone turned their crosshairs at Abigail.
Abigail hung her head as if petrified, but only Diarmuid–who just entered–saw the coldness in her eyes from the distance.
She was brimming with confidence, so he simply watched without interfering.
“Who died and made you judge? Why take the chair if you can’t do the job?”
“She can get anything with that pretty face of hers…”
Believing that Abigail knew nothing, everyone was convinced that she took the role of judge through unsavory means.
“My daughter practiced for over a month before this competition, but it’s all for nothing! How are you going to make up for our time and our children’s efforts?”
Some of the agitated parents were starting to get ahead of themselves, but the friendly male judge stopped them.
“She just came as a stand–in. She didn’t mean any harm,” he tried to explain, but it only made things worse–everyone became even more unhappy!
“What right does she have to be a stand–in? Also, she means no harm?! She’s hurting everyone anyway!”
“Yeah! She must compensate us and apologize…”
“Compensation and apology? That’s letting her off easy…”
Robin was grinning as she watched everyone scorn Abigail, but just as she thought she had won, Abigail suddenly looked up, meeting the upset parents and said, “Have I ever said I’m not qualified?”
While everyone was left stunned, Robin simply thought that Abigail was making a last–ditch. effort to slip away.
“You’re qualified? Who do you think you’re fooling?” Robin laughed. “Just apologize already!
“Not just an apology! She must compensate everyone!”
As pandemonium ensued again, Abigail calmly took out a card, “You can verify if this is real.”
It was her teaching license, which Miss Lang gave her a while ago.
Robin was left in disbelief. “How could you have one?”
Abigail simply waved it at her face. “But I do have it.”
Robin thought then that it must be a mistake–no one could get a teaching license overnight, just as you could learn to dance overnight.
Bolstered by the thought, Robin snapped, “Even if you have that, it doesn’t prove you can dance! It’s nothing more than a fake!”
Feeling as if she had caught on to Abigail’s vulnerability, Robin’s arrogance rose as she continued haughtily, “I can guarantee everyone that you don’t know a thing. You’re a swindler, and you’re pretending to be a judge and waste every contestant’s hard work as well as their parents‘ time! I just want to know, how did you get here in the first place?”
Her words were hardly vague, and someone promptly chimed in, “Just look at how weak she is. Most definitely the casting couch-”
Before the man could finish, Abigail turned and leveled him a glare so sharp that he stopped immediately.
Even the male judge who had been siding with Abigail since the start was stunned by her glare–her delicate air seemed to fade right away, and there was fire in her eyes.
A far cry from the delicate kitten just now!
“You’ve been insisting that I can’t dance, but what if I can?” Abigail asked.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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