The truth was undeniable now.

With the confirmation from an internationally acclaimed authority and Elise's own social media presence, she was indeed Lovely!

The studio audience, who had been murmuring discontent about the competition results moments earlier, fell completely silent.

Viewers watching the live broadcast were equally stunned, the comment section freezing for several seconds.

Meanwhile, in William's WhatsApp group, Nathan couldn't contain his excitement.

[Unbelievable! Elise is Lovely?! This is incredible! The pride of our continent! The prodigious fashion designer!!!]

[She's as brilliant as she is beautiful! Who wouldn't be captivated by her?!]

[What did you eat to develop such sharp instincts, William?!]

[And Samuel must be regretting everything right now. Ethan, no offense to your brother-in-law, but he totally deserves this!]

Across town, Samuel was indeed seething with rage.

He had spent years with Elise without ever discovering she was Lovely—when they met, she was just a street performer! If not for his financial support, she would have starved overseas!

He suddenly remembered—after they started dating, Elise had mentioned promising career opportunities abroad.

But that was precisely when Mitchell Corp faced a crisis, and his parents pressured him to return to Crestwood. He naturally dismissed Elise's career prospects, assuming whatever she pursued would barely cover her living expenses at best.

He could sense her reluctance, but for him, Mitchell Corp took priority.

He had to admit he'd been genuinely infatuated with her back then, and keeping her by his side had been a selfish decision.

He never expected she would go to such lengths for him, becoming Mitchell Corp's public relations officer and securing numerous sponsors for the company.

Initially, he felt touched by her sacrifice and intended to repay her... until Sophia entered the picture.

Sophia was Elise's complete opposite, always attuned to his feelings. She seemed to worship him unconditionally, constantly boosting his masculine ego.

In contrast, Elise would challenge Samuel's decisions during executive meetings, and even his own executives would side with her. In his own family company, he felt emasculated and stressed!

Naturally, he grew attached to Sophia given the stark contrast, and one night, they stumbled into intimacy after drinking too much.

Moreover, he had barely held Elise's hand even after their relationship was established for so long. Sophia, however, was willing to be with him secretly without any official commitment, and he naturally developed a soft spot for her.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to break up with Elise, since he had genuine feelings for her and was reluctant to let go. It wasn't until their wedding day fire, when he chose to save Sophia and their affair was exposed, that he had to end things with Elise.

But even after all that, a small part of him felt he owed Elise because she was undoubtedly the reason Mitchell Corp survived. He told himself he could still look after her after their breakup... if she hadn't moved on to another man in the blink of an eye!

He always believed Elise loved only him and could never accept another man, which was why he harassed her relentlessly, determined to make her regret her disloyalty! He grew even more bitter when Elise threatened to destroy his financial foundation, vowing to retaliate by discrediting her and making her regret her very existence!

Yet, all he received was one humiliating slap after another!

To make matters worse, this latest attempt only served to reveal to the entire nation that she possessed another identity—one of unshakeable fame and integrity!

He had spent fortunes bribing production crew members and preparing scripts designed to win sympathy for Sophia and Amanda's on-screen personas—including a victory speech for when Sophia claimed first place, since they planned to have Elise disqualified as soon as initial results were announced.

Yet, despite pushing Sophia to the summit through all their efforts, Elise only turned around and delivered a lethal blow that shattered their entire scheme to pieces!