"Yes," Elise answered, though she secretly wouldn't have minded if Elizabeth stayed longer.

William smoothly changed the subject. "Ms. Scott, have you considered taking a vacation?"

Elise was momentarily speechless. His energy levels were truly remarkable lately.

"I apologize, but my schedule is completely packed for the foreseeable future," she declined immediately, knowing she needed to focus on preparing for the reality competition.

William's expression darkened noticeably. "How long will you be occupied?"

"Approximately three months."

That was if her designs made it to the final rounds, of course.

"Mark your calendar," he declared, his tone commanding yet underlying with tenderness. "After those three months, you can't refuse me anymore!"

Her heart fluttered unexpectedly, but she ultimately nodded in agreement.

A week later, the media frenzy surrounding Ethan had begun to subside—undoubtedly due to the Levines' intervention.

Ethan had played his cards wisely. Even if the Levines had no particular reason to support Elizabeth's entertainment career, they had every reason to protect Ethan. Naturally, they'd enforce a media blackout on any stories that portrayed him negatively.

In reality, the damage wasn't severe. Since Ethan had been the one orchestrating things behind the scenes, Elizabeth's reputation suffered minimal impact—if anything, she was now widely perceived as the victim in the whole affair, garnering waves of public sympathy.

One could almost call it a fortunate misfortune.

Samuel Mitchell's strategy proved clever indeed. By allowing Ethan's story to dominate headlines, he'd effectively overshadowed his own scandal with Sophia Mitchell, however questionable the ethics of that move might be.

Meanwhile, Elise received official notification that she'd advanced to the round of thirty-two in Solo Show, the fashion reality competition she intended to participate in. The notice instructed her to report immediately to the studio where filming would commence.

From this point forward, designers would compete in elimination rounds until only one remained victorious.

The winning designer's brand would receive full sponsorship from one of Crestwood's major corporate sponsors associated with the program.

Though the sponsorship was appealing, it wasn't the primary motivation for most competitors—as the competition intensified, the caliber of remaining designers would become exceptionally high.

Unsurprisingly, Elise encountered Sophia the moment she stepped into the studio.

Her stepsister had always craved the spotlight, and Sophia would never miss an opportunity to showcase herself.

Naturally, Sophia also sought redemption after her recent scandal. It came as no surprise that both Mitchell Corp and Scott Enterprises were quietly backing her participation.

On the other hand, Sophia stared at Elise in utter disbelief.

Did Elise actually believe that owning a fashion company qualified her to compete in a designers' competition?!

How utterly ridiculous!