Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 483: Chapter 483
You are reading Their Mistake, Her Rise, Chapter 483: Chapter 483. Read more chapters of Their Mistake, Her Rise.
"Since we've got everything ready, it'd be a shame to let it go to waste," Shawn said with a smile. Then he uncorked the red wine and poured a glass for Zoe.
Secretly amused, Zoe decided to play along with Shawn's little act, curious to see what surprise he had up his sleeve.
The candlelit dinner was perfect from the start—the ambiance was romantic, the music soothing, and the food exceptionally delicious.
Zoe set down her fork and dabbed her lips with the napkin. 'Now that the candlelit dinner's over, is it proposal time now?' she mused. 'Did Shawn realize how cringe-worthy his last attempt was and decide to do it over?'
She looked at Shawn, anticipating his proposal yet already planning her rejection.
Just then, alarms suddenly blared around them. The flickering lights caught Zoe off guard, piquing her curiosity of what came next.
"Let's go," Shawn barked, yanking Zoe's hand toward a steel door. He punched in the code without missing a beat, and the door clanged open.
Zoe was ushered into another room. The moment the lights flickered on, she found herself surrounded by a sea of flowers.
As Shawn stepped inside, a shower of flower petals instantly cascaded from above.
As Zoe looked up at the falling petals, Shawn stepped right in front of her. His hand dipped into his pocket, fingers brushing a velvet box there.
Chase and the soldiers took in the whole scene. So far, everything was going smoothly, and they hoped that Shawn's proposal would finally succeed this time.
As Zoe expected Shawn to pull out the ring, her phone suddenly rang, shattering the romantic atmosphere.
She glanced at the caller ID—an unknown number. Without hesitation, she dismissed the call, then turned her attention back to Shawn, waiting for him to continue.
Just as Shawn was about to continue, his phone suddenly buzzed. Without missing a beat, he grabbed it and stepped aside to take the call.
His commanding officer's voice crackled through the phone. "Shawn, new mission. Report immediately."
"Roger that," Shawn replied. Then he turned back to lock eyes with Zoe.
"Go handle your thing. I'll step out for some air," Zoe said, though a flicker of disappointment tugged at her. Figuring the big moment wasn't coming, she turned to leave.
Shawn suddenly stepped in front of her, cutting off her path. "Zoe, marry me," he said, pulling out the ring box.
Zoe was stunned.
Before she could react, Shawn pulled out the ring and, without hesitation, slid it onto her finger.
Zoe frowned, "Mr. Ludwig, this is practically a forced sale."
Shawn gripped Zoe's hand. "If you won't marry me, who else could you possibly marry?"
Zoe yanked the ring off her finger and slapped it into Shawn's palm. "I'm not some easy catch. Up your game," she smiled, spinning on her heel and striding out.
Shawn chased after her. But by the time he exited the escape room, Zoe was already nowhere to be found.
Chase rushed over. "Where's Zoe? How come you're out alone?"
Shawn tossed the ring to Chase. "Mission call. Let's move."
As soon as Chase saw the ring, he understood—Shawn had failed at proposing again. 'Even the invincible Shawn got rejected twice,' he thought, feeling a secret thrill he couldn't quite explain.
This made him admire Zoe even more. After all, these days, hardly any woman could turn down Shawn, and she was truly one of a kind.
Zoe had just arrived at Highcrest University when Gary Green, the dean, intercepted her. "You're finally here. Please come with me to Mr. Bloor's office," he urged.
"Nope," Zoe said flatly. She was only here because she was told to take an exam. Since she was already enrolled, she figured she might as well scrape by to get that diploma. With that in mind, she planned to slip past Gary.
Gary hurried after her and pleaded, "Please don't make this difficult for me. Just come with me."
Zoe didn't bother responding to him. With a quick sidestep, she easily slipped past him and headed straight for the classroom to take the exam.
Gary whipped out his phone. In under thirty seconds, a group of staff showed up, all with one goal: to stop Zoe.
When Gary finally caught up with Zoe, she was surrounded by the staff. He sighed, "Zoe, don't make this any harder for me."
Zoe shot back, "I've got an exam today. Are you trying to make me fail or what?"
Gary froze for a second. "You rushed here just for an exam?"
He slapped his forehead. "Sorry, we couldn't find you, so we had to resort to this trick to get you back to school. There's no exam. Mr. Bloor just wants to see you."
Zoe frowned.
Gary reassured her, "Don't worry. I promise this trip won't be a waste of your time."
Zoe nodded. Since she'd made the trip, she figured she might as well leave with something.
With Gary leading the way, Zoe was ushered into Wilfrid's office.
Seeing Zoe, Wilfrid immediately rose with an ingratiating smile. "What an honor to finally have you here," he said.
Zoe took a seat on the sofa. "What did you call me here for?"
Wilfrid rubbed his hands together. "Here's the thing—the International Elite Association is hosting an International Elite Competition, and in Clusia, only our school has received an invitation."
Wilfrid extended the invitation to Zoe, who just left it hanging in midair.
Wilfrid, his ingratiating smile unwavering, continued, "Zoe, you're the best student Highcrest University has seen in years. If you could represent our university—and even Clusia—at the competition, you'd truly bring tremendous honor to our country."
Zoe lifted her gaze to meet Wilfrid's. "That's what you get out of this. What's in it for me?"
Wilfrid froze. "Uh..."
Figuring Wilfrid wasn't offering her anything real, Zoe instantly got to her feet, ready to leave.
Wilfrid gave a placating smile, immediately catching Zoe's drift. "Now, now, don't rush off so quickly," he said. "You really are a bit too impatient."
Zoe stood her ground.
Wilfrid quickly added, "Of course, we won't let you go to such an important competition for nothing. Just the champion's prize alone is an exceptionally generous reward."
Zoe fixed a steady gaze on him, remaining silent.
Wilfrid understood her stance. Winning the championship would be her achievement, and the reward rightfully hers. That had nothing to do with Highcrest University or Clusia.
Wilfrid cleared his throat and said, "If you join the competition and win first place, I'll award you a $33 million prize on behalf of the university."
Zoe remained silent, unimpressed. Thirty-three million was nothing to her.
Wilfrid was surprised that Zoe would turn down 33 million dollars. He quickly switched tactics and, with a tentative smile, said, "I've heard you're quite the antique collector. Would this particular item interest you?"
Wilfrid pulled out his phone, showing Zoe a photo of an ancient knightly sword. Even from the image, it was obvious this artifact rivaled—if not surpassed—museum pieces in both age and value.
Zoe took the phone and zoomed in on the photo. After a quick but thorough glance, she demanded, "Where is this sword?"
Secretly amused, Zoe decided to play along with Shawn's little act, curious to see what surprise he had up his sleeve.
The candlelit dinner was perfect from the start—the ambiance was romantic, the music soothing, and the food exceptionally delicious.
Zoe set down her fork and dabbed her lips with the napkin. 'Now that the candlelit dinner's over, is it proposal time now?' she mused. 'Did Shawn realize how cringe-worthy his last attempt was and decide to do it over?'
She looked at Shawn, anticipating his proposal yet already planning her rejection.
Just then, alarms suddenly blared around them. The flickering lights caught Zoe off guard, piquing her curiosity of what came next.
"Let's go," Shawn barked, yanking Zoe's hand toward a steel door. He punched in the code without missing a beat, and the door clanged open.
Zoe was ushered into another room. The moment the lights flickered on, she found herself surrounded by a sea of flowers.
As Shawn stepped inside, a shower of flower petals instantly cascaded from above.
As Zoe looked up at the falling petals, Shawn stepped right in front of her. His hand dipped into his pocket, fingers brushing a velvet box there.
Chase and the soldiers took in the whole scene. So far, everything was going smoothly, and they hoped that Shawn's proposal would finally succeed this time.
As Zoe expected Shawn to pull out the ring, her phone suddenly rang, shattering the romantic atmosphere.
She glanced at the caller ID—an unknown number. Without hesitation, she dismissed the call, then turned her attention back to Shawn, waiting for him to continue.
Just as Shawn was about to continue, his phone suddenly buzzed. Without missing a beat, he grabbed it and stepped aside to take the call.
His commanding officer's voice crackled through the phone. "Shawn, new mission. Report immediately."
"Roger that," Shawn replied. Then he turned back to lock eyes with Zoe.
"Go handle your thing. I'll step out for some air," Zoe said, though a flicker of disappointment tugged at her. Figuring the big moment wasn't coming, she turned to leave.
Shawn suddenly stepped in front of her, cutting off her path. "Zoe, marry me," he said, pulling out the ring box.
Zoe was stunned.
Before she could react, Shawn pulled out the ring and, without hesitation, slid it onto her finger.
Zoe frowned, "Mr. Ludwig, this is practically a forced sale."
Shawn gripped Zoe's hand. "If you won't marry me, who else could you possibly marry?"
Zoe yanked the ring off her finger and slapped it into Shawn's palm. "I'm not some easy catch. Up your game," she smiled, spinning on her heel and striding out.
Shawn chased after her. But by the time he exited the escape room, Zoe was already nowhere to be found.
Chase rushed over. "Where's Zoe? How come you're out alone?"
Shawn tossed the ring to Chase. "Mission call. Let's move."
As soon as Chase saw the ring, he understood—Shawn had failed at proposing again. 'Even the invincible Shawn got rejected twice,' he thought, feeling a secret thrill he couldn't quite explain.
This made him admire Zoe even more. After all, these days, hardly any woman could turn down Shawn, and she was truly one of a kind.
Zoe had just arrived at Highcrest University when Gary Green, the dean, intercepted her. "You're finally here. Please come with me to Mr. Bloor's office," he urged.
"Nope," Zoe said flatly. She was only here because she was told to take an exam. Since she was already enrolled, she figured she might as well scrape by to get that diploma. With that in mind, she planned to slip past Gary.
Gary hurried after her and pleaded, "Please don't make this difficult for me. Just come with me."
Zoe didn't bother responding to him. With a quick sidestep, she easily slipped past him and headed straight for the classroom to take the exam.
Gary whipped out his phone. In under thirty seconds, a group of staff showed up, all with one goal: to stop Zoe.
When Gary finally caught up with Zoe, she was surrounded by the staff. He sighed, "Zoe, don't make this any harder for me."
Zoe shot back, "I've got an exam today. Are you trying to make me fail or what?"
Gary froze for a second. "You rushed here just for an exam?"
He slapped his forehead. "Sorry, we couldn't find you, so we had to resort to this trick to get you back to school. There's no exam. Mr. Bloor just wants to see you."
Zoe frowned.
Gary reassured her, "Don't worry. I promise this trip won't be a waste of your time."
Zoe nodded. Since she'd made the trip, she figured she might as well leave with something.
With Gary leading the way, Zoe was ushered into Wilfrid's office.
Seeing Zoe, Wilfrid immediately rose with an ingratiating smile. "What an honor to finally have you here," he said.
Zoe took a seat on the sofa. "What did you call me here for?"
Wilfrid rubbed his hands together. "Here's the thing—the International Elite Association is hosting an International Elite Competition, and in Clusia, only our school has received an invitation."
Wilfrid extended the invitation to Zoe, who just left it hanging in midair.
Wilfrid, his ingratiating smile unwavering, continued, "Zoe, you're the best student Highcrest University has seen in years. If you could represent our university—and even Clusia—at the competition, you'd truly bring tremendous honor to our country."
Zoe lifted her gaze to meet Wilfrid's. "That's what you get out of this. What's in it for me?"
Wilfrid froze. "Uh..."
Figuring Wilfrid wasn't offering her anything real, Zoe instantly got to her feet, ready to leave.
Wilfrid gave a placating smile, immediately catching Zoe's drift. "Now, now, don't rush off so quickly," he said. "You really are a bit too impatient."
Zoe stood her ground.
Wilfrid quickly added, "Of course, we won't let you go to such an important competition for nothing. Just the champion's prize alone is an exceptionally generous reward."
Zoe fixed a steady gaze on him, remaining silent.
Wilfrid understood her stance. Winning the championship would be her achievement, and the reward rightfully hers. That had nothing to do with Highcrest University or Clusia.
Wilfrid cleared his throat and said, "If you join the competition and win first place, I'll award you a $33 million prize on behalf of the university."
Zoe remained silent, unimpressed. Thirty-three million was nothing to her.
Wilfrid was surprised that Zoe would turn down 33 million dollars. He quickly switched tactics and, with a tentative smile, said, "I've heard you're quite the antique collector. Would this particular item interest you?"
Wilfrid pulled out his phone, showing Zoe a photo of an ancient knightly sword. Even from the image, it was obvious this artifact rivaled—if not surpassed—museum pieces in both age and value.
Zoe took the phone and zoomed in on the photo. After a quick but thorough glance, she demanded, "Where is this sword?"
End of Their Mistake, Her Rise Chapter 483. Continue reading Chapter 484 or return to Their Mistake, Her Rise book page.