She still fervently moved her hips as if her life depended on it. Isabel looked at Hash, but she saw a furious expression.
"Stop it right now! Stop!" His voice was strong and ringing in her ears. Not only that, he was making a slicing gesture in his neck. He stood up and was looking for something for a couple of minutes. Isabel's eyes followed his direction. He found her iPad and turned it off, and gave her a stern look.
"What were you doing?" She could hear him loud and clear despite their distance.
"I was dancing." She raised her shoulders, asking him back what was he doing.
"You were stripping!" His voice in her head was too loud, which hurts Isabel's ears.
Hash stared at his servants, signaled them to pull her out. Terrified, Lo quickly dragged Isabel out in the middle. They sat in one corner assigned to the contestants. Isabel realized that Hash was jealous of other men seeing her body. A malicious grin spread over her mouth.
She searched his eyes again, but his attention was now in the middle. The next contestant was trying to eat fire, but burned her hair. She ended up crying and pulled up by her servant. Isabel exhaled and sighs in relief. One down, she thought.
As the pageant progress, they chose ten contestants to compete for the next round, Isabel included. In the next round, they called Lady Gwin first. She confidently went in the middle, brought a set of things to showcase her next talent. She would cook!
Isabel observed the lady in the middle intently. Based on the spread of ingredients on the table, she prepared that delicious lamb stew, the one Isabel enjoyed eating a few hours back. Damn! She's good.
Her eyes narrowed, marking Lady Gwin as her opposite, the way Lord Voldemort marked Harry Potter. Lady Gwin finished her dish in less than twenty minutes. Since the lamb was young, it didn't take long for it to get cooked. The tensed Isabel couldn't help but bit her nails when Gwin fed Hash her dish.
She unconsciously clenched her fist when Hash nodded. He must have liked it. Other judges seem to agree too. She sighed deeply to release the tension in her body.
Although she was confident about making her pan pizza, it would absolutely blow them away, but she still couldn't stop getting insecure with Lady Gwin.
She silently memorized the steps of her dish and she paid no attention to other contestants, which possibly more talented than Lady Gwin. But she already marked her, so she's determined to win against her.
Isabel's image right now was comparable to someone deliriously saying the rosary. She stopped what she was doing when they called Lady Mau's name. Isabel's cognition shifted to this another powerful rival.
From the appearance of her props, Lady Mau was also making a dish. Great! They're all cooking. Why not open a restaurant? He could make a profit out of them.
Isabel couldn't help herself from getting tense again. Hash was observing her walking back and forth in the corner. His expression softens as he looked at her, holding back a smile.
He was busy staring at Isabel in his peripherals, didn't notice that Mau was feeding him the dish she just made.
"Hm. Delicious! Thank you. " He gave Mau a wink. That encouraged the girl. Mau's smile was as wide as the hall made Isabel furious.
This time Hash couldn't help but let out a laugh, so amused by that little girl in the corner.
This time they called Isabel, knees shaking, walked towards the middle. She carefully kneaded the dough while she stared at Hash, annoyed and jealous. She grinds her teeth and didn't let her mind talk because she knew he can pick it up.
Hash couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"You're so cute." He reached out in her head, but she ignored him. She continued making her dish.
"Why is that girl still here?" Hash heard one contestant irritated point at Isabel. It's his earlier action that made them think he doesn't like her.
Isabel heard her too, but she didn't mind. She concentrated on cutting onions and sweet peppers and stared at Hash every once in a while. His gorgeous face and body reminded her she had to win.
It's been a long time since he's able to taste pizza. He bets it would taste better if made in the oven. The smell of burnt bacon and cheese spreads all over the entertainment hall. Hash couldn't wait to taste it, hell he didn't want to share, but he didn't forget that this was a talent show, and there are other judges.
With a smile of victory, Isabel sliced her pizza, made Hash's portion slightly bigger than anyone else, and fed it on him.
"This absolutely delicious!" The king uttered. He clapped his hands like a child.
"Is this your kingdom's delicacy? This is fantastic. I want to invite you to the palace and teach my servants how to make these." The king Jovially invited Isabel, which turned Hash's face sour.
"Alright, alright, we have a winner tonight, it's this lady, from which Kingdom are you again, dear?" Isabel's stomach churned. The sudden attention of the king overwhelmed her, made her want to run out.
"Are you okay?" Hash called her out in her head. She just stared at him and shook her head.
"Speak!" He demanded.
"This is going to be over soon. I can take it." She answered him in her thoughts and shook her head.
"Nonsense!" He responded angrily. Without a word, he suddenly picked her up, carried her away from the crowd. It made everyone shock.
Lady Mau's eyes narrowed, marked Isabel as her great opponent. So were all the remaining girls.
"You can put me down." But her arms were clasping tightly around his neck.
"I know you like it, don't pretend." He bit her ears. Isabel screamed in delight. None of them cared that people inside the hall can hear them.