THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 371: My Sistet Is Awesome, Right?

Watching Lauren approach, Mr Khan smiled respectfully. She was one of the most resilient and cool headed women he had seen in his entire life. Working so well under pressure and not allowing anything to deter or distract her. She deserved his respect.

"Empress Brew had fought a good battle, despite all the hurdles they faced on the journey and deserved whatever victory they got today. I am pleased to present this trophy to them on behalf of Barista Royale, the organizers of this competition.

"Congratulations, Ms Holmes," he said, handing her the gleaming medal and the prestigious Golden Bean trophy. "You and your team have truly earned this."

Lauren’s hands trembled as she accepted the awards. "Thank you," she managed to say in a voice that was choked with emotion. The crowd’s applause grew even louder as the team raised the trophy high above their heads.

For a full two minutes, everywhere went agog with cheers.

"As earlier announced at the start of the competition," Samuel continued, causing everywhere to gradually return to quiet again.

"Courtesy of the prestigious Barita Royale, the organizers of the competition, this years winning team will be receiving a year-long supply of premium coffee from Barista Royale, and an exclusive trip to their coffee plantations in Colombia for a behind-the-scenes experience!"

After a few seconds, Samuel raised his hands to quiet the crowd. "And the icing on the cake is a grand prize of $100,000,000, monetary award to this year’s winner, Empress Brew."

The audience gasped in astonishment. They were hearing this for the first time.

’There was such a huge prize money?! No wonder Ms Carter did so much to win,’ someone said.

"To present the monetary gift," Samuel continued over the applause, "please make welcome, the new president of Barista Royale, Mr. George Wellington."

A collective gasp spread through the audience as George stepped onto the stage. Tall, handsome, and impossibly young, his presence commanded immediate attention. Whispers of surprise and admiration filled the room.

Lauren’s eyes widened in shock as she watched none other than her George walk to the stage. George? Her friend and cousin and also the CEO and heir to the Wellington Group was also the new president of Barista Royale? She could hardly believe it. Her heart raced as she tried to process the revelation.

Even the members of Empress Brew who had only seen George as Lauren’s admirer and a jolly good fellow to have around were shocked to their bone marrow.

Such a big shot brought himself so low that he was the one buying them lunch while they prepared for the competition. This is simply mind blowing.

Their mouths hung agape and were unable to recover from the shock long after George had stepped onto the stage.

George smiled warmly at the crowd and with a charisma that was evident in every step he took, walked up to the podium and took over the microphone.

"It’s an honor to be here," he said, his voice smooth and confident. "And it’s an even greater honor to present this prize money to such deserving winners."

As a massive cheque was brought to the stage, the crowd erupted once again in thunderous applause.

As Lauren still stared at George in disbelief, he winked at her, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"So, on behalf of Barista Royale, I hereby present this monetary award of $100,000,000 to Empress Brew!"

George handed the cheque to Lauren, who accepted it with shaking hands and a beaming smile.

"Thank you," she said into the microphone that was handed over to her.

"This means more to us than words can express. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and for the support from all of you. This victory is for everyone who believed in us."

The crowd cheered louder, celebrating the well-deserved victory of Empress Brew.

The team stood together with faces overflowing with joy and together, held up the trophy and the massive cheque.

George stepped back, allowing Lauren and her team to bask in the glory of their achievement before he leaned in and whispered to Lauren, "You’ve done amazing. I look forward to seeing what you and Empress Brew will achieve next."

Lauren smiled, her heart swelling with pride. "Thank you, George. This means everything to us."

At that moment, she forgot all the questions she needed to ask him as she basked in the euphoria of her team’s victory.

The room was filled with joy, and for a moment, everything else faded away. The months of hard work, the challenges, the doubts – all of it had led to this triumphant moment.

As Lauren looked out at the cheering crowd, she felt a deep sense of gratitude and pride. They had done it!

Empress Brew had won the Golden Bean competition!

The whole place was in a frenzy as both reporters and photographers swam the place, taking pictures and asking questions.

George quietly exited the stage when he saw the chance. He knew Lauren wouldn’t pay any attention to him now, so while the reportes attention was on Lauren and the other two teams, he quietly slipped out to meet Killian at the back of the stage.

"My sister is awesome right?" Killian boasted.

"Yeah and that’s why I love her so much," George teased.

"Can you be serious for once? She already has a fiancé," Killian sneered.

"And who says the fiancé cannot be replaced. Which dump fiancé would leave his fiancée in the hands of wolves? You should have known better than handling Ren over to such a weakling," George scolded.

"She chose him, if you must know and in case you have forgotten, Steffan only lost his memory and will be fine in no time."

"Really? I take your no time to mean a week, a month, max or probably forever," George mocked.

"Whatever. All I know is that Lauren loves him and is ready to wait for him. And who says they can’t get back together before he regains his memory?"

"How? With that tacky doctor by his side how will he get back with Ren? It’s better if you help me talk to her to move on."

"And I guess you’re the person she should move on to?"

"Mm—hmm? Wasn’t that the reason you brought me all the way here?"

"I only asked you to come to distract those people who are hiding in the dark, not to take the job too seriously the way you are, dude. But it’s obvious you have failed. Instead of protecting her, you attracted more troubles to her. If not for her smartness, she would have been flung out of the competition a long time ago."

"But I still salvaged the situation at the end of the day," George said proudly.

"There’s no need to be so proud. You brought the problem to her in the first place, so it was your duty to solve it," Killian snorted.

"Now that we’re on this, how are you going to deal with your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend? I can’t remember any?"

"Maybe it’s not only Steffan that is suffering from memory loss. You seem to have joined in the league too," Killian smirked and walked away.

His business for the day was over and he saw no reason to remain there.