Transmigrated: Stealing the CEO husband-Chapter 65: Winning over female lead

"I didn’t expect to stumble into Ms. Grey at a location such as this." Lucia greeted Ariana. "Might I sit with you? The other tables are occupied."

Ariana tensed, but nevertheless she agreed. "Yes, you can. I wonder what brings Ms. Whitaker here to Eliaris retreats."

"I’ll be blunt with you, my parents want me to get close to President Luiss." The female lead was straightforward as she had been depicted in the novel.

" And what’s your opinion on this?" Ariana asked, looking at her cautiously while swirling her drink in the glass.

"My opinions? They are irrelevant." The female lead replied.

In the original novel, the female lead was very against the union at the start. It took Luiss’s relentless pursuit to get her heart. However, in this new setting, maybe the Luiss indifference would have provoked her given the competitive nature of the female lead.

Ariana could only guess.

"You have grown prettier since the last time we met." Lucia couldn’t help but notice if she had an edge over Ariana, that was lost now.

"Might be the radiance of finally some break from the heavy work at the office."

"If you agree, I might put in a few words for you to Luiss," Lucia proposed,

Her informal way of addressing Luiss told her a lot. When did she reach that stage with Luiss?

"There would be no need," Ariana scoffed. "I’m very capable of putting a word in the President’s ear."

At this, Lucia let on a small smile as if laughing at Ariana’s wishful thinking. "The employer is an employer after all." She smoothly reminded Arriana of her place.

Ariana felt a crisis. building inside her, nevertheless, she remained calm. "Yet here we are, sitting at the same table, dining together."

"Sitting together doesn’t eradicate that difference. I’m telling this to you for your own good. The nature of men is fickle."

"I don’t believe so for President Luiss."

"Time shall tell" were her last words before they engaged in a quiet dinner together.

[New main task: Perform better than the female lead at the music night tonight

Deadline. 12 hours.

Penalty: Removal of buffs.]

Ariana had just arrived in her room, and the conversation with the female lead was still churning inside her head when the system prompt made her jump out of her seat. At the same time a lady knocked at the door to inform Ariana of the music festival.

...

Late at night under the stars, unpolluted air and greenery of the island. Guest gathered

Lucia stepped out of the car slowly, her heel touching the pavement with a soft click, as if marking the first note of an overture. The decorative lights blurred behind her, golden and warm, but it was the dress that caught every gaze.

A hush seemed to fall over the entrance as she appeared, like the pause between movements in a symphony. The white gown clung to her shape with effortless grace, its silken folds gliding as she walked, trailing slightly behind her like a whisper of snow. Under the marquee lights of the concert hall, the silver embroidery on the bodice shimmered like a secret language only music could understand.

She moved with quiet confidence, the sheer sleeves catching the evening breeze and fluttering softly like wings. Each step up the grand staircase was deliberate, the gown responding like it had a rhythm of its own. People parted to make way, not just for her beauty, but for the presence she carried—as if the music inside the hall had already begun to announce her.

A pair of pearl earrings peeked through waves of dark hair swept elegantly over one shoulder. Her eyes, calm but alight with anticipation, scanned the ornate doors ahead. This night wasn’t just another performance. She was no longer merely attending. She belonged to the music, and the music belonged to her.

And as the grand doors opened with a soft creak, she crossed the threshold into the velvet-draped interior—an apparition in white, walking into the heart of the symphony.

She caught the attention of every guest. Not just her dress, the way she carried herself with a practised grace and dignity. She appeared to be someone who demanded immediate respect and attention.

"President Luiss," Lucia made her way to Luiss and acknowledged his presence. Luiss, being the gentleman he was, offered her a hand and guided her to a seat. "You look stunning." Luiss couldn’t help but praise her.

His suit was tailored to perfection, cut from deep midnight-blue velvet so rich it almost looked black in the low light, yet shimmered with soft indigo undertones as he moved. The jacket was double-breasted with satin lapels—broad, sweeping, and shaped like the wings of a raven. Instead of traditional buttons, it was fastened with mother-of-pearl studs, catching the light with every breath.

Beneath the jacket, he wore a crisp, high-collared white shirt made of Egyptian cotton, its subtle pleating barely visible but offering texture and depth. Around his throat was a silk cravat, snowy white, secured with a vintage sapphire pin—a flash of color, restrained and deliberate.

His trousers were slim but not tight, gliding down into a pair of polished black dress boots that rose just slightly over the ankle. The boots were leather, of course, but finished in a way that gave them an almost glassy sheen—silent when he walked, smooth as a glissando.

On his wrists, a pair of thin silver cufflinks—engraved with tiny lyres—glinted faintly whenever he lifted his hands

His dark hair was slicked back with a touch of old-world flair, but loose enough to feel modern. His cologne was subtle, a whisper of bergamot and cedarwood that clung to the air behind him like a soft refrain.

He looked like music would pause for him—like he could step onto the stage or into a dream, and either would feel like home.

"Wow look at them!"

"Don’t they feel like match made in heaven?"

"Who is this lady?"

"She is Lucia Whitaker, the daughter of Whitaker family. The talk of the city is that she would soon be engaged to President Luiss,"

"Truly only she is capable of standing with President Luiss side."

They both looked like thy belonged to each other. An elegant beauty at the side of a valiant youth. A perfect combination. The words of the guests flowed into her ear and her chest swelled in pride.

Until a third person made her way down the red velvet.

...

She descended the curved stone staircase carved into the cliffside of the private island, the waves below catching moonlight and scattering it like crushed diamonds. But even the ocean held its breath as she appeared.

Her dress was not white this time, but the color of starlight—an impossibly pale silver, like moonbeams spun into fabric. It was made from layers of handwoven silk organza, soft and whisper-thin, that floated around her like mist. Each step she took sent a ripple through the gown, as if she were walking through a dream rather than across a marble terrace.

The bodice was delicately sculpted to her form, a seamless blend of couture and ethereal fantasy. Fine crystal beading traced the shape of constellations across the corset, catching the firelight from lanterns strung among the palms. A plunging neckline curved like a violin’s silhouette, elegant and intentional, balanced by the gown’s long, cape-like train that followed her like liquid starlight, embroidered with silver thread in winding motifs inspired by ancient sheet music.

Instead of sleeves, translucent silk draped from golden cuffs around her upper arms, falling like waterfall veils to her fingertips. The fabric moved with the ocean wind—alive, fluttering, singing silently with each step.

Around her neck rested a collar of fine diamonds, set like notes in a delicate staff of platinum, and at her back, where the gown dipped low, a single sapphire pendant rested against her spine—a deep blue echo of the sea behind her.

Her hair was gathered in a loose chignon, woven with tiny seashells dipped in silver, and her makeup was luminous, kissed with the same soft shimmer as the stars above. She wore no perfume—only the scent of salt air, jasmine, and something that could only be described as magic.

She walked toward the private amphitheater carved into the stone, where the quartet was already playing. But for a moment, the music faltered—because even the musicians needed a breath to remember where they were... and who had just arrived.

She had completely taken over the female lead by a huge margin. It was evident as in guests long stares and gasps.

"I thought Lucia was at the peak of perfection. But look at this lady?"

"How much many shocks we gonna have this night?"

"Not only she is pretty, she knows how to dress."

"Isn’t she the secretary of President Luiss? The dress looks quite expensive and luxurious. How could she afford this?"

"Thse two ladies are stealing the night this time. Of course she is winning by a huge margin."

As she glided down the red velvet, she made her way to where President Luiss and Lucia were seated. She acknowledged their presence. "President Luiss. Ms. Whittaker." Whilis sending a small smile in Lucia direction.