Nia's POV
In that moment, everything around me seemed to stop. It was as if time itself had frozen, leaving my heart pounding so loud I swore it echoed off the walls of the crowded room. My every breath felt heavy, like I was trying to breathe underwater, with my chest tighter.
"The New Miss SanCasas is…"
Those words hung in the air, unfinished, leaving a thick tension that you could almost see hanging over the crowd. My mouth was so dry, I could sense the collective tension of everyone present, their gaze glued to the stage.
And then,the announcer decided to throw us all for a loop.
"Let's take a break,shall we ," he said, and I felt my heart skip, then double in pace. A break? Now? The timing couldn't be worse. The waiting was already unbearable.