Kash's jaw was hanging open as he pointed at Maria with a trembling finger.

“Five... Five... There are five..."

Five?

What on earth was he talking about?

Vivian followed the direction of his gaze, but she didn't find anything on Maria that could explain his words.

She moved a couple of steps to the left so that she was within the same line of sight as Kash. Only then did she understand what he was trying to say.

On the collar of Maria's shirt was a star writer's badge.

Vivian herself was in the cusp of becoming a one-star writer, so she was quite familiar with the badge that came with the title. Each day, she would hope and pray that Kash would finally give her the token she felt she deserved.

And so, she immediately noticed that something was different about the badge that Maria wore.

The number of stars... There were a lot of them.

“One, two, three, four? Hmm... One, two, three, four... Five?" Vivian blurted out, her eyes popping out of their sockets.

She counted the stars again, much slower this time.

Her small outburst caught the attention of Maria and Merlin, and the two turned to look at her.

The moment Vivian met Maria's gaze, she felt her face burn.

She was scared.

She was terrified that Maria would recognize the envy that was bubbling in her chest. Vivian could barely come to terms with the fact, let alone be mocked for it.

“What are you up to?"

Maria asked calmly.

“Sorry, our teacher didn't tell me too much about you, Maria. Do you two Know each other?" Merlin asked with mild curiosity.

Their teacher?

Vivian's head was buzzing.

So, they had the same teacher?

That meant that Maria had studied under one of the top three seniors in the National Writers’ Association, Curt Willows!

Just how much did the woman benefit from her marriage to Anthony?