Chapter 1161:
“Aha! I knew something was off!” Katie burst out, snapping her fingers as if she’d just solved a murder mystery. “Christina never even went to design school! There’s absolutely no way she created something this sophisticated on her own. She must have stolen Yolanda’s work!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to accuse her of that,” Yolanda said quietly, looking troubled. “Maybe she just got some inspiration from my work?”
Brendon’s expression grew darker as he examined the designs more closely. “Yolanda, the more I study these, the more convinced I become that Christina has blatantly plagiarized your work.”
At first, he had believed Christina was genuinely multi-talented. But now he was starting to think his sister might be right. Maybe Christina’s reputation was built on lies. This time, she had crossed a line by stealing Yolanda’s original design.
“No, that can’t be right,” Yolanda whispered, her eyes immediately filling with perfectly timed tears. “I refuse to believe Christina would do something so dishonest.”
Fire flashed in Brendon’s eyes. “I’m going to confront her about this right now.”
“Wait, please!” Yolanda’s voice cracked with emotion as she grabbed his arm desperately. “What if we’re wrong? What if this is all just a terrible misunderstanding?”
“A misunderstanding?” Brendon’s laugh was cold and bitter. “Look at these designs, Yolanda. Out of thirty competitors, each with completely different artistic styles, only Christina’s work happens to match yours down to the smallest details. How do you explain that kind of coincidence?”
Katie nodded vigorously, her voice dripping with righteous indignation. “Exactly! She obviously copied you because she knew it was the only way she could compete at your level. With her real skills, she probably wouldn’t have even made it past the first round.”
“Please, just let it go,” Yolanda begged, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. “I don’t want this situation to create more tension between Christina and me.”
Seeing her so upset, Brendon reluctantly agreed. “Alright, I’ll drop it for now. But if she dares to pull something like this again, there will be consequences.”
L𝑎t𝑒st ch𝑎pt𝑒rs in gαl𝑛ovels.cøm
Yolanda nodded meekly. “Whatever you think is best. I trust your judgment completely.”
“Come on,” Brendon said, taking her hand with a look of tender devotion. “Let’s go celebrate your success instead of dwelling on this unpleasantness.”
“Okay,” Yolanda agreed, her heart soaring as she noticed the deeper warmth in his gaze. The sweet victory of it made her feel giddy with joy.
While Brendon and Yolanda were willing to let the matter rest, Katie had very different plans. She had finally got hold of Christina’s dirt, and she wasn’t about to waste such a perfect opportunity to destroy Christina’s reputation.
The next morning, Christina received a call from Davina.
“Christina, we have a serious problem! Someone’s spreading vicious rumors that you plagiarized your competition entry!”
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