Chapter 3
The banquet hall instantly erupted into chaos.
One man said, “I never expected Miss Eleanor Morris to be personally requested by Mr. White for a private meeting. It seems she’s truly won Mr. White’s favor.”
A woman chimed in, “Looks like Miss Morris is just jealous.”
Another woman added, “If I were her, I’d be too embarrassed to stay here any longer. She’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Some even began praising Christopher: “As expected, Mr. Edwards is so perceptive–he can tell at a glance who’s more valuable.”
Christopher shot me a smug look and said mockingly, “I told you Eleanor was exceptional. What do you have to say now? Natalie, if you apologize properly before things are settled, Eleanor and I won’t hold this against you.”
The commotion around us grew louder, as if after this birthday party, I would become a complete failure.
My bodyguard was furious and said, “Miss Morris, I’ll go get Mrs. Athena Morris.”
I shook my head and stopped him: “That’s not appropriate. Don’t worry, someone will come looking for us soon enough.”
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Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, Julian approached surrounded by a crowd of people.
He wore a tailored suit, his hair silver but his bearing vigorous.
Julian placed two greeting cards and two oil paintings on the table, then asked, “Miss Morris, why are your gifts identical to Eleanor’s?”
Eleanor walked forward with tears in her eyes, looking utterly bewildered: “Natalie, I’ve always looked up to you as my role model. How could you plagiarize my greeting card and painting?”
I didn’t panic at all.
In my previous life, Eleanor had stolen my greeting card and painting to attend this birthday party.
Back then, Julian was concerned about damaging our reputation, so he waited until after the party to question us privately.
At that time, I worried this incident would affect our relationship and make outsiders think Miles and Athena had failed in raising their children properly.
On the other hand, I was afraid Christopher would mind this
matter.
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So I took the blame for plagiarism, allowing Eleanor to receive everyone’s admiration.
Now, since I already knew her true intentions and no longer loved Christopher, there was no need to accommodate her: “In this world, being first to present something doesn’t make you innocent. You claim I plagiarized you–where’s your proof?”
Eleanor hadn’t expected me to be so composed and found herself at a loss for words.
However, Christopher stepped in front of her, looking at me with displeasure: “I’m the witness. A few days ago, you were sneaking around outside Eleanor’s room. I didn’t know what you were doing then, but now it’s clear–you went there to steal her gifts.”
Julian, having experienced many situations, didn’t easily believe Christopher’s words: “Just because you saw Natalie once, you’re that certain?”
Christopher said confidently, “Natalie and I have known each other since childhood, and I understand her completely. She truly can’t compare to Eleanor in any way.”
Even though I’d long known about Christopher’s favoritism, I couldn’t help feeling my heart turn cold.
I clenched my fists and declared loudly, “In that case, why don’t
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we ask Mr. White to be our witness and have Eleanor and me write greeting cards for you again right here?”
Eleanor’s face turned pale as she frantically tried to stop Christopher.
But before her hand could touch his sleeve, Christopher said confidently, “Since you want to be humiliated, we’ll oblige you.”