She burst into a peal of mad laughter as she put her signature on the electronic manuscript, eager to send it out.
Niamh and Kendrick finally came down after they were done choosing the attire. It was then when they saw the stack of papers on the coffee table that was drenched in water. Kendrick picked up a piece of tissue and one by one, he soaked the water away. He looked as if he was more anxious than Niamh.
“Forget it, Kendrick. I still have the soft copy of it.”
“No way, all these are your hard work. Even if you don’t want them, I’ll still prefer to store them properly.”
Niamh was dumbfounded to see Kendrick being so anxious about and treasuring her hard work.
After some time, she finally recovered and looked at the laptop. “Hmm, I think I’ve forgotten to store the electronic manuscript, but thank God everything is in my brain.”
Karen, who was standing behind the stairs while eavesdropping, was covering her mouth as she giggled away.
“Hmph, Niamh, wait till you’re done duplicating it. Yvonne would’ve long ago sent in hers. By the time you send in yours, it’ll just show that you’re copying others!”
She was thrilled and eager to see the consequences that were about to happen to Niamh.
Two days had passed, and it was finally the night of the competition that she longed for.
That was because the finals would deem the winner through a live voting session. Hence, before the start of the competition, no one would know what sort of designs would the contestants present.
It was an international designing competition. With lots of celebrities in attendance and tens of social media platforms showing live broadcasts, the entry ticket had risen to a price of at least four digits.
Karen used 2,800 bucks to buy herself a ticket in the front row just so she could witness the awful look on Niamh’s face later when she was wronged.
Just when she sank into her seat, she realized Eloise and Sean had occupied the best seats in the front row. It was obvious that they were present to give their support to Niamh.
Karen rolled her eyes disdainfully, but deep in her heart, she was envious of the luxurious outfit worn by Eloise. In the past, she could also wear branded clothing with jewelry as well.
She bore a huge grudge against Niamh and even deemed her the culprit for destroying her luxurious life.
The clock struck 8 PM, and the opening ceremony for the finals began. All 16 designers competing in the finals took their designated seats.
Among the contestants, Niamh took the limelight.
Regardless if it was her looks or her presence, it was a notch above others.
Kendrick was sitting below the stage, fixing his gaze upon Niamh’s charming smile.
Soon, the finals officially started, and according to their given numbers, the first designer went up on stage to show his design on the gigantic screen. The designer explained the concept and the meaning behind his design. Following that, it was the live voting session.
Niamh was the 12th contestant while Yvonne was the sixth.
In the meantime, Yvonne was longing for her moment.
She had spent a tremendous amount to rent a pricey dress just for that night. She put on meticulous make-up just so she could show off on the stage later where she would stand before the cameras.
At that moment, Yvonne immediately bounced to her feet while wearing her most charming smile on her face. As soon as the host called her name, she raised her head high while her high heels took her up to the center of the stage. Karen was giving her applause down the stage, waiting for something exciting to happen.
However, just when Yvonne was confidently displaying the design which she got from Niamh, all the guests who were sitting at the judges’ seats as well as some authorities revealed shocked expressions.
The audience’s reaction was the total opposite of the judges’ as they looked as though they had been mesmerized by the design.
Seeing the expressions displayed on the judges and the audience made Yvonne’s lips curl in excitement.
‘It looks like this design has stolen the spotlight. Just look at these people! Their jaws have all dropped to the ground after looking at it!’
Karen, who was sitting among the audience, was proud as well when she heard the praises given by the crowd.
Her gaze met Yvonne’s, then she turned to look at Niamh who was sitting at the contestants’ area.
Both Karen and Yvonne were joyous to see Niamh dumbfounded.
‘Hmph, I bet you never saw this coming, right, Niamh?
‘Your hard work is now mine!’
“The sixth designer, are you sure this is the design that you submitted for this contest?” Mr. Lewinski, who was previously courted by Yvonne back at a charity banquet, pointed at the screen and asked.
Yvonne blinked her eyes, acting all obedient as she nodded. “Yes, Mr. Lewinski. This is my design for this contest!”
Mr. Lewinski turned around and exchanged looks with the other judges.
A female judge sitting beside Mr. Lewinski stared at the design and said, “This is indeed one splendid work.”
Yvonne thought they were praising her, and this made her even more delighted.
“Thank you and I really appreciate that you all like it. Actually, I’ve prepared this design for a very long time. I actually completed it a long time ago, but because I’m a perfectionist, I’d rather sacrifice my sleeping hours just to improve my work. It’s so that I can show the most perfect work for everyone to admire!”
“Oh? Really?” the judges said in a suspicious tone.
Yvonne nodded and answered firmly, “I’m the kind of person where if there’s something that I’m passionate about, I’ll go all out to make it perfect. Just like this design. I’ve paid full attention to complete it!”
She raised her gaze to sneak a peek at Niamh before adding, “I’m not the kind of person who will go online to steal other people’s work just for the sake of fame. Those people will just simply copy other people’s work, change it a little, and claim it’s theirs.”
“So you’d rather just use other people’s work without modifying it at all?”
‘What? What did I just hear?’
Suddenly, a female judge counter-questioned in a cold tone. The smile on Yvonne’s face suddenly faded.
The crowd down the stage, Karen included, was puzzled.
‘Other people’s work?
‘Does it mean that Niamh submitted her design way before Yvonne did?
‘That’s impossible. Even if she did send it right before Yvonne, this is still a live voting contest. The judges won’t know about Niamh’s work.’
“Why do you say so, if I’m allowed to ask the fellow judges? This is my work. I’ve never copied from other people.” Yvonne blinked innocently and denied.
“Honorable judges, I dare swear to God that this is a result of my hard work. If so happens that another design is completely the same as mine, it’s definitely the other party who copied mine and not the other way around!”
She had come prepared with these words. It was just that she did not expect the judges to have gone through Niamh’s work beforehand.
‘Isn’t this a live voting contest? Or did Niamh use an underhanded method?’
Then, the female judge sneered, “The sixth contestant, I’ve never seen anyone telling lies so boldly. What a shameless person.”
Yvonne was thunderstruck. She did not expect the female judge to lash out at her straight up. However, she knew she could not back down as she was standing up on the stage, facing so many live broadcasting cameras.
Immediately, Yvonne argued back. “Honorable judge, how could you say such a thing to me? As someone so impolite, are you even worthy of being a judge?”
“I’m impolite?” The female judge chuckled. “You’re Yvonne, right? On your resume, it’s stated that you graduated by furthering your studies on jewelry designing, but you don’t know that the design you’re showing is the work of the famous international jewelry designer, Victor.”
???
After hearing what the judges had to say, Yvonne’s expression slowly changed to become much more awful.
She stared at the design that was displayed on the screen, finding it hard to believe. She was absent- minded for a few seconds.
‘This… This is the work of a famous jewelry designer?
‘How did it come down to this?
‘Damn it!
‘It must be Niamh who copied that designer’s work, planning to use it for the contest!
‘Then doesn’t that mean I’ve become the scapegoat for Niamh?!’
That was what was coursing through Yvonne’s mind. Exasperated, she glared at Niamh.
Niamh sat under the lights quietly and elegantly. Her stunning face remained composed.
Niamh could not help but curl her red, sexy lips into a smile when she saw Yvonne glaring at her while clenching her teeth.
“Yvonne, how dare you say that this is the product of your hard work when all you did was copy a great designer’s work and submit it for the contest? You’re indeed hilarious and foolish. Designing a piece of jewelry is a form of art. We can’t tolerate the likes of you tainting it. You’re disqualified from this contest. In the future, you’ll be banned from joining any jewelry-related contest!”
…
‘What?!’
Yvonne could not tolerate such an ending.
She desired to witness Niamh falling from grace. However, not only did she fail to do so, but she even got herself into trouble as well.
The crowd down the stage viewed her with scornful looks, making Yvonne anxious.
Even if it was the end for Yvonne, she still wished to drag Niamh along.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.