Juliet opened her eyes and immediately felt a sudden nervousness in her heart. Henry's intense, unreadable stare made her uneasy. "Henry, why would you ask that?" "You texted that guy, saying you did something stupid because you were upset with me, right? It sounds like you're blaming me for what happened?" Henry looked at her with a half-smile.Juliet quickly shook her head and stammered, "No, Henry, I didn't! How could I blame you …" "Regardless, keep this money," Henry said, tossing her a check.Juliet paused with tears in her eyes. "What's this for?" "That incident at the restaurant, caused by my brother, might have affected you emotionally. So, the medical bills and future recovery expenses will be covered by the Chase family," Henry said in a businesslike manner. Juliet suddenly felt a chill rush down her spine. She stared at the numbers on the check, feeling a pang in her chest. "Henry, do you think I did all this for the money?""I don't have time for this. I don't
"Sorry for the inconvenience," Sheldon stood up, looking apologetic. Unsure how to respond, Natalie shook her head and said, "No need to apologize to me. The one who needs to apologize is the person scheming against me behind my back." Her eyes grew colder as she spoke. Sheldon nodded, "Right, time to execute our plan." Glancing at the wall clock, he remarked, "Let's go. Time for the meeting.""Sure." Natalie gathered the files she needed for the meeting and followed Sheldon out of the office. Half an hour later, everyone focused on the big screen in the meeting room.Sheldon scanned the room and began, "To ensure fairness in the music center project, I'm leaving the decision to you. We received designs from 18 designers, and I've selected three that impressed me."He continued, "After showcasing these designs, I'll ask for a show of hands to decide. The design with the most votes will be in charge of the music center's design. Any objections?"From the smiles around the room
"Are you a designer from the Winrazor Group?" Lana asked cautiously. The woman didn't answer but eyed her with increased wariness.Lana approached her and grinned slyly, "Natalie bought your design, didn't she?" The woman seemed surprised that Lana knew but quickly denied it. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."Seeing her reaction, Lana grew more certain. "Stop pretending. How much did she pay you? I'll offer double! Just publicly expose this at the Creative Visions Competition!"The woman hesitated. Lana persisted, "I'll add more money! Will you do it? It's easy money. Just publicly accuse Natalie! How about it?"Still doubtful, the woman said, "No ... I promised her to keep it confidential." Lana smirked maliciously, "So, you admit she bought the design, right?" The woman nervously denied, "I didn't say that!"Blocking her path, Lana pressed, "How much did she pay you for it? I'll make this simple. I'll offer five times the price!" She handed the woman
"The names of the first, second, and third-place winners are on this card. With over a thousand designers participating in the Creative Visions Competition, standing out from this pool speaks volumes about the winners' capabilities."The host smiled and continued, "Without further ado, I'll announce the third-place winner of this competition."Ten minutes later, the second and third-place winners stood together on stage, visibly thrilled. The anticipation lingered for the announcement of the champion.Natalie clenched her hands nervously, doubting any hope that her work would be recognized. Sensing her tension, Sheldon encouraged, "Stay confident. The yet-to-be-announced champion might just be you." Natalie managed a faint smile but lacked blind confidence."Finally, let's reveal the champion of this competition. Who could it be?" The host glanced at the card and smiled mysteriously. Natalie was breathless with anticipation."The champion in this competition used the code na
"If someone like you gets honored, wouldn't those of us who work hard at our jobs become a joke? I'm here to expose your shameless deeds!" The crowd erupted again."Can't draw so you buy others' work? Truly shameless!" "If she really did that, she doesn't deserve the championship!""Not only that, she should be blacklisted in this industry!" "Blacklisted? Is that possible? She's got connections!"Lana was highly satisfied with the reactions. She looked at Natalie with malice. "Natalie, get ready for your downfall!" she thought triumphantly.Natalie surveyed the reactions of the crowd and soon turned her gaze to Lana. "If you claim I did such a thing, then provide evidence! Words alone mean nothing!"Lana smirked, "You want to see evidence? Fine, I'll show you evidence!" She pulled out a recording pen from her pocket and held it high. "The evidence is right here!"Everyone focused on Lana's hand curiously. Meanwhile, Henry stood near the backstage entrance with Wade at his
"I'm Esme Henderson, the editor of a small magazine. Ms. Shepherd has provided me with design drafts for the past two years, and I've paid her for these services. This summarizes our transactions."Lana's smirk froze instantly. She stared at Esme in disbelief. What was Esme saying? Wasn't she there to accuse Natalie of buying designs? How had it turned out like this?"Shut up!" Lana yanked Esme's arm and cut her off mid-sentence. Lana couldn't accept her statement. She angrily questioned, "That's not how it happened! I heard your argument that day! You previously admitted she bought designs from you! "You even said everything would be revealed on the day of the award ceremony! Why change your stance now?"Esme didn't respond but opened a file and clicked play on an audio clip. Soon, a recording started to play. "I'll add more money! Will you do it? It's easy money. Just publicly accuse Natalie! How about it?"Lana's face turned pale upon hearing her own voice. She had rushed
Henry took a peek at the stage with mixed feelings.He fixed his eyes on the figure on the stage and said, "If everyone finds out that I'm the grand jury of this competition, they might doubt that Natalie has won the award fair and square. Especially after what has just happened."It wouldn't be a surprise if most of them thought that he had intentionally crowned his wife the champion.But the truth was, he really had no idea that that was her work. He wasn't aware that Natalie was so talented in architectural design before this."So you're trying to protect Ms. Shepherd!" Wade finally realized what Henry was doing.Henry gave him a stern glare.Wade thought that Henry was warning him that he had talked too much, so he shut his mouth immediately. However, Henry was glaring for a different reason."Stop calling her Ms. Shepherd." Somehow, that title got on Henry's nerves"Huh?" Wade was confused."You hear me. Have I made myself clear?" Henry stared at him scornfully."Loud an
It seemed that a face-off between Henry and Sheldon was inevitable."Stop it, will you?" said Natalie as she pulled Henry's arm.Then, she looked at Sheldon apologetically and said, "Please excuse him, Sheldon."Natalie felt a bit awkward after what Henry had said. Even though she and Sheldon were just friends, their relationship could barely withstand speculation and slander.On the other hand, Henry wasn't happy that Natalie cared so much about Sheldon's feelings. She seemed upset because he had mocked Sheldon."It's okay. I wasn't listening anyway," said Sheldon unconcernedly."Well, we should go now. Bye!" said Natalie."Bye!"Sheldon stood there as he saw Natalie off. All he wanted was for Natalie to be happy. But obviously, Henry wasn't the person who could bring her happiness.Henry's arm was wrapped around Natalie's shoulder as they were leaving. When they reached the end of the hallway, Natalie moved her shoulder uneasily and said, "There's no reporters here. Yo