Chapter 48
Chapter 48:
Throughout this exchange, Janice remained calm, a hint of mockery dancing in her eyes. “Have you forgotten what I said earlier? I offered to draw a new design right here, right now.”
Stella fell silent. Janice had indeed made that offer, but the idea had seemed so absurd that she hadn’t taken it seriously. Now that Janice was bringing it up again, could she really pull it off?
“Also, it’s true that JE and I are best friends. What of it? Just because JE and I are close doesn’t mean you can throw baseless accusations that I make her create the designs I submit.” Janice shook her head, chuckling softly. “What a bunch of fools.”
Stella’s face reddened in anger at the insult. Her cold, composed demeanor cracked, revealing the embarrassment of having been called out so bluntly.
Janice glanced sideways at Delilah and smirked. “I hope you’re not mad at me for being blunt. You may not know this, but Delilah was caught plagiarizing JE’s design in yesterday’s competition. She was exposed and blacklisted in the clothing design industry. This is the kind of person you’ve chosen to believe without a shred of proof. Honestly, calling you fools is putting it lightly.”
“What did you say? This woman plagiarized JE’s design?” Stella leaned forward, glaring at Delilah.
“This is all just a big misunderstanding,” Delilah hurriedly explained. “What happened is that I accidentally took the wrong draft. You know that JE and Janice are close friends. Janice had one of JE’s designs, and I wanted to study it, so I borrowed it and forgot to give it back.”
Janice clapped her hands and said in a mocking tone, “You may just be the queen of tall tales, Delilah.”
“Why are you always targeting me?” Delilah’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “I may have taken your place within the Edwards family for over ten years, but it was never intentional. I’ve always seen you as my sister. Why can’t you accept me and treat me as such?”
“Oh, please spare me of your manipulations, Delilah,” Janice sneered. “You should count yourself lucky that we’re currently in Delgado Jewelry, or I would have kicked you out before you even opened your mouth.”
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Kenneth rapped his knuckles against the table and cleared his throat, interrupting their argument.
“That’s enough,” he sighed, appearing frustrated. “It seems neither of you is easy to deal with. I’m starting to wonder if I made a mistake giving you this opportunity.”
“I don’t care about your grudges against each other. Please, do not bring your personal disputes to the company. You are here to apply for a job, not to settle scores between you.”
“I’m so sorry, Kenneth! I’ll be more careful next time. I won’t argue with my sister again.” Delilah sobbed, looking pitiful and heartbroken.
Janice, on the other hand, crossed her arms over her chest and remained silent.
“To properly assess your abilities, we shall have an impromptu design challenge,” Kenneth suggested.
“No problem,” Janice replied nonchalantly.
Kenneth nodded and turned to Delilah. “How about you?”
Delilah was spiraling into panic, but she had no choice in the matter. “I have no problem, either.” What was she supposed to do now? She didn’t even know the correct way to hold a paintbrush, let alone create a design on the spot. Was she finally going to be exposed?
Meanwhile, Aiden sat in his wheelchair with a light blanket covering his legs. He appeared relaxed and comfortable, but as he listened through his headphones and took stock of Janice’s current situation, his lips curled into a small, cunning smile.
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