"No need, " Verena said, ending the call.
From now on, she and Lanny would walk their separate paths. Forget marriage, they weren't even friends anymore.
For several days straight, Lanny stayed at the hospital to take care of Bethany. He never once came home.
Meanwhile, Verena packed up everything she owned, booked a moving truck, and then bought a ticket to Eurendale. She needed a real break, far away from all this mess.
In minutes, her closet was half-empty. All that remained were Lanny's suits, shirts, and neatly arranged ties.
Soon, the night of the charity gala arrived.
The ballroom glittered with gowns, tuxedos, champagne, and perfectly practiced smiles.
Verena hadn't expected to run into Bethany here.
As the event's guest jewelry designer, Verena was seated beside the brand's CEO, a clear sign of status and respect.
Before long, it was time to present the designers' works.
Several jewelry pieces flashed onto the massive screen.
Just as the host was about to introduce them, the entire room stiffened. There were two identical designs.
One was credited to Verena, and the other was Bethany.
"Someone must've uploaded the wrong image."
"But they look identical, even the micro-diamond layout is the same!"
"So who copied who?"
Whispers spread like wildfire, slipping through the crowd in seconds.
After checking backstage, the host returned with an awkward smile. "It appears both designers submitted these themselves. Sometimes creative inspiration overlaps…"
Verena rose from her seat. "That's my design. She copied me."
Her icy gaze locked onto Bethany.
"Miss Johnson, that's an unfair accusation," Bethany retorted calmly. "Before my accident, I won an international award for emerging designers. You say I plagiarized you? Do you have proof?"
"Of course." Verena smiled faintly. "I can produce every 3D draft and revision I've made. Can you?"
She opened her laptop, scrolling through the design software.
But the folder that should have contained dozens of draft files was completely empty.
Verena froze.
Tension crept through the whole ballroom.
"Miss Johnson, still looking?" Bethany scoffed.
She connected her laptop to the big screen. Moments later, her own "drafts" appeared.
She looked at the sketches on the screen, each one refined and reworked countless times, then said, "Inspiration doesn't come easy. You can steal a file, sure… but you can't steal talent."
A wave of shock rippled across the hall.
People glanced at Verena with mixed pity and criticism.
"My inspiration came from my father. When I was little, he won me a toy necklace at a carnival. I've kept it all these years," Bethany continued as she gave Verena a sweet, mocking smile. "Some people who've never known a father's love, I suppose they'll never understand."
Verena clenched her jaw. Bethany had struck precisely where it hurt deliberately.
But Verena never cared about that deadbeat man's affection.
"You claim this is your design?" Verena asked, walked up to the screen, and zoomed in on the 3D model.
Enlarged over and over, the pendant finally revealed two faint letters.
VJ.
"I always embed my initials into my drafts," Verena said coldly. "So tell me, are you Verena Johnson? Or do you admire me so much you put my initials in your 'original' design?"
Bethany was speechless.
Her lips parted slightly as she stared at the giant screen, her mind going completely blank. She couldn't form a single word.
Her silence said everything.
At this moment, the brand's CEO stood up, expression dark. "We are a century-old luxury jewelry house. We respect originality and condemn plagiarism in all forms. Please escort Miss Nash out."
"I—"
Bethany struggled, but security was already walking her out in disgrace.
The gala ended past ten.
In the parking garage, Verena spotted Bethany still there, clearly waiting for her.
"You stole the drafts from my hospital room that day, didn't you?" Verena demanded. "Shameless much?"
"The shameless one is you." Bethany's eyes burned. "You seduced Lanny while I was unconscious. Can't live without a man, is that it? Even a man I didn't want isn't yours to take!"
Verena shrugged. "No interest in Lanny anymore. You can have him."
"Gladly," Bethany said as she stepped closer, voice dropping dangerously. "The hotel staff said the security cameras here are broken. Not fixed yet."
Before Verena could process those words, Bethany splashed something across her.
Gasoline.
In the next heartbeat, Bethany flicked a lighter to Verena's hair.
With a fwoom, flames roared to life, scorching through the dimness of the parking lot.
