Chapter 15
Mr. Hayes frowned slightly. He had intended to smooth things over, but Seraphina was clearly unwilling to let it go.
Seraphina fixed Jessica with a half-smile. “If I can prove that the painting is mine and that I didn’t plagiarize, how does Miss Sheffield intend to apologize?”
Jessica narrowed her eyes, her smile dripping with sarcasm. “Miss Beaumont, you’ve told this lie so many times you’ve actually started to believe it yourself.”
“If you can prove that painting is yours, I’ll apologize however you want.”
“But if you can’t, you will break off your engagement with Spencer and never set foot in this house again. Do you dare?”
Even though he knew the truth, Spencer felt a pang of panic.
He couldn’t bear even the slightest risk of losing Seraphina.
But Seraphina agreed without hesitation. “Deal.”
“If I win, Miss Sheffield will move out of the Hayes’ house immediately, never bother Spencer again, and apologize to me with a formal bow in front of everyone here.”
Seraphina had only intended to prove her innocence, but since Jessica wanted to play dirty, she wouldn’t be shown any mercy.
Jessica had already looked into Seraphina’s background. At the Anderson’s, she was treated no better than a servant, there was no way she could have learned to paint. So she expected the work had to be plagiarized.
She smirked. “Fine. Then I’ll add one more condition. If you lose, you will admit in front of everyone that you are inferior to me.”
With the terms agreed upon, a smile played on Seraphina’s lips.
Spencer’s gaze was deep as he wrapped an arm around Seraphina’s waist and whispered, “Aren’t you afraid of losing?”
Seraphina’s smile was radiant. “I won’t lose. And I won’t lose you.”
she looked at him earnestly. “I want to be your wife, the mistress of the Hayes family, not a canary in a gilded cage. I can handle this myself. Trust me.”
Seeing their intimacy, Jessica’s fists clenched. Her voice was cold.
‘Seraphina Beaumont, you wanted to prove it, didn’t you? Let’s see your evidence.”
Seraphina let go of Spencer and addressed the crowd with a faint smile. “Proving my own work is my own is, admittedly, a bit of a challenge.”
‘However, I can reproduce all my recent paintings right here, in front of all of you.”
If I were truly a plagiarist, my brushwork would inevitably be different. Everyone here has been around art since childhood, you all know that while you can copy an image, you can never perfectly replicate an artist’s hand.”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Then, Seraphina asked the butler to bring an easel and painting supplies.
Seraphina picked up a brush, took a seat, and began to recreate the painting in front of everyone.
Even the original artist couldn’t produce a perfect replica every time, but their signature brushstrokes were unchangeable.
At first, Jessica watched with a smug expression, waiting for Seraphina to make a fool of herself. But as she watched her paint, saw the familiar, confident strokes, a chill crept down her spine.
Her body went numb. “No… it can’t be. How is this possible?”
With every stroke of Seraphina’s brush, Jessica’s face fell further.
Half an hour later, Seraphina was finished.
Anyone with eyes could see that Seraphina hadn’t plagiarized anything. The painting was hers.
18:54
The earlier mockery Instantly transformed into praise.
“As expected of Miss Reaumont. That level of skill must have taken at least a decade to master.”
“It just goes to show how harmful rumors can be. With Miss Beaumont’s talent, she has no need to plagiarize. If anything, others should be plagiarizing her.”
Seraphina was long accustomed to such fair weather people.
She stared straight at Jessica, her smile bright and unwavering.
“Miss Sheffield, you lost. It’s time to honor your side of the deal.”
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