NovelBarBrandon's question hit the nail on the head, once again turning all eyes in the audience towards Marian, sparking a fresh wave of
hushed whispers.
Marian looked like a deer caught in headlights.
She tried to speak but was at a loss for words, completely blindsided by Brandon's bombshell.
In her panic, Marian couldn't help but shoot a plea for help towards Martin.
Martin gave her a look of disappointment. She had seen Brandon's tough cookie act before, knew he wasn't one to beat around the
bush, and yet here she was, still trying to dodge the bullet in such a public setting.
Brandon wasn't about to let her off the hook that easy, “Is Ms. Barlow finding it hard to spill the beans?”
Marian bit her lip, at sixes and sevens, gripping her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her thumb stealthily reopened the
hospital's webpage. The panicked look on her face vanished as she glanced at the paternity test results popping up on her screen.
She turned to Brandon.
“The e-draft was all because I'm a big fan of Director Yearwood's work. | just wanted to break it down and learn from her design
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtapproach, plain and simple, with no ulterior motives.
As for turning a blind eye, like | said before, | just couldn't bear to let my grandparents down which is why | let their
misunderstanding slide. | planned to whip up a different design to replace it, but due to a communication snafu with my brother, he
ended up submitting Sophia's design for the project. At that point, | was too scared and clueless, chickening out at the crucial
moment to set the record straight.
Facing the press yesterday, | wasn't feeling all high and mighty, but as the daughter of the Frost family, | couldn't drag our name
through the mud in such a situation, so | had to suck it up and go through with the interview.
But, the slides from yesterday wasn't supposed to have any design renderings. The pitch was for the Frost family estate, not
Sophia's design proposal. We were going to switch it up later; it's just that in the rush out the door, we grabbed the wrong slides,
leading to Sophia's design popping up on the big screen, hence the mix-up.”
Martin's face dropped, incredulous as he turned to Marian. He couldn't believe she had the gall to flip her story in front of the
media and try to rope him into backing her false testimony.
Marian also turned to him, not saying a word, but discreetly showed him her phone screen, muted her mic, and whispered, “Martin,
backup.”
Martin glanced at the phone, his expression shifting slightly, disbelief etched on his face.
Marian’s eyes were rimmed with red, her look begging him to vouch for her story - that they weren't out to steal Sophia's work, but
that Martin had simply grabbed the wrong design in the hustle, leading the public to believe they were ripping off Sophia's design.
This would effectively clear Marian of the plagiarism charges.
Her logic was all laid out: initially reluctant to disappoint the elders, she hadn't denied it right off the bat, yet she had started on
her own design immediately. The whole mess was really due to a lack of communication with Martin, leading to the wrong design
being submitted. But since no physical building existed yet, they could switch to her design for the final product, nullifying any
possibility of plagiarizing Sophia's work.
If Martin just played along, even the slides without the estate renderings would corroborate her story.
But Martin didn't nod or speak right away; he just stared at her, his expression a battlefield of emotions.
Brandon, noticing Marian’s furtive phone show-and-tell with Martin, furrowed his brow, his gaze drilling into Martin.
With his lips pressed tightly together, Martin shot a fleeting look at Brandon, his face telling a story of inner turmoil.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe was at a crossroads: either back Marian's story, minimizing the damage she had caused herself, or deny it, forcing her to come
clean, which would spell disaster for her.
Martin hesitated, eyeing the phone in Marian’s clenched hand, unsure of his next move.
Today was different from yesterday; the press conference couldn't be stopped - it was a matter of admitting or denying.
Brandon didn’t give him the chance to waver, lifting the mic and facing Martin directly, “Since Mr. Frost is also involved, let's have
Mr. Frost clarify things, shall we?”
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