Chapter 58


    Chapter 58 A Stain


    Things were just as hectic on the other end. Abigail seized the opportunity to pass another piece of pap


    er to Luna while no one else was looking. Luna’s expression remained nk, but it was as if they had a


    n unspoken agreement–


    she slipped the piece of paper into her pocket and covered her shirt over it. They both edged closer to


    one another and were about to exchange a conversation


    when they heard Joan’s high–pitched voice.


    “I noticed that you finished all of your design drafts when I visited you earlier today, Luna. That’s


    impressive. I heard that the theme left a lot of the other designers stumped–they couldn’te


    up with anything, even after working on it for up to one week.” Joan’s statement carried an implicit


    message that everyone else could understand. Yet, when Abigail nced at Joan’s expression, she


    noticed that there wasn’t a hint of malice on her face. In fact, she seemed to have genuine


    admiration for the other woman.


    The rest of the crowd no longer said much. The designers simply stared at Luna, who had a smile


    on her face. Everyone couldn’t help but recall what Joan had asked Luna the night before. Did she


    really contact Sean to ask him about the themest night? Was she trying toe up with the drafts be


    fore us? Abigail could sense the suspicion and


    hostility in the rest of the designers‘ gaze, and she froze for a moment. Joan is obviously trying to tell e


    veryone that thispetition is rigged. She’s telling them that the winner has been pre–


    determined and that they wouldn’t be able to win the grand prize regardless of how hard they try.


    Since Luna identified herself as na, she hadn’t visited Sean’s room, nor did she see a point in


    exining herself to Joan. So, Luna simply lowered her cutlery before looking Joan in the eye. “You


    should provide some evidence for your statements, Miss Palmer. Otherwise, you’re just defaming


    me.”


    The theme, ‘Sweet Whispers, was clear enough that any designer who had some experience in the


    industry would know how to get started with their work. If they hadn’t exchanged identities, Abigail


    would have still been able to produce an initial draft within one hour. All she would’ve had to do


    was to discard her other issues and focus hard for a while.


    Joan’s eyes were bright with joy and awe. “You sure are one of my favorite designers! I went to visit


    Seanst night, and I identally stepped on a piece of paper that had been left on the floor beside


    his shoe rack. I saw a mark on your draft earlier today, and I thought that it was the same piece of


    paper I had stepped on… I felt really disappointed then.” Joan twisted her face into one of dejection as


    she continued speaking. “I was worried that the designer I admired wasn’t actually all that talented. I on


    ly became a model


    because of your designs. I may not have any talent in your field, but I sure do look up to you, Miss Smit


    h! Not only that, but I would be so shocked if you turned out


    to be a fake!”


    Luna stared at Abigail without saying


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    much. Abigail, on the other hand, seemed unfazed even after all that Joan had said. “When you met he


    r today, the production crew for the designers had arrived as well. Logically speaking, she wouldn’t hav


    e had the chance to switch to a new draft, right?” Abigail asked.


    Joan recalled the events of the morning before she nodded. “That’s right.” Abigail let out a slight chuckl


    e. “That’s great, then. Since there wasn’t any time for her to change her draft, the draft that gets aired w


    ould certainly have the mark that you were talking about, right, Miss Palmer? Wouldn’t the truth


    be out once we look at the recordings?”


    Joan blinked a few times without much change in her expression. She carefully recalled the sequence


    of events earlier that morning


    and made sure that she hadn’t missed out on anything before she spoke once more. “Fine. However, si


    nce


    you im that this isn’t the truth, then there’s nothing I have to worry about. I don’t have any ill intention


    s. I simply want this to be a


    fairpetition, and I want to believe that my idol has genuine talent.” Joan’s tone was sincere and ge


    nuine–the crowd seemed to be fonder of her after hearing her words.


    Abigail simply smirked at the other woman. “You’re a blessing to the design industry, Miss Palmer. You


    voiced out


    your concerns in order to ensure that everyone else’s efforts don’t go to waste, and you tried to make s


    ure that this show proceeds in a rightful manner. I think that’s a fantastic move from your end.”


    Meanwhile, the cameraman was beyond excited to capture the argument. These were the sort of


    scenes that would generate a lot of conversation. Joan turned around to look at Luna, who had been


    silent for a while. “I’m not overthinking the situation. I’m simply very fond of you, Miss Smith. I


    only got concerned after noticing the issue with the draft.”


    “Miss Palmer” Luna got to her feet and came face–to–


    face with Joan while beaming at her. “I’m sorry. I’m not an idiot, and I’m able to distinguish women who


    are simply pretending to be innocent and well–


    intentioned. I’m fine if you’re targeting me as an individual, but your words are


    also impacting my reputation. I hope that I’ll be able to receive an apology from you once the


    program is aired and the truth is out.” Luna didn’t care about how other people perceived her, and she


    wasn’t afraid to offend Joan or the wealthy figure who was supporting Joan. So, Luna didn’t hesitate to


    expose the pretentious front that Joan was putting on. After that, she let out a scoff before she led


    Abigail out of the restaurant with a nonchnt look on her face.


    The tension in the room was at its peak at that point. Everyone began to whisper among


    themselves


    as they all attempted to guess what Luna would do. Joan was fuming on the inside! Luna is the one wh


    o doesn’t know where she stands. How dare she act all righteous when she was the one who tried to s


    educe Sean? However, Joan knew that she couldn’t reveal her anger in


    front of the camera. Sabrina had already given her a warning earlier that day–


    that she had to contain her emotions


    and not lose her temper. If Joan lost her temper, she would be fulfilling Luna’s wishes! She would revea


    l the front that she had been putting on!


    However, Joan also knew that her smile would only seem forced if she attempted to put one on then. In


    stead, she got to her feet before gazing at the camera with a look of hurt and sorrow on her face. “I can


    apologize right now if that’s what Miss Smith wants. I just really


    didn’t want my impression of my idol to be ruined. Furthermore, we’re all on the same team–


    I wouldn’t want to harm her in any way. I shouldn’t have addressed this in public, and I apologize for tha


    t. After all, I’m sure every design ever produced feels like a precious gem to the designers themselves.”


    Joan bowed to the camera, but there was a grim look in her eyes when she turned away from it.


    I can’t believe how things turned south after Abigail’s statements. I hadn’t expected Luna to be so


    careless with her reputation, too. She didn’t hesitate to criticize me at all. Wouldn’t that just bring


    me more haters?


    In the meantime, Luna’s expression darkened after both she and Abigail returned to Luna’s room.


    “What should we do? I think there was really a mark on the draft that I submitted.” Luna had been


    worried that she would identally expose something if the filming crew took too much footage of


    her, so she had been quick to submit her draft earlier. Her ears were ringing then. We spoke so


    confidently earlier, but it just feels like we might have dug our own graves, she thought.


    “What about the copy that I gave you after that?” Abigail tried her best tofort Luna. Luna


    hurried off to look for the copy in the drawer, but she then looked up with a grimace on her face.


    “We’re dead. That copy’s gone.”


    Abigail was speechless for a while. “Don’t worry. I’lle up with something. You shouldn’t panic.


    If everything else fails, I’ll just have to admit that I’m na.” Abigail turned and left after that. She


    didn’t know if Sean was still in the private restaurant in the dining hall–all she knew then was that


    she had to find a way to contact him. The rest of the designers would


    probably develop a bad impression of na once the news spread, and this woulde as a blow to L


    .Moon Studio.


    Joan didn’t reach out to Sean.


    Instead, she allowed the suspicion and confusion to continue brewing among the designers. At the sam


    e time, Kevin curled his lips into a victorious smirk after he saw


    the clips that were aired that afternoon. “Aren’t you going to talk to Mr. Sean about what happened


    this morning?” Damon asked after some hesitation.


    Kevin


    gave the other person a yful smirk. “There’s no need to talk about anything. Our job is just


    to produce the show, and these debatable issues are meant to fall into the hands of theizens.


    That’s how our program is going to get popr.” This show is getting more and more interesting,


    Kevin thought to himself.