Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Presenting Evidence, Delivering a Brutal Slap
Angelica didn’t respond, but someone in the crowd shouted, “Of course!”

“Whoever publishes first is the original creator— isn’t that common sense?!”

“Angelica started live-streaming her design process a month ago— what about you?!”

The reason why this piece of jewelry looked familiar to so many people was that Angelica had been sketching bits of it during every live stream for the past month, making sure her fans remembered it.

Katie’s eyes darted around before she quickly spoke up, “Selina, what else is there to say? We’re all family— if you admit your mistake now, Angelica won’t hold it against you!”

Angelica pursed her lips and sighed, “Selina… dragging this out any longer won’t do you any good. Even if you don’t care about yourself, at least think about Logan.”

Selina smirked. Think about Logan?

“Since that’s the case…”

With a snap of her fingers, the massive screen behind them suddenly flickered, and the original display vanished, replaced by a recorded video.

“Everyone here insists that the one who publishes first is the original creator. So, Angelica, how do you explain this?”

The video started playing.

On the screen, Selina was sketching a jewelry design, her hand gracefully moving across the page before she scanned and uploaded it onto a computer.

The design in the video was identical to the one caught in the plagiarism scandal.

And in the bottom-right corner of the screen— the timestamp showed it was from a year ago.

Wait… a year ago?!

The previously outraged crowd suddenly fell silent.

Reporters exchanged uncertain glances. “Selina sketched this design a year ago?”

“Angelica only started hers a month ago… so does that mean— Angelica really plagiarized?”

With just one video, the entire narrative flipped on its head.

Selina in the video was wearing winter clothing, and from the snowy background outside the window, it was clear that this footage was genuinely recorded last winter.

Which meant—

Gasps rippled through the audience.

“Oh my god, Angelica was the one who copied! And yet her fans were attacking Selina, trying to force her into a confession— was this their plan all along? If Selina gave in, no one would have ever known Angelica stole the design!”

“This is insane! Even her own father didn’t bother investigating the truth. He believed a stepdaughter over his real daughter and was ready to kick her out!”

Angelica’s face drained of color. She staggered slightly before shooting a panicked glare toward Shareholder Taylor.

No… impossible!

Shareholder Taylor had sworn that Selina had no evidence. So where did this video come from?!

Katie screeched, “Selina! Where did you even find this fake video to frame Angelica?! You stole her design, and now you’re trying to play the victim? With today’s technology, do you really think we don’t know how easy it is to fabricate a timestamp?”

Angelica immediately caught on and burst into tears.

“Selina… there was no need for this. You can ask anyone in the industry— my reputation speaks for itself. I’ve never had a history of plagiarism! I have my design records, and my fans can vouch for me…”

[That’s right! I watched Angelica live-stream her design process every night— I saw her create it from scratch! Why would she ever need to steal from some no-name rookie?]

[Selina is disgusting! Even when she’s exposed, she refuses to admit it!]

[According to Selina, she supposedly designed this a year ago. But Angelica has never even seen her sketch— how could she have copied it exactly? Selina must’ve realized she couldn’t explain herself, so she faked this footage at the last minute. Don’t fall for it!]

Some spectators hesitated, unsure of who to believe.

After all, Angelica was an established name in the industry— why would she need to steal someone else’s design?

Could it be that Selina really forged the evidence?

Angelica let out a sigh of relief.

As long as she insisted that Selina had forged the evidence, public opinion would still be in her favor.

She pretended to be kind-hearted, saying, “Selina, if you admit it now, I can still plead for you… Otherwise, this industry will never accept you again. I don’t want to see you ruin yourself…”

“Since you claim this design is yours, then—”

Before she could finish, Selina interrupted her directly, pointing to a specific part of the brooch.

“Why is there a broken cloud in this design?”

Angelica’s face turned slightly pale. How did she know that?!

Selina tilted her head playfully. “Why isn’t Angelica answering? Can’t come up with an explanation?”

Angelica took a deep breath. “I don’t need to answer that.”

“Then why is there a seagull here? What does the overall design symbolize? What was the inspiration behind this brooch?”

Selina fired off three consecutive questions, and Angelica’s face went from red to green to pale white, her expression completely stiff.

The room fell silent—everyone was now waiting for Angelica’s response.

She had no choice but to feign helplessness. “Selina, design inspiration is something that comes in fleeting moments. The way you’re pressing me like this… how am I supposed to answer?”

“It’s normal that you can’t answer.”

Selina suddenly paused, her smirk deepening.

“Because when you copied it, you had no idea—this brooch isn’t actually complete, is it?”

Angelica’s breath hitched, panic rushing to her head.

Wait… what did Selina mean by that?!

The crowd also looked puzzled.

Not complete?

The brooch had already been released on the market—it was clearly a standalone piece. Aside from that broken cloud, how was it incomplete?

Katie sneered without thinking. “Selina, you’ll say anything to clear your name! Not complete? You’re just jealous of Angelica!”

Angelica’s brows suddenly furrowed, a deep sense of foreboding creeping in.

Wait… Selina’s ‘not complete’—could it be…

“It’s incomplete because it’s a matching couple’s brooch.”

Selina’s voice rang out clearly.

“The broken cloud, the solitary seagull… every tiny detail hints at the existence of another half! Angelica, if this design is truly yours, then tell me—did you design a couple’s set?”

A couple’s brooch…

This was a pair of brooches?!

Angelica’s breath caught, and her face finally darkened.

“Selina, even if you say all this, you could just be making things up—”

Before she could finish, the paused video on the screen suddenly resumed playing.

In the video, Selina continued sketching next to the original brooch design.

The broken cloud connected to another half, and opposite the seagull, a fish emerged from the sea—one in the sky, the other in the ocean.

Every single detail matched perfectly.

Anyone with eyes could tell—this was indeed a couple’s design.

Angelica stumbled backward, her entire body trembling!

Selina sneered coldly.

“Angelica, you don’t even know what the full design represents. The seagull and the fish love each other, but they will never be together. They were split into two brooches, yet they continue to longingly gaze at one another. That was my original vision.”

“Yet you can’t explain why the seagull is looking down, why the cloud is broken, or why you even changed my original blue sapphire to pink. In my design, the blue sapphire represents the sea. What does your pink one represent?”

Angelica couldn’t answer. She had no idea.

Selina’s voice turned sharper, her words cutting like a blade.

“Angelica, you can’t explain the design concept, you didn’t even know this was a couple’s set, and I have the full recording of my design process. Yet you still claim this is your work?”

“Based on what? Just because you have more fans, you think you can distort the truth?”