Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 331

Chapter 331: Reclaiming Ownership
The mood at the venue did a complete 180.

“Angelica, what do you have to say for yourself?! You’re the one who plagiarized! You lied to all of us!”

Angelica’s face flushed red, then pale, then red again — the humiliation unbearable.

Why? Why, after all her careful planning over the years, was Selina once again standing above her?

She couldn’t let Selina crush her. She just couldn’t…

“This must… must be some kind of misunderstanding…”

Tears welled in Angelica’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks, her voice cracking with helplessness. The crowd hesitated.

“I’ve made it through so much over the years… I know how devastating plagiarism is for a designer’s reputation. Why would I risk everything I’ve built for one title?”

A murmur of doubt spread.

She had a point. Angelica had a proven track record. Why would she gamble it all just to win one more competition?

Joe’s eyes were red. “Miss Clark, I believe there’s been a mistake. Angelica is truly talented. She proved herself in the last competition, didn’t she? I’m not saying you’re lying, but I don’t believe Angelica would ever plagiarize you.”

“Truly talented? Wrong.”

Selina suddenly smiled. Sometimes, she genuinely envied Angelica — no matter what she did, there was always someone to cover for her.

“Chairman Morris, I regret to inform you that Angelica’s so-called ‘winning piece’ from the last competition was also stolen from me.”

She didn’t care how explosive this claim was.

“Oh — correction. She didn’t just plagiarize it, she straight-up stole the original draft.”

Chaos erupted.

Fans exploded with rage, swearing at Selina: That award-winning piece from two years ago was Angelica’s crown jewel — how dare Selina try to take credit now?

Joe’s anger boiled over. “Miss Clark! I sympathized with you for what happened today, but I won’t stand by while you slander my daughter! The Morris Family’s legal team—”

“Mr. Rowan!”

A frantic staff member rushed over, drenched in sweat.

“Miss Selina provided evidence regarding Angelica’s theft in the previous competition. We verified it. It’s real… How would you like to handle this?”

The proof went online almost immediately.

Two years ago, Angelica had teamed up with Ellis to steal Selina’s submitted design. They claimed Selina’s draft was “lost,” which led to her disqualification.

In reality, her design was renamed and became Angelica’s most famous work.

It was beyond outrageous.

Joe couldn’t say a word in her defense.

The room fell deathly silent.

Three seconds later, a contestant suddenly yelled:

“Angelica, do you have any shame?! Today it’s Selina — tomorrow it could be any one of us! As long as you want it, our work is up for grabs?!”

Exactly.

Selina was the victim today. Who would it be next time?

With the Morris Group backing her, what chance did any independent designer have?

All the praise — “design prodigy,” “genius of the industry” — it was all stolen.

“I’m furious! If she plagiarized this, who knows what else she’s stolen over the years?”

“She had the nerve to preach about ‘cleaning up the design industry’ and ‘zero tolerance for plagiarism’ — all while being the biggest fraud of them all?!”

“And she calls herself Star’s student? Poor Star. What a disgrace.”

“Angelica, get out of the design world. Just leave!”

Angelica gasped in panic.

What now? What now?

She had complete control of the narrative—until it all collapsed because of one surveillance video. How could this happen?

That bitch Selina had just destroyed her future!

What should she do…? What could she do?

Wait—Star…

Star wasn’t present, and Rigel was Star’s direct disciple. As long as she—

Angelica suddenly looked up, eyes glinting with a new idea.

“It’s not what you think, everyone—listen to me!”

All eyes turned to her. Selina raised a brow, curious what trick Angelica would pull next.

Angelica took a deep breath, shaking her head with teary eyes.

“I admit it—these two dresses were not entirely my own work. I don’t deserve the championship. But this design didn’t come from Selina either!”

“These sketches… were given to me by Star herself! I was blinded by ambition and vanity, so I used my teacher’s designs in the competition. I’ll confess to her later. But Selina—”

Angelica’s voice suddenly turned righteous.

“Selina, you’re also a plagiarist—stealing from the great Star! How do you explain yourself?”

“Mr. Rigel, you’re Star’s closest student. You should recognize whether these designs are your teacher’s work, shouldn’t you?”

The crowd was stunned.

No one saw that coming.

If Selina had really plagiarized Star… then what was this? Mutually assured destruction?

But if Angelica was telling the truth, then she was just a vain girl blinded by pride—not a true plagiarist. That title would go to Selina.

Rigel jumped in without hesitation, face full of self-righteous anger.

“She’s right. These two dresses were absolutely designed by my teacher. I didn’t speak up earlier to spare Selina some dignity—but clearly, she has no shame!”

Rigel had long flaunted his title as Star’s direct protégé. No one had reason to doubt him.

Angelica let out a soft breath, eyes glistening with tears.

“Selina, I hate to do this, but you can’t keep digging this hole. Star is kind—if I explain, she might even forgive you.”

With that, she turned to Rowan, her voice sweet and naive again.

“Mr. Rowan, I’m so sorry you had to witness this mess… What do you intend to do?”

Rigel quickly backed her up.

“Master Rowan, I’ve seen these sketches before—Selina copied them from Star. This is a disgrace to our profession. She must be punished accordingly!”

Selina let out a quiet laugh.

Angelica really would milk every opportunity she got. But—

Before she could even speak, Rowan suddenly looked up sharply, eyes cold and sharp like ice.

His gaze cut through the air like a knife—indifferent, distant, and filled with unmistakable contempt toward Angelica.

“You’re sure,” he said coolly, “that Selina plagiarized Star?”

Before Rigel could answer, Angelica quickly spoke up, lips trembling, “Yes. Both Rigel and I are her students—we’d never joke about something like this.”

Rowan let out a single, quiet laugh.

A low, mocking “heh.”

The crowd was confused, but Selina suddenly blinked.

Wait a minute…

Why did Rowan’s voice sound suspiciously like Logan’s?