Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother - Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Half Part Only Chapter 264: Half Part Only A few minutes before the time ran out, Natalie finished making her perfume.

Finally, everyone in the audience let out a sigh of relief.

Natalie carried her creation to the judges and placed the tray in front of them.

All five judges tested it one by one, their expressions shifting noticeably.

They looked at each other in disbelief, then turned their gazes to Natalie.

They examined the formula Natalie had written, and their expressions changed once more.

Briena, standing to the side, smirked smugly.

Now it’s time for your downfall, Natalie.

“Ms.

Natalie, you and Ms.

Briena have created exactly the same perfume.

How can that be?” one of the judges asked.

Whispers rippled through the hall, the audience stunned.

“Has she plagiarized Briena again?” “Seems like it.

Briena finished first, clearly knowing what she was creating, while Natalie looked lost and confused.” Despite the murmurs, Natalie remained calm and composed, her expression serious and unwavering.

The judges turned to Briena.

“Ms.

Briena, what do you have to say about this?” Briena walked confidently toward the judges and stood beside Natalie, adopting a sorrowful expression.

“I have no idea why her perfume is similar to mine.

I worked hard to create it, and the formula is imprinted in my memory, which is why I could make it faster and perfectly.” Her words, spoken with a tone of feigned innocence, clearly implied her accusation.

Someone from the audience shouted loudly, “Natalie Ford, have you stolen your sister’s work again, just like in the past?

I’m sure you did.

You don’t deserve to be here.” The hall buzzed with accusations.  Mia, who had been quiet until now, clenched her fists, her anger evident.

She was ready to confront the man, but Cathy placed a calming hand on hers.

“Calm down and keep quiet.” Mia swallowed her anger and remained seated, though her frustration was palpable.

Briena turned to Natalie with a sorrowful expression.

“In the past, you did the same.

Don’t tell me you’ve stolen my formula this time as well.

How could you, Natalie?

I thought you’d been working hard, and I was rooting for you.” Clara, seated in the audience, marched toward them, her face filled with indignation.

She glared at Natalie.

“You stole Briena’s work again?” “Calm down,” one of the judges interjected.

“It could be a coincidence-” “Coincidence?” Clara snapped.

“There is no coincidence here.

I’m certain she stole it.

She’s done it before,” she said, turning toward one of the judges.

“Mr.

Ker, you were one of the judges last time.

You know what Natalie did back then.” Mr.

Ker, visibly uncomfortable, simply hummed and stayed silent.

Clara turned back to Natalie, her voice filled with fury.

“You’ve always been like this.

Last time, I let it go, thinking we’re family, but this time you’ve crossed the line.

I’ll make sure you go to prison for this.

I am calling police.” Natalie met Clara’s and Briena’s accusations with a calm, almost dismissive expression, as though she regarded them both as fools.

“Ms.

Natalie,” one of the judges said sternly.

“What is going on here?

Did you really€¦” “I didn’t,” Natalie finally replied, her voice steady and unwavering.

Briena seized the opportunity.

“Natalie, I know you’ve always envied me, but you’re talented too.

I’m sure you could have created a great perfume on your own.

What was the need to steal my work?

How could you do this?” With that Briena started crying and Clara started to comfort her.  Natalie, still calm, finally turned to look at Briena, her gaze icy.

“What if I say you’re the one who stole my formula and you failed to steal properly?” “I didn’t steal anything.” Briena, slightly shaken under Natalie’s cold stare, tried to maintain her composure.

“I prepared the perfume before you and everyone here saw it.

If it was yours, then why did it take you so long to prepare it?

Unless, of course, it’s not your formula, and you were making mistakes while trying to replicate it.” “Who creates it first doesn’t matter,” Natalie replied, a faint smirk forming on her lips.

“What matters is who creates it perfectly.” “Of course I did it perfectly,” Briena countered.

Natalie smirked, “When you tested that perfume, didn’t you feel like something was missing?” The judges exchanged glances, remembering their own feelings of unease when they tested Briena’s creation earlier.

“No!

There is nothing missing!” Briena snapped.

“I worked hard to create it, and I know my own formula!” “Really?” Natalie challenged.

“Then why don’t you go and test your creation once more?” Natalie gestured toward the table where Briena’s perfume was still placed in front of the judges.

She then addressed the panel.

“Why don’t you all test her perfume again?” Though puzzled, the judges picked up the perfume and tested it once more.

Their expressions changed instantly.

“How come its scent has changed?” one of the judges exclaimed in shock.

Briena, visibly alarmed, rushed to the table and smelled her own perfume.

Her face went pale-it was entirely different from what she had created.

In disbelief, she turned to Natalie.

“You€¦ What did you do to my perfume?” Natalie raised an eyebrow, her calm demeanor unshaken.

“I’m standing on the other side of this table, and your perfume has been out of my reach the entire time.

What could I possibly have done from here?” Briena was left speechless, her mind scrambling for answers, but all she found was utter disbelief.

Ms.

Taylor looked at Natalie, her instincts confirmed-something had indeed been missing in Briena’s perfume.

“Ms.

Natalie,” Ms.

Taylor said, “If both of you have the same formula, then your perfume should also change its scent.

In that case, neither of you would be qualified.” Natalie met her gaze calmly.

“As expert perfumers, I’m sure you all felt that something was missing in what you tested.

Didn’t you?” The judges exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

“That’s because what you tested is just one part of the entire perfume,” Natalie explained.

She picked up the sheet where she had written her formula, unfolding it fully.

The judges leaned closer, noticing another formula written below the one both Natalie and Briena had prepared before.

Natalie picked up a separate glass container from her tray, and said, “This is the second part of the formula, which needs to be prepared separately and then added to the first,” and poured its contents into the main container from which the judges had previously tested the perfume.

“This is why I needed more time to complete my creation.” She placed the final product in front of the judges.

“The perfume is now complete.” The hall fell into a stunned silence as the judges tested the perfume once more.

Their reactions were immediate and unanimous.

This time, the perfume was entirely different and far superior to what they had smelled before.

It was a unique creation-balanced, rich, and fulfilling, with no element missing.

There was nothing they could critique.

Briena, standing off to the side, was frozen in shock.

She had no idea what to say or do.

Could she claim it was a coincidence they had created the same initial formula?

But even that would not explain Natalie’s second part of the perfume.

Most importantly, why did she receive only one part of formula?