Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 453

Up on the stage, Liana was happily fielding the media's questions when her gaze happened to catch Sienna and Nora standing in the crowd. Her smile instantly froze.

"Excuse me, that concludes the interview for now," she told the reporters with a polite nod, before making a beeline straight for them.

Instinctively, Nora stepped in front to shield Sienna, but her friend gently caught her wrist.

"It's fine," Sienna murmured, her lips curling into a strange, cold smile.

Liana stopped right in front of them, looking Sienna up and down with undisguised arrogance.

"Well. Two amateurs wandering into an architectural exhibition. Can you even comprehend anything you're looking at?"

Sienna ignored the insult entirely. Her eyes bypassed Liana, locking onto the giant blueprint behind her.

"That piece. It's yours?"

Liana scowled. "Obviously! Of course it's mine! Who else's would it be, yours?"

"Is that right?" Sienna laughed softly. "It's just funny. Your award-winning A Walk in the Clouds is a complete departure from your usual design aesthetic. Was it an artistic breakthrough? Or..."

Her tone dropped, wiping away any trace of amusement. "...did you plagiarize it?"

Liana visibly panicked for a split second before her face twisted in outrage. "What kind of garbage are you spouting? You're just jealous that I won the international gold medal! You—"

She cut herself off mid-sentence as a familiar figure approached from the crowd. Instantly swapping her fury for an overly sweet pout, she hurried over.

"Grandmother..."

Nora glanced back to see Liana clinging to the arm of a woman in her seventies.

Sharp-eyed reporters quickly identified Matriarch Fairchild and immediately began firing off photos.

Even several high-profile business elites rushed over, offering a chorus of flattering praises.

Liana stood tall, basking in the envious stares of the crowd as the camera flashes illuminated her arrogant smile.

Standing a few feet away, Nora watched the scene unfold, picking up the hushed whispers of the bystanders.

"The Fairchild ward really hit the jackpot. Adopted into that family? She'll never have to lift a finger her entire life."

"Right? Straight from the orphanage to high society. Talk about dumb luck."

"I heard the real Fairchild daughter was the Dowager's absolute pride and joy. If she hadn't gone missing, she'd be the true queen of this city."