Chapter 35
Teresa also saw this as a chance to settle the score for Avery having once threatened her.
But looking at Avery now, it seemed like she was confident she could get joshua to meet her. For a moment, Teresa hesitated. If Joshua did come, not only would Melissa be in trouble, but so would she.
After all, Teresa had grown up in the Watson residence after her parents died. Celine took her in our of kindness to her mother, treating her almost like a daughter. She had to tread carefully in the household, always fearing she could be cast out if she made any mistake.
Her entire focus had been on getting closer to Celine and Inver, hoping that one day, she would sit at the top of the family as Xavier’s future wife. But if she angered Joshua today by siding with Melissa, she could forget about becoming Mrs. Watson.
After weighing the risks, she finally spoke up. “Wait!”
Avery raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
Melissa, visibly upset, glared at Teresa. “Tess, what are you doing? Let her go. I’m dying to see if she can actually bring Uncle Joshua here!”
Teresa felt irritated by Melissa’s attitude and thought that she was utterly brainless. If not for Melissa being the Smith family’s daughter, Teresa wouldn’t have bothered associating with someone so foolish.
She grasped Melissa’s hand and signaled for her to calm down, then turned to Avery with a smile.
“I heard from Mr. Alston that you’re here to participate in the painting contest it would be such a shame for you to leave without even trying Why don’t you finish the contest first won’t take long.”
Seeing Teresa’s insincere smile, Avery silently mocked her but agreed to her suggestion. If Teresa was so eager to see her fail, it would be rude not to at least play along. Besides, she had already promised James she would try to win that watch for him.
Teresa felt a sense of triumph when Avery agreed.
Avery helped James settle into a spot, then took the paper and pen the staff handed het, staring at the prompt. The topic was “A Dream Wedding“.
Melissa, seeing Avery staring at the paper without making a move, couldn’t help but sneer. “If you can’t paint, just leave already. Don’t waste other people’s time”
One of Melissa’s friends quickly chimed in, laughing, “She’s been staring at that topic for so long without lifting her pen. She has no clue what to do, does she? But I guess that makes sense. No man would want to marry an arrogant woman beber, anyway.”
Onlookers started whispering as they watched Avery hesitate, still not picking up her pen
“It looks like she really doesn’t know how to paint. What’s the point of even coming up here if she’s just going to embarrass herself?”
“I heard her adopted sister, Abigail, is talented at painting. She even had her own exhibition before. It’s ridiculous that she can’t even compare to an adopted girl from her own household.”
“Honestly, she probably deserves to be ignored at home. She’s spoiled and clueless, and it’s no wonder everyone finds her unbearable.”
