I looked at her, then looked at Christopher. He shrugged at me with a helpless expression, and I burst out laughing. Julia, who heard my laughter turned around, and I immediately covered my mouth and looked at her with an innocent face.
I suddenly realized that Christopher, who was from a wealthy family, did not grow up to become a jerk but became an outstanding man because he had very supportive and reliable family members.
The next few days, I stayed at home and did nothing apart from painting. Sometimes, I would go on Twitter, but the comments and discussions about me worsened when I looked at the trending page. Reading them would only infuriate me, so I closed the website.
Although I was acting domineering and mighty in the presence of the journalists, I was actually nervous and didn’t know what to do at that moment. Ever since Monica slandered me, I was at a disadvantage. That said, I had been labeled as notorious since the time Crystal and Nathan slandered me.
Now that Crystal made her situation worse, I was affected in the process and became a common enemy of most people.
During the press conference, Crystal said, “I won’t blame Yvonne, no matter what she did, because she is my cousin. We are from the Tanner family. We grew up together and ate from the same table. We are a family. But it was a pity for my unborn child.”
I just smiled after watching the video and didn’t care about it.
Painting was a dream that I had for more than ten years of my life, but I was forced to give it up. Sadly, I had to give up painting because of the tough life I had then. Now, I would pick it up for the sake of Christopher.
After I calmed down, I seemed to have gained more inspiration. I picked up the brush and started brandishing, pouring my emotions onto the canvas until I was interrupted by a knock on the door.
I raised my head and massaged my sore neck. I was about to complete my painting, and I could finish the rest in three days. I got more satisfied the more I looked at it, as though I regained all of the passion I had lost in a single night. This painting would definitely stand out in the next exhibition.
Crystal, I await your next move, and I will take back whatever belongs to me. I can face you even without Eastsummer and a master.
“Eve, I know you’re inside. Can you open the door?”
It was Lyle. I frowned as I wondered why he came looking for me at this hour.
I walked to the door and looked through the peephole; Lyle was outside the door all by himself. Without letting him in, I opened the door and asked indifferently, “What is it?”
He was annoyed by the attitude I gave him. “Yvonne, must you speak to me like that?”
“What do you think? You’ve never appreciated the times when I spoke nicely to you.”
Lyle looked like he was about to get angry, but he suppressed his anger after a while, stomped into the house, and sat on the couch. He saw that I was painting, and his eyes turned grim. “I warned you not to get involved with Christopher, but you didn’t listen. Look what you have become. With his influence, he could easily put an end to these rumors, but he did nothing. He doesn’t care about you at all!”
“You came just to tell me this?” I despised Lyle for his self-righteousness. “I’m swamped. I have no time to waste on you.”
“Yvonne, do you still want to be delusional?” He pointed his finger at me and shouted. “Do you think you can still participate in the art exhibition? Believe it or not, with your current reputation, your painting would be thrown to the ground and stepped by everyone. They took down your painting at the exhibition today. It would have become scraps of paper if Christopher didn’t have someone take it away.
My eyes twitched as I was reminded of Crystal’s influence on the art exhibition. My heart thumped, but I pretended to look calm. “I’m an artist, not a celebrity. My job is to paint, and my art has nothing to do with my personality.”
