He Was Reborn To Claim Me But I’m Already Married Chapter 04
At the reception, the young women painted in silence.
The area was divided by temporary display panels, separating the contestants from the guests, who could only see vague silhouettes on the other side.
When the time was up, everyone put down their brushes.
The paintings were brought out one by one and hung for display.
Margaret paused in surprise, then smiled.
“Did you all plan this? Why is everyone painting crabapple blossoms?”
My mother looked up, stunned.
Evelyn and I exchanged a glance and lowered our heads to hide our laughter.
Apparently, having Mia casually spread the word that Margaret loved crabapple blossoms had been remarkably effective.
One rumor had turned into two, then ten. Out of thirty paintings, more than half were of crabapple blossoms.
Which meant Evelyn’s painting no longer stood out.
Mother shot her an irritated look, as if blaming her for not seizing the opportunity.
For a moment, Margaret was dazzled by the sheer number of similar paintings.
At last, she simply turned to Adrian.
“Adrian, come have a look. Which one do you like?”
Adrian rose and walked among the paintings, but his gaze kept drifting toward our side of the panels.
He seemed hesitant. In the end, he stopped in front of two of them.
Margaret smiled and had a staff member unroll them fully and announce the names.
“Mrs. Hawthorne, they’re by Natalie Whitmore and Evelyn Bennett.”
She was about to invite the two girls forward when Adrian spoke.
“Mother, make sure they verify the signatures and registration records. I heard that at a reception last year, a girl secretly switched the artwork to impersonate her sister and steal her marriage.”
“The Bennett sisters are both here. Evelyn is an excellent painter, but Claire is nowhere near her level. If Claire got any ideas and switched the signatures…”
He didn’t finish, but everyone understood his meaning.
“We should verify it carefully, just in case.”
Evelyn stiffened, ready to stand up and lash out at him.
I tightened my grip on her hand and shook my head.
The entire room fell silent.
After a long moment, Margaret finally spoke, her voice laced with confusion.
“Claire has been married for over a year. She only came today to enjoy the festivities.”
“She didn’t even enter the competition. The only Bennett participating is Evelyn. There’s no one to impersonate and nothing to mix up.”
“Adrian, have you lost your mind?”