Chapter 249
“Oh, it’s nothing. Winifred just got lucky,” Sienna replied modestly.
But Yvonne wasn’t ready to let it go. “Miss Enna, did you sign Winifred up for any special classes, or maybe hire a mentor? Mind sharing your secret? I’d love for my girl to learn a thing or two as well.”
Sienna shook her head. “No. Winifred just always had a knack for painting, and she works hard at it.”
Ms. Mr. MM Wy the Min Ho Me inside, she was bursting with pride.
Yvonne sighed dramatically, “That’s so. Rowena’s such a loser. I’ve been training her since she was little, but what does she paint?”
“She’s had so many famous teachers, but she just doesn’t have the talent. All that money spent on her, and she’s still not as good as Winifred.”
Yvonne’s words were like sharp knives, stabbing into Rowena’s heart. She clenched her fists tightly.
"A talented. Her painting is excellent, and coming in second place is already an outstanding achievement. She has remarkable potential,” Sienna glanced at Rowena, her tone cool but reassuring. “No, pa’s…”
Sienna’s words were like a spring of water, flowing into Rowena’s heart. Instinctively, Rowena looked up and met Sienna’s cool, indifferent gaze, yet there wasn’t a hint of disdain in her eyes.
“Potential? Please, it’s all just money I’ve poured into her. She just lazes around all day and never takes her studies seriously,” Yvonne grumbled.
Winifred lazily lifted her eyelids and shot Yvonne a look of disdain. “She came in second out of tens of thousands, and you still think that’s not good enough? What? Were you some kind of art master in your past life or something?”
W. Winifred sneered, “You know it, yet you still aren’t satisfied, ordinary person.”
Yvonne’s face went from red to pale, and Sienna said, “Please don’t take it to heart,” before leading Winifred away. onem un magand
Yvonne glared at Winifred with resentment. ‘No manners at all; what a girl with no upbringing,’ she wondered, ‘No wonder she’s just some street rat who grew up in the slums. Someone like her actually got first place? How infuriating.”
“Mom, I still have piano lessons this afternoon,” Rowena said, her voice low.
Before Rowena could finish, there was a sharp smack as Yvonne slapped her right across the face in front of everyone. The burning pain made Rowena’s body shudder.
“That really hurts,” she thought.
Yvonne snapped, “Practice my ass. You’re at it all day, but you still can’t measure up. Why did I even bother having you? You can’t even beat Winifred, who’s not even famous.
“She dropped out for two years, comes back, and snatches first place right away. Raising you was a waste–useless thing.”
“Why are you still standing there? Get back and practice the piano. If you dare come in second again, you can forget about eating,” Yvonne added.
Rowena lowered her eyes, silently enduring her mother’s rage. Only when her mother finally stopped pointing and criticizing her did she look up, her eyes completely blank, emotionless, numb, like a puppet on strings.
That hollow stare made Winifred, who had come back to grab something she’d forgotten, freeze for a second.
‘It’s just a place. Is it really that big of a deal?’ Winifred thought.
While Winifred was still in a daze, Rowena brushed right past her, face expressionless, still wearing that same icy, unapproachable look. She said nothing.
“Winifred, I knew you were the best. You really got first place. Now you can totally show those people. Let’s see if they still dare to doubt your skills,” Olivia ran over, practically bouncing with excitement.
Winifred glanced at Rowena and asked, “Rowena was always number one before, right?”
Olivia nodded. “Yeah, Winifred, you didn’t know? Well, I guess you wouldn’t; after all, you’ve been away from school for almost two years, so there are things you missed.
“Rowena’s called the number one genius girl for a reason; it’s not just empty talk. She’s seriously amazing, won a ton of awards, and she’s basically a master at everything, piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, you name it.”
Olivia lowered her voice and leaned closer to Winifred. “She has a super strict mom. I saw it in Ms. Green’s office last time. Even though Rowena is already so incredible, her mom just kept saying she wasn’t good enough.”
Sylvie stared at Winifred’s name, her eyes burning with jealousy.
Sylvie wondered, ‘Winifred, you must be feeling so proud of yourself right now, huh? Everything that’s happened to me is all your fault. If I have to suffer, then don’t even think about having it easy, ther.’
“Is it done yet?” Sylvie called out. As she spoke, a man crawled out from under the car. “Yes, Miss Grant, it’s all taken care of.”
“Okay,” Sylvie replied.
Originally, Sylvie planned to pull some tricks during the competition, but she couldn’t foto even get into the venue.
She and her whole family had been completely shut out. Sylvie had no idea who had the power to block the entire Grant family like that.
Left with no other choice, Sylvie went with this plan. Anyway, when they investigate, all the clues will point to the Rowena family. Killing two birds with one stone. Sylvie gave a sly smile and turned to leave.
“Sienna, is that trophy really hers?” Amber clung to Sienna’s arm, staring intently at the trophy in Sienna’s hand.
‘I didn’t even get first place, and now Winifred’s already snagged an award? She must have been plotting this all along–always calculating,’ Amber thought bitterly.
“Do you really think everyone is as clueless as you?” Winifred shot back with a sneer. She could tell Amber was just jealous.
“You’re the clueless one, Winifred. It’s just a trophy. What’s so special about it anyway?” Amber retorted.
Winifred arched an eyebrow and smirked. “Oh, it’s special all right. If it’s so easy, why don’t you go win one yourself?”
SO fault.
Amber turned away in a huff. But when she spotted Vivian coming over with a coffee, she instantly clung even tighter to Sienna’s arm, practically glued to her side.