Chapter 491

Lemira flashed a deceptive smile and reached out her hand to Evelina, as if extending an olive branch. Evelina felt her blood boiling. She had spent nights memorizing her speech for tonight’s dinner party, only to have it all come crashing down. And now, Lemira had the audacity to invite her onstage? This was nothing short of a slap in the face.

Asher, sensing the tension, quickly interjected, “Eve, why don’t you both go up? After all, you’re sisters, and you both contributed equally to the screenplay.”

Reluctantly, Evelina reached out her hand, but Lemira withdrew hers, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Just kidding. You actually thought I was serious? Now that the star of the show is here, we don’t need a stand-in for the speech.”

Lemira’s sneer was as cold as ice. “After all, a fake can never replace the real thing.”

Turning on her heel, Lemira strutted past Evelina, deliberately bumping into her, nearly causing her to stumble. Evelina’s cheeks flushed with anger; Lemira was insufferable!

Calmly taking her place onstage, Lemira looked up at Asher, whose expression was anything but pleased.

“My dear brother prepared such a big surprise for me. I’m truly touched!” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Asher, frustrated but aware of the audience, held back his anger. Caspian, ever the instigator, passed another microphone to Lemira.

Addressing the crowd, Lemira began, “Hello, everyone, I’m MM. I’ve been off my game lately, so Asher decided to let our adopted sister speak on my behalf. But I made it anyway because, after all, I’m the one who wrote the screenplay. She doesn’t have a clue.”

Asher quickly cut in, “Lemira, I remember Eve putting in a lot of effort for the screenplay, don’t you?”

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten. She did play her part, fetching tea and accidentally spilling it on my laptop, losing the entire manuscript.”

Lemira’s gaze on Evelina was icy. “Thanks to your clumsy mistake, I had to rewrite the entire thing, which turned out even better. So, you did ‘help,’ in a way.”

The sarcasm was palpable. Evelina, seething with rage, turned away, not wanting to face the crowd’s scrutiny.

Asher tried to defend Evelina, “It was just an accident, and she did contribute to the screenplay.”

It seemed Asher was determined to include Evelina in the screenplay’s credits, no matter what. Lemira felt a wave of nausea at the thought but decided to play along.

“So, tell us, what exactly did you contribute?” Lemira challenged Evelina.

Aware of the audience’s gaze, Evelina boldly stated, “My inspiration for this screenplay came from…”

She had her speech memorized, ready to impress. Lemira, half-smiling, pressed on, “If you were so involved, tell us how many drafts we went through, how many character roles changed, how many crises the lead characters faced, and how many times the villain’s backstory was altered. Do you remember any of that?”

Evelina’s confidence faltered. How could she remember details of a screenplay she hadn’t written? Lemira’s point was clear: Evelina had no real involvement.

Asher attempted to defuse the situation, “Lemira, it’s been a while since the screenplay was written. It’s hard to remember every detail.”

But Lemira was unyielding, “Yet, I remember everything clearly.”

Caspian supported Lemira, “Yes, we went through many revisions and discussions.”