"Truth hurts. Doesn't it?" Max barked out. The pain in his cheek only intensified as time passed.
He wanted to deal with this situation as soon as possible and go to a hospital to get his face checked out.
"You got rid of all the evidence and now that I have brought out your true face and disclosed it in front of everyone, you are anxious," Max said, his words still slurring.
Emma watched him as she was looking at an insignificant person.
She still had feelings for him but they were overpowered by her love for her family.
No matter how desperate she was for Max, she still had a little bit of sanity left.
"Let me tell you. Even if you were to get engaged to me today, I never planned to marry someone like you." Max grew angry.
It was the first time he ever got so indignant that he didn't know what to do. Thus, he resorted to snarky remarks.
"Did you think you could win me over by stealing someone else's painting?"
"What are you so sure that "The Seven Seas" could never be painted by me?" Emma asked unhurriedly. She ignored his words which felt like knives penetrating her heart.
"You are still insisting that it was painted by you. What a joke! The video wasn't enough evidence for you? How can there be someone so shameless?" Max gritted his teeth.
'I will make her admit her unlawful actions no matter what' Max resolved.
"If it is indeed painted by Ana as per se, then how did it end up with me? And even won a National award under my name." Emma said emphasizing 'under my name'.
"You are finally admitting it? Took you long enough. You still have some integrity left, I see." Max became elated as he saw Emma admitting to stealing.
"Whether or not I have integrity has got nothing to do with you. And I'm not acknowledging anything. I'm asking a question I'm genuinely curious about," Emma looked at her right hand, which had swollen and bruised badly. It hurt so much that she wanted to cry. Biting her lip, she inhaled deeply.
But now wasn't the time to sit and cry. She wanted to put an end to this drama once and for all.
She strengthened her heart and determined something in her mind.
Max responded, "You bought the painting from Ana. I couldn't find out the details about the place and amount transferred because you guys have done such a fabulous job getting rid of all the evidence". Max winced with pain at the end.
"Oh, so she is claiming a painting she has allegedly sold to me and causing a scene on my engagement day after finding out that her painting has won the National Award. You do know that I can sue her for that right?"
"Moreover, Isn't she too ambitious? I can't refute the fact that she might have thought that not only will she capture the attention of the sharks of the art industry by pulling such a stunt," Emma looked at every person who had accused her, "but also be able to come clean by smearing dirt over my reputation and gain a foothold in the industry in which she otherwise might never be able to enter."
"Emma! Put a hold on your words" Max's anger reached a new level.
He glanced at Ana who grew stiff and went pale after hearing Emma's words. His heart ached as he looked at how pitiful Ana looked.
"I can say the same thing now 'Truth hurts. Doesn't it?'" Emma quoted Max's words from a while ago.
"Emma, don't you think you were too harsh?" Susan interjected. She had seen Ana biting her lips and swallowing tears. So, she wanted to help her.
"Why didn't you say the same when I was the one getting fingers pointed at?" Emma said in a chilly tone.
She felt strange as none of her friends spoke out in her defense. Especially, Jennifer who had witnessed her painstakingly paint the picture.
Susan got goosebumps when Emma stared at her coldly with a frost in her gray eyes. She bit her tongue accidentally.
"Ana, I would like to ask something," Emma focused her attention on Ana and said politely.
Ana felt sweat dripping down her back. She was afraid of Emma but felt the urge to nod to avoid getting stared at so intensely. You would be afraid of the person who could even hit someone they loved.
She gave a meek nod.
"You dork, Oh my, would you forgive my crude words?" Emma asked for forgiveness in a low voice, her attitude telling otherwise.
"What were you thinking when you smeared clear glitter over purple? I must say I've never met such an idiot before." Emma slowly began. She couldn't believe they didn't even think for a second before replicating her style.
"What do you mean by that?" Max grew uncomfortable. He had thought that Emma would admit her crimes if she was humiliated like this.
But why did her attitude say otherwise? 'Did I misjudge?' Max thought. 'No, it can't be' He tried reassuring himself. 'I have never made such a mistake before.'
"What I mean has got nothing to do with you," Emma said bitingly.
She could never forgive Max for never reaching out to her to confirm.
Had he really cared about her, he would have protected her or even try to discuss this matter privately as the engagement day was decided a month ago and she had won the Championship one and a half month ago.
He had deliberately waited until this day to humiliate her, slowly gathering evidence against her, believing an outsider rather than her who had grown up with him.
Max made a series of unforgivable mistakes.
Emma looked at Ana and slowly said, "You must know what I'm talking about. Right?"
Emma's voice sounded like a demon's verdict to Ana, who looked like she was going to collapse any moment now.
She was terrified of Emma since the moment she broke her hand hitting Max.
'What if Emma knows about Jennifer and me? Is that why she's so calm?'
Ana was horrified at her thoughts and actively looked around for a more reliable shelter.
If Emma was to hit her, she doubted that Max would jump in to save her. Emma might even shred her to pieces.
Ana was indignant at Jennifer for providing the wrong information.
She had been told that Emma portrayed herself as a kind and caring individual and was unlikely to tear off her façade.
Most likely, she would be grief-stricken when Max said that he never intended to marry her.
It would be a huge blow to her self-pride. However, things turned out quite opposite.
"How c-could I know what you are saying?" Ana said gingerly, her previous confidence when she asked Emma whether she had any evidence went down the drain.
Most of the gentry sided with the terrified Ana instead of the overbearing Emma.
Before Emma could respond, Olivia jumped into the conversation,
"Emma, I know that you are aggrieved about how your event is destroyed. But you can't blame Ana for that. You should take responsibility for your unsightly actions and I'm only saying this as I care about you as a friend."
Olivia cleverly pushed the blame onto Emma as if she had been wrong in the first place.
Seeing Olivia state her mind, Susan also chimed in,
"Emma, I think you are not processing your actions and acting merely based on momentary emotions which you'll regret. How about we go out and you take some time to gather your scattered thought?"
Jennifer looked proudly at both of them. They had spoken at the right time, even if Emma wanted to create a scene she would not be able to after being offered this solution.
Guests shared the same thoughts and wanted this whole situation to reach a consensus.
But Jennifer had again miscalculated. Emma didn't even bother to look at Olivia and Susan, let alone reply to them.
"If you want to replicate a painting, you should also pay attention to the details that were followed by the original painter," Emma felt empty inside as she spoke.
She would have never chosen to disclose Ana's lie but the way Max behaved toward her family flipped her off.
'I'm going to pay back the humiliation you have caused my family back,' Emma bit her lip as she tried to redirect her focus from the pain of Max's actions towards Ana, resulting in Ana having to face the brunt of Emma's rage.
Emma continued, "You would have realized had you been focusing on actually painting "The Seven Seas" instead of presenting yourself as a Quote 'fairy'."
Emma's statements caused another bout of doubt. The Woods family had not spoken a word after the initial admonishment of Emma for slapping Max. It was eerily quiet.
"You are trying to avoid the blame by raising doubt among the attendees," Max said after a while. He still didn't believe that Emma could paint such a masterpiece.
Emma laughed tenderly at his words. "You are delusional." She felt as if her soul was being sucked into a void the more Max doubted her.