Chapter 46 Work Completed
Angelo thought for a moment before knocking on Joanna's studio door with the bouquet he'd prepared for the day.
"Angelo, come in."
These past few days, Angelo only disturbed her during mealtimes.
Joanna had gotten used to it. Not paying attention to the time, she assumed he was bringing food. Without looking up, she focused intently on her creation. The piece was almost done—she could finish it tonight.
Angelo came to the windowsill with the flowers, skillfully replacing yesterday's bouquet, then asked softly, "You've been working nonstop and barely getting any rest. Why not call it a night and finish the painting tomorrow?"
Joanna said casually, "I'm almost done. I'll rest after I submit the work."
With the work nearly complete, she felt somewhat relaxed. Noticing Angelo hadn't mentioned dinner, she asked curiously, "Angelo, is there something else?"
Angelo's lips pressed into a straight line. "Chris was just here. I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's convinced you cheated and got pregnant by someone else. Now he's acting like the divorce agreement never happened and wants you to apologize to him.”
Joanna froze, unconsciously pressing harder on her stylus and nearly ruining her work.
She quickly stepped back to save it, then looked up and said seriously, "I'm not pregnant. He must have misunderstood. I'll submit my work to Linda later, then clear things up with him."
Angelo nodded with a light smile. "I'll go prepare dinner for you first."
After pulling another all-nighter, Joanna finally sent her work to Linda and fell into a drowsy sleep.
When she woke up again, it was already afternoon.
She was about to call Chris to explain when there was a knock at the door.
These past few days, Angelo had occasionally stayed in the guest room because he was worried about her being sick. Joanna thought he'd gone home last night and that it was him knocking. But when she changed clothes and opened the door, she saw someone not entirely unfamiliar—Sean Miles.
"Miss Jones, I'm the divorce attorney representing Mr. Cooper. You allegedly forced him into signing a divorce agreement. After reviewing yesterday's events, my client believes the agreement is invalid. Please bring out the signed agreement and destroy it in front of me."
Dressed in a suit, his words seemed very convincing.
Joanna remained cautious. "When he signed, I also had attorney Peter present. He never said the agreement was invalid. Our divorce process has been going on for two weeks now. His change of heart won't change the outcome."
Sean maintained his smile, though his eyes held a trace of contempt. "Miss Jones, I think you don't understand the divorce process. Although you both signed the agreement, there's a three-month cooling-off period. If one party regrets it after reconciling their feelings, the court won't continue processing your divorce."
In other words, if Chris regretted it now, all of Joanna's previous efforts would be wasted.
No wonder he hadn't taken Joanna's divorce seriously after signing!
Joanna clenched her fists. "What right does he have to regret it? He agreed when he signed, and I have evidence of him cheating with Cynthia. Our marriage has broken down!"
"No." Sean remained calm. "My client believes that you had relations with another man during the marriage and became pregnant by accident, which also constitutes cheating. Therefore, the previous terms are invalid."
"I'm not pregnant!" Joanna protested.
But Sean unhurriedly produced photos of a pregnancy test, purchase records from a pharmacy, and testimony from the household staff confirming the items belonged to Joanna.
After showing them to Joanna, he reminded her again, "Miss Jones, please destroy the divorce agreement. We will renegotiate the divorce with you. You'll need to wait."
Joanna didn't want to wait!
But right now, she had no evidence to refute this, and even if she didn't destroy the divorce agreement, with Sean involved, it was already invalid.
She suppressed her anger and asked, "When will he have time to discuss the divorce? I want it as soon as possible!"
Seeing she was unwilling to tear up the divorce agreement, Sean took the initiative to tear up Chris's copy.
"Miss Jones, refusing to cooperate won't help you. If we're missing our copy, the court won't recognize this as a mutually agreed divorce. In any case, please wait for Mr. Cooper to reach out to you for further discussion. Just so you know, Mr. Cooper is currently tied up with the Blue Ocean Design Competition, so he probably won't be available anytime soon."
With that, Sean left.
Weakened by illness, Joanna nearly lost her balance from anger. She could only angrily down a cup of medicine, hoping to recover quickly.
She knew the problem stemmed from that fake pregnancy test. To prove she wasn't pregnant, she just needed to go to the hospital for a checkup. So she didn't listen to Sean and destroy the divorce agreement.
After resting a while, Joanna noticed it was getting late and quickly scheduled an appointment for the next day.
Meanwhile, after she submitted her work as Y, the Blue Ocean Design Contest organizers quickly completed their authentication process.
This was originally Joanna's draft, and after refinement, the work was even more stunning, with outstanding lines and design concepts.
By comparison, Cynthia's patchwork piece looked stiff and lacked vitality.
When the two haute couture dress designs were placed side by side, everyone knew they should choose Joanna's.
Linda quickly had the organizers publish the authentication results, and Cooper Corporation, already at the center of public opinion, completely lost control of the narrative.
Several reporters rushed to Cooper Corporation's building, demanding that Chris and Cynthia respond.
Cooper Corporation's shareholders also held an emergency meeting; their accusations were harsh.
"This competition was crucial for our company's move from manufacturing into luxury design, and you submitted plagiarized work? In the design world, plagiarism destroys your reputation—no one will want to work with us again! You're sabotaging our future. This is a disaster for the company!"
"Cynthia needs to be held accountable and face disciplinary action!"
Chris looked terrible. Before the meeting, his father had already reprimanded him.
He had to take responsibility for this mistake, or no one in the company would respect him going forward.
Beside him, Cynthia had cried until her eyes were red and swollen.
She was already panicking over the plagiarism, and after the results came in, she'd been in total shock. Now, hearing all the accusations, she finally broke down.
"I'm sorry! This is all my fault. I didn't double-check the work, and that's how this happened. I—I can't face anyone here anymore. I'm willing to resign. Please don't take it out on Mr. Cooper..."