Looking at herself in the great mirror, Mary was astounded, not recognizing her reflection. She turned, examining herself more thoroughly. The attendant next to her also expressed surprise, exclaiming,
“You are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”
The perfect white wedding dress, with a sweetheart neckline style, was a gift from her best friend, Agnes. Although Agnes lived half a world away, she had gone to great lengths to arrange this wedding dress for Mary upon hearing of her upcoming wedding. Mary wished her friend could arrange her schedule to attend the ceremony.
The dress fit Mary perfectly, accentuating her round shoulders and stunning collarbone, thanks to its sweetheart neckline. The billowing skirt transformed Mary, a princess who stepped out of a fairy tale. Embroidered on the chest were wild orchids, which added a simple yet elegant touch. Mary could not get enough of the dress, her heart fluttering with joy and anticipation for her big day.
From behind, the saleswoman’s voice echoed, “Isn’t the groom also coming to try his suit today?”
Mary’s mood dropped. She moved towards a chair, sat down, smiling, and replied softly, “He had an urgent matter to attend to. He will be here later.”
The saleswoman smiled cheerfully, “Then, bride, please wait awhile. I have some matters to attend to and will be back soon.”
Once the saleswoman had left, Mary felt a wave of unease. Andrew was supposed to meet her at three, but it was past four, and he was still nowhere to be seen. She held the latest issue of “Beauty Fashion Show” magazine in her hand, yet her heart no longer possessed the mood to peruse its pages. She pulled out her phone to call him, but there was no answer. She called again with the same result.
The turquoise dress from this year’s latest bridal collection was stunning. Mary planned to try it on when Andrew arrived.
An hour trickled by, and suddenly, her phone rang. She jolted and hurriedly answered the call. On the other end, she heard a woman’s mature yet trembling voice.
“Mary! Where are you now? Can you get to the publishing house right away? We have an urgent matter to address.”
Mary, not understanding what was happening, asked in surprise,
“What is going on?”
The woman, Ms. Selina, elaborated on the issue.
“A publishing house is suing, claiming that ‘Snowfall in July’ by the author Joy plagiarizes their work. The court has issued a halt on all publications pending investigation. Now everything is in a mess.”
Mary hung up, hastily changing out of the dress before rushing to the publishing house. The roads were jam-packed with rush-hour traffic, making navigating challenging. With a roadblock ahead, the car horns, engine sounds, vendor calls, and shouting were as chaotic as her current state.
Mary repeatedly honked her horn, urging the vehicle in front to move. An irritable older man poked his head out his window and shouted back at her.
“Are you out of your mind? Honking like that, don’t you see to shut down the road?”
It took her more than six hours to reach the publishing house. In the meeting room, her father sat in the chair, intensely focused, gazing out the window. Mary immediately rushed to her father as soon as she entered the room.
“How could this have happened?”
Joy had been waiting for Lệ Linh for a long time, and as soon as she saw her, she couldn’t help but shout out loudly.
“Shouldn’t we ask you that question? Do you know how much time and effort I put into making this manuscript perfect, only to fall apart due to your negligence? I should have resisted when the publishing house proposed you take charge of this project. I truly regret not doing so.”
Ms. Selina, dissatisfied, began to elaborate.
“We don’t yet have all the facts. It would be best if you weren’t so quick to blame our people. Until now, the court has not determined who stole whose idea. We still have the chance to file and collect evidence to counter-sue. So please, stay calm. We will take full responsibility if we are at fault. We will not let you suffer any loss.”
Joy retorted sharply, her arguments clear and incisive. She was a seasoned writer, having wandered far and wide to reach her current status.
“Firstly, only she and I knew the detailed content during the work process. The replicated content had so many coincidences. How could it be unintentional? Did it sprout wings and fly away if it wasn’t an inside job? Secondly, news of ‘Joy plagiarising’ has spread everywhere. I am currently facing the fiercest backlash I’ve ever experienced. Am I not at a loss here? You knew what kind of person I was when we previously cooperated, don’t you understand now?”
Ms. Selina understood what Joy was saying and thought to herself. She’s not entirely unreasonable. The thing she hated most was the theft of another’s hard work. Joy believed in the principle of not doing to others what you don’t want to be done to yourself. A dedicated professional, passionate about her job, Joy, despite her eccentricity, always upheld her dignity, making plagiarism utterly unthinkable.
Mr. Frank couldn’t remain silent any longer as the tension escalated. The seasoned man’s gaze turned to Joy, and he spoke.
“The situation today is still unresolved. We only know the good horse on a long road. I will investigate thoroughly to clear both your name and ours. This lawsuit doesn’t just affect you. It also affects us greatly. I’ve endured many hardships, but never once have I surrendered to any adversary.”
Joy still had doubts, so she asked once more.
“What guarantee do you have for your words?”
Mr. Frank looked at his daughter, his fatherly eyes revealing an endless gentleness and love, an irreplaceable sacred bond between father and daughter.
“Mary is my daughter, and I will not let anyone harm her. Those who have caused this will pay dearly.”
Joy understood everything; she offered a bitter smile to Ms. Selina.
“So, she’s involved in this project because she is the boss’s daughter, not because of her outstanding talent, as you said. What I hate most in this world are people who leverage their familial connections to get away with anything, belittling the efforts of others.”
Mr. Frank roared angrily, wanting the entire world to hear him.
“Silence! I will handle this matter adequately; do not judge prematurely when the situation isn’t black and white.”
Joy threw a resentful, furious look at father and daughter Mary.
“You better follow through with what you’ve said, lest the world laughs at you.”
After Joy left, the room returned to a terrifying stillness. Mr. Frank signaled his subordinates to exit, leaving only him and his daughter in the room. Looking at his child with deep affection, he spoke.
“Where’s Andrew? Why did you come alone?”
Mary stuttered.
“He…”
Sensing something unusual, he refrained from asking further and gently advised Mary to rest early after a hard day. As for him, he still had to discuss something with Ms. Selina.
At home, Mary skipped dinner and went straight to her room. Her mother noticed her daughter’s gloomy and exhausted demeanor, which broke her heart. Mary checked her phone, but there were no returned messages or missed calls. Disappointed, she placed the phone down but quickly picked it up again to try calling Andrew, but no miracle occurred.
Reflecting, she realized the anomaly. Andrew promised to pick her up and go together, but he later changed the plan to meet at the studio. Did he have something more important than trying on their wedding dress together?
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. Never before had she felt this anxious; a foreboding sensation continued to haunt her mind, making sleep an elusive goal.