Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge
Chapter 130: Her Elegance on Trial

Chapter 130: Her Elegance on Trial

It was evening when Aveline arrived with her family at the private museum. Since the exhibit wasn’t really made for upscale society, the moment they stepped inside, the hall went unbelievably quiet.

It was so silent that even Aveline’s soft voice was loud enough to reach many people. They ignored the attention and went through all the artworks, studying them, admiring them, and moving to the next one.

Only when they entered the room where Aveline’s art was displayed did they realize she alone had her work between four walls, with low lighting and a compact space.

People inside moved away as the Laurents entered. Margaret and Henry were in awe while Charles smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets. It wasn’t the first time Charles had attended her exhibit; every time, she used different names. So he wasn’t as surprised as his parents.

When they read the label, it was easy for them to guess who ’Him’ was. Before they could look toward her, Aveline turned around and fled the room.

However, she froze when she saw people staring at them and murmuring with looks of displeasure.

Aveline remained silent, her heart pounding.

Her gaze shifted when an organizer came rushing inside with some of the contestants.

A young woman in her twenties, jaw tense and brows drawn, stepped forward with a scoff. "She wasn’t the one who arranged the art! I was here since morning—I didn’t see her once."

A man beside her, wearing fogged-up glasses with fury in his eyes, snapped, "She walked in with her family like she owned the place. Of course, she paid her way in!"

Another woman, arms tightly crossed, shot a glare toward the Laurents. "I spent three months preparing for this. And she gets her own room? Her own lighting? This is nepotism at its finest."

A tall man jabbed a finger through the air. "If you don’t disqualify her, we’ll walk out. This whole thing’s a farce if she wins."

It was just the beginning of chaos. Her parents and brother stepped back. Charles stood protectively in front of Aveline when a person continued accusing her as he moved closer.

Henry was barely holding himself back from calling for security, because dealing with commoners would be trickier than dealing with people from their circle. Now it involved Aveline’s reputation and her work.

The participants began asking every production assistant if they had seen her face in the morning. Nobody had seen her since she was wearing a face mask.

Aveline looked around. She didn’t see the ones who had checked the registration of participants. She had shown her face to them. However, she couldn’t find those two.

Someone from the back let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Why would a spoiled rich brat dirty her hands with glue and dried flowers?"

The crowd murmured as a man whispered just loud enough, "She probably hired somebody to make it. Just stepped in for the spotlight."

Meanwhile, the Laurents quietly watched them. None of them looked worried or angry. They were calm, as if Aveline wasn’t the one they were accusing of cheating.

Aveline quietly moved toward the storage room, and Charles followed her to prevent anyone from attacking her. The participants roared, mistaking her silence for guilt, thinking she was running away, though her parents were standing right there.

"Did you see that?" a woman snapped, arms crossed tightly. "She didn’t even bother to defend herself."

Another voice rose above the rest, loud and bitter. "She knows she faked it. That’s why she can’t even look at us."

A girl with a braid barked out a laugh. "The great Laurent retreat. Maybe next time she’ll send her stylist to defend her too."

The crowd laughed and jeered at Aveline.

However, Aveline returned with a bunch of off-white dried phalaris grass and baby’s breath along with other supplies.

She had been prepared in the morning with pants, but wearing a dress now, though she hated to sit on the floor where everyone walked with their shoes, she sat down.

"Now what? She’s putting on a show?" somebody scoffed from the crowd.

"Lina..." Henry stepped forward.

Margaret held Henry’s arm to stop him. She hated how Aveline sat down on the unhygienic floor, but Henry’s intervention would only trigger the people further.

If Aveline chose that path, Margaret would let her walk through it.

Nevertheless, Charles removed his jacket and covered her legs to keep their attention on what she was doing.

Everyone watched as Aveline started making a miniature version of her art, ’His Whispering Wave’, seamlessly, without a single hitch or moment of confusion.

"Look at the precision... she’s done this a thousand times," an onlooker whispered.

"This... this is talent. Pure and terrifying," another one said.

"That’s artistry... not money," another added.

When she was done, everyone was quiet. The silence that shut down the people who had been screaming before, the silence of admirers. The silence that kicked away all accusations.

Charles helped Aveline up to sit on a chair. A lady dressed in the uniform of a salon helped her wipe her hands and legs with a wet towel.

Meanwhile, Charles broke the silence. "And now, apologize before I take any legal action." He gave an ultimatum.

Honestly, to someone like her, what had happened was deeply humiliating. So she remained seated when the organizers apologized to her for failing to handle the situation.

Then the participants began apologizing when they caught wind of the possibility of receiving a lawyer’s notice for slandering Aveline Laurent without proof.

Nevertheless, the Laurents walked out without uttering a word. Soon, a video began trending on social media, a video of Aveline creating floral artistry to prove she had indeed created her work.

The Laurents didn’t take down the video because hardly half of Aveline’s face was visible on screen.

Aveline didn’t want to return inside, but when Scarlett and Nate arrived, she accompanied them after sending her parents and brother away.

Scarlett barely gave attention to any other art and was completely in awe of Aveline’s piece. But when she read the label, she snorted, "Linnie, you’re in love." She turned to Aveline and added, "You didn’t even tell me."

"No." Aveline denied. Alaric did stay in her memory, but she could go through her days without contacting him. "I love you, Red," she said, hugging her friend.

Scarlett giggled and indulged her friend, "I love you too..."

Nate: "..."

After bidding them farewell, Aveline was heading toward her car when she recognized the woman approaching her.

"What happened to you?" Aveline exclaimed, looking at Vivienne, who had bruises on her knuckles, the scar on her face, and the way she limped toward Aveline.

Vivienne tried to pull her sunglasses up to cover her injuries.

"Do you have a minute to talk?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.