Chapter 157
+25 BONUS
Trish smiled confidently. “Grandma, this is just the beginning. I’ll go even farther in the future.”
Edith grinned widely, proud as could be. She knew her granddaughter was something special and would surely bring glory to the Crone family.
Archer and Natalie were just as pleased. The more accomplished their daughter became, the better her chances of marrying into a prestigious family.
Just then, Edith noticed Wendy standing behind them. Her expression darkened. “Wendy, who allowed you to come here?”
Wendy had shown up, but the family was so caught up in their happiness that they hadn’t even noticed her.
Trish glanced at Wendy briefly. “Grandma, I invited Wendy. She wanted to ride on my coattails. It’s fine. Let her stay here.”
Edith didn’t want Wendy there at all. Both Trish and Jessica had brought honor to the Crone family, but Wendy only brought embarrassment. In Edith’s mind, Wendy had never truly been part of the family.
Since Trish had spoken up, Edith’s voice became sharp. “Wendy, stay out of the way. Don’t touch anything. If you break or dirty something, you’re the one who’ll be responsible!”
Though Edith was her grandmother, Wendy felt a cold wave of disappointment wash over her. Still, she didn’t say anything, only offering a small, quiet smile.
“Trish,” some students from Clavendale University called out as they approached. They were all fans of Trish, having asked her for an autograph just the day before.
“What are you all doing here?” Trish asked, delighted to see them.
The students crowded around, pushing Wendy to the very corner of the room.
“Trish, today’s the public exhibition of your academic paper! We came to congratulate you.”
“Trish, you’re our pride!”
“Let’s take a picture!”
Everyone moved in front of the display of Trish’s paper. Trish stood in the center, with Edith, Archer, and Natalie on her left, and her classmates on the right.
Trish handed Wendy the camera, ordering sharply, “Wendy take a picture for us!”
This was her moment of glory, and it had to be captured.
Wendy looked at the camera in her hands and smiled faintly. “I’m afraid I can’t take this photo.”
Trish froze. “Why not?”
Just then, a staff member from the Medical Museum approached them. “Excuse me, could you please step aside? We need to take down this academic paper.”
What?
Trish’s entire body stiffened. “Why are you taking down my paper?”
Edith, Archer, and Natalie were stunned. “There must be some mistake! Are you sure about this?”
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Chapter 157
$25 BONUS
“We’re sure. There’s no misunderstanding. Dr. Ceylan pointed out two errors in the paper, so the Medical Museum is withdrawing it, the staff member explained.
With that, they removed Trish’s paper from the exhibit.
Trish let out a shaky breath, standing frozen in place.
A few of her classmates began to whisper among themselves. “No way! Dr. Ceylan caught mistakes in Trish’s paper.”
“Her paper got rejected by the Medical Museum!!
и
“Gosh, now Trish has embarrassed herself–even Dr. Ceylan and the Medical Museum know about it!”
The students awkwardly mumbled, “Trish, we’ve got to go. We’ll see you later.”
They quickly fled.
Edith grabbed Trish by the arm. “Trish, what’s going on?”
The confidence and smile had vanished from Trish’s face. All that was left was sheer panic. Her paper had two mistakes, and Dr. Ceylan was the one who found them. Now, the Medical Museum had publicly rejected her paper, and soon, the whole of Clavendale University would know.
What was supposed to be a moment of pride had turned into a public embarrassment.
