Graden-Hall Art Gallery
On the day of the art gallery opening, Melissa turned up early at the venue. All the paintings had been sent earlier and had already been set up in their respective display area. Melissa had chosen to wear a green and silver dress, the official colours of her family. She had decided to style a low bun for her hair, with few unruly strands framing her delicate face. She looked so breathtakingly beautiful that even Lord Melvin was stunned when he saw his sister.
At approximately 2 in the afternoon, guests started to grace the venue and Melissa busied herself entertaining them, escorted by her brother. Lord Melvin had decided to stay by her side today and he had kept a look out for the Casanova the whole time. However, Lord Benjamin was nowhere to be found.
When the guests entered the spacious hall, they were at awe of the various beautiful paintings that graced the walls.
"Lady Melissa is so talented. Duke Malcom must be proud of her." A nobleman could be heard saying to his wife. They both nodded in satisfaction while touring the gallery.
"If our Violet has half of Melissa's talent, I'd be contented." Another Lady sighed to the man beside her.
"Duke Kensington is the luckiest, to be able to marry her. If she's my fiancé, I'd marry her on a heartbeat!" A young man whispered to his group of friends.
They looked at the smiling Lady Melissa who's standing not too far away and felt regretful for not proposing to her before she was snatched by the cold Duke. They had believed the rumours that Lady Melissa Rose Knight was ugly and therefore didn't even consider her as a potential wife. But here she was, looking so beautiful and stood out amongst the rest of the young ladies.
However, not everyone shared the same feelings. The young ladies present mostly sent envious looks towards Melissa, and some even gossiped that Lady Melissa was showing off by opening this art gallery, and she's not worthy to become the Duke's fiancée. Some even said she was pretentious and condemned her attempts to seduce the men with her looks.
Melissa wasn't aware of what was being said about her but when she glanced at the crowd, she caught sight of Lady Anastasia and a couple of young ladies by her side. When their eyes met, Lady Anastasia glared at her and Melissa merely smiled before turning away from her. 'Best if I stay away from her.'
Suddenly, loud sounds of horses' hooves could be heard from outside and a palace attendant appeared instantly, announcing the arrival of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highnesses, the Crown Prince and the Princess.
The crowds started to make way for the distinguished guests and showed their reverence when the Queen and her royal children appeared. Princess Katherine scoffed at the sight of the place but earned a glare from her mother. She quickly looked away and pretended to smile to the other guests.
Meanwhile, Melissa and her family approached the Queen respectfully and extended their greetings. Prince Xavier immediately went forward and gestured his assistant to bring forward a painting which was wrapped carefully.
"Melissa, as promised, this is for you." Prince Xavier unwrapped the painting in front of everyone. The moment the painting was exposed, the crowd gasped. Praises could be heard amongst the distinguished guests, earning the Queen a proud smile on her face.
"Melissa dear, this place is exquisite. And your paintings, they are so beautiful my dear. Zachary told me that you are talented, now that I've seen it with my own eyes, you're truly a remarkable child! Don't forget about my portrait. You've promised me." Queen Serina praised the beautiful girl in front of her.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I'm truly honored that you're able to attend this humble event." Melissa extended her gratitude.
"Your Highness, let me hang this picture up." With that, Melissa instructed an attendant to hang it at the centre of the exhibition hall, where she had reserved it for the Prince's painting.
By this time, Lady Anastasia was already standing beside Princess Katherine, trying to get nearer to the Prince. However, the moment she approached, Prince Xavier quickly led the Queen away for a stroll around the gallery, followed by Melissa.
Lady Anastasia's eyes followed their backs and she gritted her teeth in anger.
"Look at her proud look! How can her pathetic paintings compare to my brother's!" Princess Katherine said mockingly.
Lady Anastasia immediately had an idea.
"Can you believe she painted all these? I don't think she has the talent, she must be faking it!" Lady Anastasia said while looking at the Princess.
"Faking it? What do you mean?" Princess Katherine asked, her eyes squinted with curiosity.
"She must've hired someone else to paint all these drawings, and posed them as hers. I mean, we've never heard of Lady Melissa having any talent in painting, did we? She can't miraculously obtain the talent overnight!" Lady Anastasia purposely spoke louder to allow others to hear her words.
True enough, those who were standing nearby quickly discussed amongst themselves on what they had heard. Words of this began to spread among the guests present and everyone started to look at Melissa and the paintings displayed disdainfully.
When he walked into the art gallery, murmurs of voices could be heard, and the contents were not pleasant to hear. Duke Kensington was delayed because of Lord William. The little brat had decided to prepare a gift for Melissa at the last minute, which caused a delay in their arrival.
When the little boy entered the gallery, he was amazed at all the paintings displayed and exclaimed, "Wow, my mother is so talented!"
This innocent statement brought forth sarcastic laughters from the crowd nearby. As the news of their intended betrothal had spread, naturally everyone knew the 'Mother' that Lord William mentioned was referred to Lady Melissa.
"Why are they laughing, Father? Did I say something wrong?" Lord William asked his father.
Duke Kensington cast an icy glare across the room and the crowd immediately quieted down.
"William, you're so naïve! Did you just say Lady Melissa was talented? Are you sure about that?" Princess Katherine, upon seeing her beloved cousin appeared, had immediately went forward to greet him. However, she was greeted by this ridiculous notion by Lord William, prompting her sarcastic response.
"Aunt Katherine, what do you mean? Of course my mother is talented. She painted all these drawings. Can't you see?" Lord William pouted, clearly not happy that someone doubted his mother.
"Don't be fooled William. She didn't paint these, she hired someone else to do it for her." Princess Katherine said confidently.
"How did you know?" Duke Kensington probed, casting a cold look at the Princess.
"Well, we never heard of her being able to paint before. If she's so talented, why only exposed it now? It's unbelievable!" Princess Katherine smiled when she said this, hoping Duke Kensington would believe her.
Lady Anastasia smiled inwardly at this foolish Princess. Just a couple of words and she's ready to become her pawn! Lady Anastasia need not do anything at all!
Before Duke Kensington could reply, the Queen and her entourage appeared. Duke Kensington and Lord William greeted them politely.
Lord William then ran towards Melissa and pulled her skirt. Melissa saw his aggrieved face and bent down immediately.
"What's wrong, William?" Melissa asked concerned.
"Mother, they said you didn't paint all of these. Someone else did it for you." Lord William was near tears when he talked.
"What? Who said that??" The Queen asked furiously.
"Mother, I said it but I'm sure everyone else has the same doubt as me. I mean, we grew up in the same circle but I've never heard anything about Lady Melissa having a talent in drawing. I'm sure no one else had heard it too." Princess Katherine said, while staring at Melissa mockingly.
"Katherine, don't say something you don't know." Prince Xavier cautioned his sister.
"Your Highness, if I didn't paint these, who did?" Melissa suddenly asked the Princess. She was curious too, who did they think painted these drawings?