Chapter 55

“What the heck are you talking about?” Marguerite was dumbfounded, her voice involuntarily rising in disbelief.

Her outburst startled the little Corgi in her arms, which leapt out and scurried away.

“Accused of plagiarism? I made the Polar Radiance myself!”

Marguerite moved forward, her face flushed with indignation and her brows deeply furrowed.

Frederick looked gloomy and silent, but his solemn manner gave off an imposing aura.

Chuck found it hard to believe Marguerite would plagiarize too, he quickly asked, “Did you ever send this perfume to other companies?”

“No! I did send out resumes to many companies in Stonebridge City, but only LuxeScents International got a sample because I was targeting the perfume competition!”

Frederick’s brows furrowed slightly, his eyes flashing coldly. “Whose formula matches Polar Radiance?”

Chuck’s gaze dropped, his thick lips trembling with nervousness. “Mr. Winston, it’s Ms. Yuna.”

Both Marguerite and Frederick were taken aback by this, their eyes wide as they turned to stare at Chuck.

Their piercing gazes were too much for Chuck, who spilled the beans. “Apparently, Ms. Yuna entered a perfume contest run by ScentSpirits Ltd. Her work was outstanding and won the gold. You can probably find the details online.”

Upon hearing this, Marguerite quickly whipped out her phone and found a trending topic about Yuna’s victory.

Without thinking, she clicked on it. The first thing that popped up was a pair of pictures.

One was Yuna, trophy in hand, being interviewed by the media.

The other was a close-up of her winning perfume.

The texture of the perfume, the faint green color with a slight shimmer. Wasn’t that her Polar Radiance?

The only major difference was the name.

Her perfume was called Polar Radiance, but Yuna’s was named Golden Cascade.

Golden Cascade?

Marguerite didn’t need to think twice. She knew she’d been plagiarized.

Golden Cascade should be more golden than gold, but this award-winning perfume was light green.

Yuna didn’t even make the connection between the name and the product. If this wasn’t plagiarism, then what was?

As Marguerite was eager to explain, the online comments caught her off guard.

[Must say, ScentSpirits Ltd. really killed it this year. The color of Golden Cascade is totally unique, a real breakthrough. No wonder Yuna won.]

[Wait a minute, did Yuna design this? I remember LuxeScents International gave out a new perfume during a tester event. It was exactly like Yuna’s, but the designer was Marguerite, and the perfume’s name was Polar Radiance.]

[So, Marguerite plagiarized? Golden Cascade came out first and even got a patent. Marguerite’s perfume isn’t even fully developed. This is a clear case of plagiarism!]

[Plagiarists must be punished! I can’t believe a big company like LuxeScents International would stoop to copycat small shops.]

Marguerite was infuriated by the malicious comments. She was the victim here, but because Yuna’s perfume came out first, she was now the one under fire.

She didn’t understand how her perfume formula could have been stolen by Yuna.

She’d never leaked it!

“Mr. Winston, ScentSpirits Ltd. is not as developed as we are. Their specialty is plagiarism and imitation. It’s an open secret in our industry. So, there might be a misunderstanding.”

Frederick was aware of this, so he didn’t immediately blame Marguerite but asked, “You know that a perfume formula is top secret before it hits the market, right?”

Marguerite nodded. “Yes, I know. But I’ve handed over my formula to the company. Neither I nor the company would leak it for no reason.”

Frederick glanced at Chuck, then asked, “How long does it usually take for the Patent Office to approve an application?”

“Mr. Winston, it usually takes at least fifteen days.”

“Fifteen days.” Frederick’s gaze sharpened. “Yuna’s perfume launched today, so she must have submitted her application to the Patent Office at least half a month ago. But back then, you hadn’t even joined LuxeScents International, and we didn’t know about Polar Radiance. So, Marguerite, how do you explain this?”

Marguerite was at a loss for words.

She had no explanation.

Yes, it did take at least fifteen days to apply for a patent.

But fifteen days ago, she hadn’t joined LuxeScents International yet, she didn’t even know who Frederick was.

No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like she was the guilty party But Marguerite knew that wasn’t the truth.

Feeling helpless, Marguerite could only cling to a shred of hope: “Do you believe me, or do you believe Yuna?”

Frederick looked at Marguerite’s sincere face, his emotions were complicated.

“Whether I believe you or not isn’t the point. The point is, can you provide evidence to prove your innocence?”

Tears sild down Marguerite’s cheeks.

He was just giving her lip service. In reality, he was still siding with Yuna.

After all, all the current evidence was in Yuna’s favor.

ご But she wasn’t about to let her reputation go down the drain just like that. Making perfumes was her only love and talent, she had to fight back.

Marguerite gritted her teeth, determination filling her steely gaze. “Get Yuna over here and I want to confront her face-to-face.”