Chapter 3

3

Two easels were set up. We faced each other again.

I moved my pencil slowly, intentionally making mistakes. I drew a few lines, then paused to watch her face.

Zoe didn't hesitate. She stood up and handed in her paper.

"Done."

The hand-drawn sketch was slightly different in style, but the content was exactly what was in my mind.

"This piece is a lighthouse," she explained. "Topped with a brilliant diamond. It's a tribute to my best friend."

"I was once stranded at a pier in a strange city during a storm. My phone was dead. Then, a lighthouse beam cut through the rain to guide me."

"I found out later my best friend had stayed up all night, using satellite tracking to find me and calling the harbor master to light the way."

My knees went weak. That happened to me and my best friend, Lyra. Only the two of us knew that story.

I felt like I was disappearing. The world was spinning.

My half-finished, messy drawing was projected onto the screen. The mockery was deafening.

"She can't even copy correctly! Look at those mistakes. This is embarrassing!"

"Get off the stage! Fraud!"

I looked at Evelyn again. She was shaking her head now.

Caleb leaned over to her. "See? I told you she was a fake. She isn't the woman you think she is."

"She's a liar, Grandma. You finally see that Zoe was the one who saved me that day, not Jade, right?"

Three years ago, Caleb had fainted from low blood sugar and fallen into a lake. I was the one who pulled him out.

He was barely conscious, but he remembered the emerald pendant around my neck―a gift from my late mother. He used that memory to find me, and we fell in love.

Or so I thought. We were supposed to be married in a month. But then I had that horrific car accident.

I was in a coma for two months. Since I woke up, everything changed. He dragged me to this competition just to humiliate me.

He wanted his grandmother to hate me so he could marry Zoe instead.

"Get lost!" Caleb shouted, joining the crowd's chants.

Suddenly, a sharp *slap* echoed through the hall.

Everyone froze as Caleb stumbled back, clutching his face. He looked at the woman who had just hit him in total shock.

"Stop acting like a goddamn parrot and shut up!" she screamed.

It was Lyra. She ran onto the stage and grabbed my arm. "Jade, get it together. I'm right here. Finish this!"

Her presence was the anchor I needed.