?Chapter 1535:


    Sandra noticed the chill in Brenna’s expression and couldn’t help but feel uneasy.


    She thought about breaking the silence a few times, but Brenna’s distant demeanor made her hesitate each time.


    As they were about to arrive home, Brenna finally broke the silence. “I saw you taking those pictures secretly earlier.”


    A jolt of panic shot through Sandra. She had been sure she’d been subtle, but Brenna had still seen her doing it.


    Now she had no idea how to exin this.


    What would Brenna think of her now?


    Had she already told Ellie about it?


    Questions raced through Sandra’s head, each one worse than thest.


    Brenna continued, “Ellie saw it, too. She just didn’t call you out on it.”


    Relief washed over Sandra, and she blurted out, “I promise I won’t giarize anyone’s work! My whole future is at stake here. I just admire her team’s designs and wanted to learn a thing or two. I’d never copy them, I swear!”


    Brenna’s expression stayed cool. “You’d better keep that promise. Copying other people’s designs will end your career before it even starts. In this industry, that’s the one thing you can’te back from as a designer. You’ve got real talent for design, Sandra, don’t throw your future away for something so small.”


    “I get it, and I really hope you believe me,” Sandra muttered, cheeks burning with shame.


    Brenna said, “Honestly, Ellie has been watching you from the moment you walked in. She’s protective of her work; she only allowed you inside her studio because you went there with me.”


    Regret gnawed at Sandra. Maybe she never should’ve entered the studio in the first ce.


    She clutched her phone, tempted to erase the pictures right then, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She genuinely wanted to use them for inspiration.


    Brenna waited, silently expecting her to delete the photos, but Sandra hesitated.


    Disappointment flickered in Brenna’s eyes.


    Back in her room, Sandra sat on her bed, scrolling through the photos she’d taken, torn between deleting them or keeping them for inspiration.


    She knew she had no ns to steal any ideas. Was it really so wrong to save a few reference shots? Ellie’s design would eventually be made public anyway, so what was the big deal?


    The more Sandra reyed Brenna’s words in her mind, the more frustrated she became. Who was Brenna to lecture her like that?


    It feltpletely unfair.


    Trying to distract herself, she mindlessly flicked through her phone until shended on a video. It showed Loretta in a spicy oldmercial, nearly baring it all. The clip didn’tst long, but it was enough to cause a stir.


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