They were still in the Hughes Group's president's office, but Boden had left them to take care of another project.

“Refused? That's not possible. She doesn't have the guts to do that,” Bill said with a sneer.

“Marriage is the most important thing in a woman's life. Granted, Maria is very successful and famous, and had a big fan base, but it's not enough. If she's not happily married, it would mean nothing.”

Bill looked up after saying this and found Vivian and Patricia looking at him worriedly.

Patricia had been calm all along as she tried to place a graceful smile on her face.

But so much time had gone by that she couldn't keep up the pretence.

“But Maria should have contacted us by now. Why hasn't she?" Vivian stomped her foot and complained with a pout.

“Maybe we weren't harsh enough earlier. Dad, you should call her and scare the hell out of her.”

“Well...” Bill froze for a moment. In fact, he would be happy to do it. But if Anthony picked up the call, he wouldn't be able to say a word.

"That's enough Vivian. Don't pressure your father. You're making things difficult for him."

Patricia chastised Vivian and started pacing back and forth in the office. After pacing for a while, she stopped in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

She looked down at the traffic, seeming to be Lost in thought. Finally, she said, "Maybe Maria is feeling like she is at a disadvantage and can't make a choice. She knows what she needs to do or rather, what she needs to protect more. She will end up giving in to our demand.” Patricia's words seemed to have a calming effect on Vivian.

She wasn't so worried anymore, but she wasn't happy with how slowly things were going.

"So, we just have to keep waiting?" she asked.

Maria was taking too much time to make up her damn mind. While she dragged her feet, Vivian's reputation was being dragged through the mud as everyone called her a plagiarist.

By the time Maria did make up her mind, it would be too late to salvage Vivian's reputation. She would have already lost all her fans.

Vivian couldn't just stand and wait. She asked anxiously, “Mom, can you make Maria to answer us faster?"

Patricia understood Vivian's worry, and she agreed with her. So she mulled it over in her mind for a while and finally came up with a solution.

"We don't need to rush her. Why don't just make the announcement ourselves?”

Patricia paused for a second and continued, "We can tell everyone that Vivian and Maria wrote Song or Phoenix and Female Military Counsellor together at home. You know, we can say they bounced ideas off each other and wrote many of these wonderful plots.

That said, it's obvious that Song of Phoenix is not a plagiarized work of Female Military Counsellor. The two books can be considered sisters just like the authors of the books.

Then, we thank the fans for their loyalty and for defending both books. Vivian and Maria would sincerely apologize to their fans for failing to clarify the mix-up in time.”

Vivian stared at Patricia in awe.

This announcement was what she needed to save her reputation and keep her fans.