Rural Belle & Three Heirs
Chapter 68 Chloe's Identity

Hearing Nolan still call Chloe "ugly," Brian's face darkened. "Ugly girl?"

Brian's reminder made Nolan quickly change his tone, adding a bit of respect, "That young lady..."

Brian then spoke slowly, "I heard from my son that she might be the future mistress of the Martin Family."

"Her?" Nolan questioned, clearly finding it hard to believe that a girl like Chloe could become the mistress of the Martin Family.

Brian patted his shoulder and reminded him, "She may not have a gorgeous face, but Mr. Martin likes her. Those few paintings he has hidden away, not many people can borrow them, and he even personally arranged for them to be delivered. If Mr. Martin wants to spoil her, what can we do?"

Brian's words left Nolan feeling uncertain. He was really worried that Chloe might tell Grant about him bullying her earlier. If that happened, he would be finished in Sovereign City.

He gloomily packed up his paintings, while Sophia moved slowly, full of resentment.

"Uncle, are we just leaving like this?" Sophia asked Nolan.

Nolan glared at Sophia unhappily. Today's mess was all because of her instigating and urging him. How could things have gotten so embarrassing otherwise?

Now, things had already happened, and it was hard to change them.

"What else can we do? Stay here and humiliate ourselves?" Nolan snapped at Sophia.

With Grant's paintings hanging here, they would definitely outshine his work. The Gibson family had free paintings to use; they didn't need to spend money renting his.

"But, Uncle, we..." Sophia still wanted to salvage the situation.

Nolan glared at her and scolded, "What do you mean 'but'? If it weren't for your instigating, would things have gotten to this point? You're just a meddlesome, wasteful burden. Hurry up and pack my paintings, quickly."

After being scolded, Sophia didn't dare say anything more. She bent over and helped the staff pack Nolan's paintings into boxes.

Seeing them like this, Zara and Tony felt quite satisfied, especially Tony, who stood up straight. If it weren't for his connection with Chloe, how could they have gotten Grant's paintings for the Gibson family's exhibition? Just because of his sibling-like relationship with Chloe, even his father would have to be more careful when talking to him in the future.

Zara and Chloe sat in a corner of the exhibition, drinking coffee and gossiping about Sophia.

"Chloe, does that fat woman have a grudge against you? Why is she targeting you?" Zara directly called the plump Sophia "fat woman."

Chloe shook her head. "I have no idea why she's got it out for me. Ever since I set foot in Sovereign City, she's been giving me the cold shoulder. Last time, at the welcome party Grant threw for me, she stirred up all kinds of trouble. Luckily, I was quick on my feet and dunked her in the water."

Chloe gave Zara a quick rundown of her run-ins with Sophia.

Zara, using her imagination, said, "I get it. This Sophia must have a thing for Grant. Seeing you show up, she thinks you're her competition. So, she's targeting you." Zara's guess was spot on.

Chloe rolled her eyes and said, "If she likes Grant, that's her problem. What's it got to do with me? If she wants to mess with me, I've got plenty of ways to handle her." Zara nodded in agreement and after a bit, she said, "Chloe, I think Grant might have a thing for you."

"No way," Chloe immediately shot back.

"Seriously," Zara insisted, trusting her gut.

"Nah! Don't say that. How could he like me? Does he have a thing for the mole on my face?" Chloe wasn't too confident about her looks, even though it was just a disguise. To be fair, though, chasing men away was the whole point of it. Zara reasoned, "But look at how he treats you. You asked to borrow his paintings, and he didn't even hesitate. And he said you could walk freely in Sovereign City. Just from that, I can tell Grant must be one of those alpha males in the movies!" Chloe was speechless at Zara's analysis. She propped her face with her hand and said to Zara, "Isn't there another possibility that he's just using me to annoy Sophia?"

Zara was taken aback. "He's deliberately annoying Sophia? Is she worth it?"

Chloe explained, "Sophia works at the Martin group and has been pestering Grant, always considering herself Mrs. Martin. Last time, I saw her almost assault Grant. He doesn't like her, so I think he's just using me to get under her skin." Chloe's theory made sense too, leaving Zara unsure. She comforted Chloe, "Well, whatever his intentions, the Martin Family has three heirs. If Grant doesn't work out, there are two more. Chloe, if I were you, I'd definitely go for Michael. He's handsome and a great actor..."

Seeing Zara like this, Chloe pouted. How should she tell Zara that Michael's nagging ability was top-notch? If she lived with a guy like Michael, she might get depressed from his constant chatter.

The two chatted for a while longer, and guests started arriving, but Grant's paintings hadn't shown up yet. Chloe wanted to call Grant to hurry him up, but Brian took the opportunity to introduce the guests.

"Welcome to the Gibson family's art exhibition. I had some great paintings lined up, but my son's friend insisted we needed the best. So, she pulled some strings and got Mr. Grant Martin to lend us some of his prized pieces. They'll be here soon, so let's see what surprises he has in store for us."