Rural Belle & Three Heirs

Faced with Zara's ridiculous question, Chloe was at a loss for words. While munching on her food, she rolled her eyes at her friend. "Seriously, stop it. I told you, none of them are into me."

Zara pouted and said softly, "I think Grant likes you the most."

Zara's words made Chloe blush again. She could definitely tell that Grant treated her differently; otherwise, he wouldn't be kissing her every chance he got.

She was acutely aware that Grant's feelings for her had long surpassed ordinary friendship. Whether it was his gentle care or his protection during each perilous situation, Chloe felt a special affection from him. Grant's repeated acts of warmth and closeness left her somewhat at a loss.

Even though she knew it, she still had to deny it in front of Zara. "Don't be ridiculous. Grant likes girls like Miss Thorne. There's no way he likes me."

Zara started laying out the facts again. "Of course he likes you, Chloe. Yesterday, he was freaking out on the phone arranging searches, yelling at Michael for being slow, and almost fighting with Liam over security. He even scolded the housekeeper, servants, and bodyguards. You should've seen how anxious he was. He really has a thing for you. Why not just marry him?"

Zara kept talking, making Chloe a bit speechless. She reminded Zara, "Zara, don't go overboard. Remember what I told you when I first came to Sovereign City? I came here to break off the engagement, to make them disgusted with me, not to marry into the Martin family. You said it yourself-it's the new century, and women shouldn't be bound by a marriage contract."noveldrama

After chatting with Chloe for a while and making sure she was okay, Zara finally left. Then, Mia was in charge of taking care of Chloe.

Lying in bed, feeling pretty bored, Chloe wanted to ask Mia where Grant had gone but was worried that others might read too much into her question.

She had to remind herself to stay firm in her resolve to break off the engagement. She was Chloe, a strong and independent woman, and she couldn't let herself be completely thrown off balance by just one passionate kiss from Grant. At this moment, she needed to think clearly and not be swayed by her emotions.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was in her room, Chloe took out her phone and snapped a photo of her bandaged leg. Quickly, she sent the photo to Nicholas. And she pitifully added a line of text: [Grandpa, I'm hurt, it hurts so much, I miss you, I want to go home.]

Chloe thought, which grandpa wouldn't feel heartbroken seeing his granddaughter hurt? So she wanted to use this method to make Nicholas feel sorry for her and let her return to the vast northwest home.

Unexpectedly, her plan failed, as Nicholas replied to her: [Chloe, seeing you hurt makes me sad too, but remember, you went to Sovereign City to find a husband. You can't come back empty-handed, right? A minor injury shouldn't make you give up. Hang in there a bit longer. Once you marry into the Martin family, everything will be yours, and you can bring your fiancé home.]

Seeing the message, Chloe felt like she was going crazy. Which grandpa didn't care for his granddaughter? But her grandpa was no help at all. Was his heart made of stone?

Suppressing her anger, Chloe shot another message to Nicholas: [You're not my real grandpa, I hate you.]

Instantly, Nicholas replied: [I did a paternity test, you are my real granddaughter... no doubt about it!]

Chloe was losing it, practically pulling her hair out. What was so great about the Martin Family anyway? Why was her grandpa so dead set on her marrying into it?

Meanwhile, downstairs in the Martin Mansion, Grant was tearing into Liam and Michael. Facing Grant's fury, Michael and Liam stood there like scolded school kids, not daring to move.

Grant fumed, "Liam, what did I tell you? Make sure the security measures at home were solid, and you let this huge mess happen? All you do is mess around with motorcycles and chase after your so-called idol. Someone went missing from our home, and you didn't even notice. What's wrong with you?"

He continued, "And what about Hugh? I told you to handle it. If you'd done your job, would those people have targeted our family? And Lucy-she likes you and supports you. Back at Quest University, you had her bully Chloe, and now she wants Chloe dead. If you didn't want to marry Chloe or ally with the Davis family, you could've just said no, but you didn't have to go this far, right?"

Grant's words left Liam speechless. Initially, he wanted to use Lucy to scare Chloe into packing up and heading back to the northwest. But he never meant for Chloe to get hurt.

Facing Grant's anger, Liam only dared to mutter, "Grant, this time it really was my fault, but it was just an accident."

"An accident? Liam, is your next accident going to involve someone kidnapping me?" Grant's anger was palpable.

Seeing Liam getting chewed out, Michael felt sorry for Liam. "Grant, Liam was saying he didn't mean to hurt her. He just messed up the security measures."

The security measures of the Martin Family had always been Liam's responsibility. This time, Liam couldn't avoid the blame.

Grant's anger turned to Michael. "What about you? What were you doing when Chloe was kidnapped? Wearing a dress, pretending to be a woman, and prancing around in front of those pretty girls. Michael, I know you don't like Chloe, think she's ugly, and don't want to ally with the Davis family. You just like your Karlie. Fine, none of you like Chloe and don't want to marry her. I'll marry her. But please, stop using underhanded methods to bully her."

Grant's words left Michael and Liam completely stunned.