Chapter 143
Mallory bit down on her lip, still in shock that Marina and Daron were actually engaged.
“Marina, you and Daron…” Mallory began, but the rest of her question died on her lips.
She faltered, too nervous to get the words out.
If Marina gave her a straight answer right then, Mallory would be put on the spot.
She took a deep breath and changed the subject.
“You and Daron seem really close,” Mallory said.
Kara shot her a look of disdain. “What’s it to you?”
Mallory’s face fell at Kara’s sharp retort. Just as she was about to fire back, Chloe Grant’s voice rang out.
“Wow, it’s really lively here today,” Chloe said.
Mallory glanced over and quickly made her way toward them.
“Alice, Chloe, why did you get here so late?” Mallory called out.
Chloe glanced at Mallory, then looked over at Joyce with a teasing smirk, her eyes full of obvious mockery.
“Cousin? Joyce, since when did you have a little cousin tagging along?” Chloe teased.
Joyce smiled softly, her voice calm.
“She insists on calling me that. I just let her be,” Joyce replied.
Chloe chuckled, obviously dismissing Mallory.
Mallory’s aunt had been Joyce’s father’s mistress for years, and even after she finally married him, nobody in this crowd ever really respected her.
But Mallory was determined to break into their circle, so even when she got humiliated, she just had to grit her teeth and take it.
Chloe linked arms with Joyce and walked right past Mallory.
Joyce glanced over in Marina’s direction.
As soon as she looked over, the socialites sitting with Marina and Kara on the sofa all stood up together and greeted her politely.
“Ms. Milner, Grant,” they called out.
Joyce smiled and nodded in response.
Chloe, on the other hand, looked down on their behavior. In her eyes, they had no backbone, just always trying to cozy up to people with status.
But out of the corner of her eye, she noticed there were still two people sitting on the sofa, which caught her attention.
She recognized Kara right away.
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Chapter 143
Kara had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. The Gross family only had one daughter, and she’d been showered with love and attention her whole life.
But as for the other girl, Chloe had no idea who she was.
But that outfit the other girl had on looked really familiar to Chloe.
“Joyce, didn’t you say you already snagged that dress? So how come she’s the one wearing it now?” Chloe teased.
Chloe motioned for Joyce to check out Marina’s outfit.
Mallory spotted a chance to jump in and quickly moved closer, murmuring under her breath.
“Chloe, you might not know her. That’s Ms. Marina, the younger Miss of the Finley family. She was my high school, Mallory said.
“Daron’s the one who brought her along,” she added.
As she spoke, Mallory stole a nervous glance at Joyce.
Joyce’s smile stayed the same, not a hint of change on her face.
Chloe, though, looked genuinely surprised.
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She’d been back in the country for five years, and she’d never seen Daron bring a woman to an event like this before. She gave Marina a curious, but not unfriendly, once–over.
Marina noticed Chloe’s gaze and gave her a polite smile in greeting.
Chloe arched her brow, honestly surprised that Marina could stay so composed and didn’t bother trying to suck up to them.
After all, given how things are for the Finley family these days, they wouldn’t even get invited to sit at the same table as this crowd.
Seeing Chloe’s curious gaze fixed on Marina, Joyce grinned and said,
“If Daron wanted it, I had to give it up for him. Who knew it’d end up on Marina?”
Chloe just said “oh” lightly, then added, “I heard Marina and Daron were classmates.”
Joyce nodded. “Not really sure, I haven’t talked to them much.”
Mallory chimed in, “She probably only got that dress because Daron and Elnora used to be classmates, so she asked Daron to borrow it from Chloe for her.”
That would explain why Marina looked so uncomfortable earlier when she was trying to say she wasn’t involved with Daron.
And Daron looked pretty irritated when he was talking to Kara earlier.
Turns out, Marina was just using Elnora and Daron’s old classmate bond to get favors from Daron.
Daron was just being polite because of his history with Elnora, so he didn’t want to expose Marina’s real intentions.
Chloe couldn’t help but laugh at Mallory’s ridiculous theory.
‘Does she even know who Daron is?‘ Chloe thought, a little amused.
‘Like he’d ever lower himself to ask Joyce for a dress for Marina just because of some flimsy classmate bond.
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Chapter 143
What, does she think he can’t afford it? Or that he doesn’t have the status to get that dress on his own?
No wonder the Gill family never really pays Mallory any mind. She’s honestly just hopeless.”
Joyce could steer her any way she wanted with just a couple of sentences.
Chloe never felt the need to correct people, so even though she saw through Joyce’s intentions, she didn’t call her out.
She just smiled at Joyce and said,” Come on, let’s go sit and chat.”
The Grant family and the Milner Family still had ongoing business projects, so they had to maintain their cordial relationship for the sake of mutual interests.
As for everything else…
Chloe thought, “The rest? I’ll just treat it like watching a show.”
Joyce kept her smile and walked over to join Daron.
Kara took Marina by the hand and got up, heading for the sofa next to Daron.
She’d definitely caught what Daron said just now.
The whole thing about Joyce and Daron getting engaged was just a rumor.
They’d been living off their old money for years, and now that it was almost gone, they were eyeing the Zamora family for a comeback.
Kara led Marina over by the hand and settled her right next to Daron, giving her a gentle nudge so she was even closer to him.
Finn caught his sister up to her usual mischief, his eyes flashing with helplessness. But seeing that Daron didn’t seem to mind being crowded, Finn just shook his head with a fond, indulgent smile.
The Gross family and the Milner Family were pretty much locked in competition these days.
They had plenty of projects and products that overlapped.
The Milner Family saw the Gross family grabbing more and more market share over the years, so they started playing dirty behind the scenes, doing whatever they could to slow the Gross family down.
For now, both families were just putting on a show of being friendly. Who knew when they’d finally drop the act and tear each other apart?
So Finn wasn’t too worried about Kara getting on Joyce’s bad side.
After all, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Better to tick her off now and make her stay alert, so Joyce won’t get a chance to mess with them down the line.
Joyce had her sights set on the spot right next to Daron.
But when she saw Kara march over with Marina and snatch that seat out from under her, a flicker of annoyance flashed in her eyes. She quickly put on a smile, acting like it didn’t bother her at all.
She sat down next to Kara with a smile and greeted Daron and Finn.
“Daron, Finn, how long have you guys been here?” Joyce asked.
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Chapter 143
Marina was sitting sideways when Kara gave her a not–so–gentle shove with her hip, almost sending her flying off the sofa.
Good thing Daron caught her by the waist and pulled her into his arms before she could eat the floor.
The scent of sandalwood from him hit her nose, and Marina just wanted to die from embarrassment.
‘Sis, you really don’t have to go all out! Marina thought, wishing Kara would chill with the superpowers already.
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
