Xenia and a bunch of other heiresses from rich families watched Belle and Grayson walk away enviously.After so many years, Belle was the only woman Grayson had brought along to such an event. She was the first woman whom Grayson allowed to be with him so openly. The more Grayson shone, the more jealous they were of Belle.Since the other women were standing a little further away, they couldn't hear the conversation between Belle, Grayson, Robert, and Scott. However, they were clearly talking to each other.Both Scott and Robert had taken the initiative to greet Belle.There were only so many popular and attractive guys in Maltford. It was hard for them not to be jealous of Belle for scoring three at once.Belle only saw them as friends, but to the group of women watching, Belle was trying to seduce them.That said much more about them than it did about Belle."What a whore! I guess one isn't enough for her. Can you believe she's going after Mr. Quinn and Mr. Strauss? I've nev
Phil approached and hurriedly apologized to Grayson. "Sorry, Grayson. I was greeting guests inside, so I didn't know you and Belle were here.""It's alright, Mr. Sanchez Senior," Grayson replied politely. Phil smiled and glanced at Belle. After giving her a brief once-over, he introduced himself, "Hi, Belle. Do you remember me? I'm Phil Sanchez."Belle had no idea who he was, but she had already guessed that he was Xenia's grandpa.She already disliked Xenia, and by pure association, she didn't like Phil either.Still, for Finneas' sake, she greeted him with a smile. "Hello, Mr. Sanchez Senior."He was taken aback. It was an honor for a member of the Aspen family to greet him so politely."Hello! Wow, you really grew up to be a beautiful young lady. Anyone can tell from just looking at you that you're a successful person. Grayson must have saved a country in his past life to be able to be able to marry you. I bet everyone else is jealous," he said.Finneas spoke up. "Phil clea
Belle was picking out some pastries and simply glanced at them quickly. She ignored them and continued snacking on the pastries on her plate.Monica, who was one of the heiresses pestering Belle, snarled, "Belle, are you really going to ignore us like that?"Belle stuffed a small pastry into her mouth and chewed slowly. After she swallowed, she looked at Monica. "Who are you?""Y-You bitch! How dare you—""Use your words. Don't curse at me. If you swear at me one more time, I'm going to beat you up," Belle said calmly. Despite her neutral tone, her gaze was full of warning.Monica was an aggressive person, but she also knew how good Belle was at fighting.She stopped swearing, but she was still making a fuss. "Beat me up? How dare you? I haven't even settled on what happened at the mall with you! "Do you really think you can do whatever you want because of Mr. Page? You should know better than anyone what your real relationship is. "If it weren't for Mr. Page Senior, you woul
Xenia said pitifully, "What's wrong with you today, Belle? What acting are you talking about? Why wouldn't we like each other? I thought we were on great terms!"Belle rolled her eyes.She guessed that Xenia didn't want to burn the bridge between them because it would be too hard to approach Belle in the future. It would also be much harder to harm her if that happened.However, Belle really couldn't be bothered to entertain her anymore.Belle went straight for Xenia's weak spot. "I used to go along with it because Grayson said he could brush you off. That's why I didn't pay you any mind. I didn't know you would hold on for so long. I ended up having to speak up instead."Xenia's expression finally soured. "What did you just say?""Was that too complicated for you? Let me make it clear," Belle said. "Both Grayson and I know you want him. Grayson hates it because you're technically Dawson's fiancée, and because Grandpa himself approved of you, he can't treat you like how he did Ju
Belle continued to think about Xenia leaving for a little while longer. She pressed her lips together and continued eating.If Xenia didn't start a fight, then Belle wasn't about to instigate anything. Xenia wasn't enough of a threat to make Belle need to initiate a fight.She continued enjoying her pastries and suddenly thought of Robert.Scott had told her that Robert needed her help. She quickly put her pastries down and pulled her phone out to call Robert.Before she could call him, he suddenly appeared right next to her. Surprised, Belle said, "I was just about to call you.""I noticed you were talking to other people just now, so I didn't want to interrupt," Robert said. "Were they harassing you?"Belle didn't really care much about them. "They can't hurt me. What about you? What happened?""Shall we talk over there?""Sure."The two sat at an empty table, and Belle quickly asked, "Is it about your brother?""Sort of. I've been back home for a while, and I've already tr
"No," Belle replied. "I just think it's weird. Xenia definitely had a reason for inviting me, and yet nothing happened. Is it because I exposed her true self in front of so many people? "Maybe she needs time to digest the fact that I showed her for who she really is. That's why she didn't pay me any attention after that."Grayson couldn't care less about Xenia, but he did want to hear Belle speak. He just wanted to hear her voice. He asked, "How did you expose her?""I talked about her not liking me and how she's been putting on an act this whole time."Grayson stayed quiet.Belle continued, "I don't know what it feels like to put on an act like that, but I'm tired of watching her. If I didn't say anything, she'd definitely just keep pestering me. If I came clean about not liking her, she'd definitely never show up around me again.""Congratulations," Grayson said."Congratulations about what?" Belle asked."You got rid of another love rival."Belle blinked. "Love rival? Who,
Belle suddenly thought about the question Robert had asked her during the event.Grayson already knew she was Mr. Bunny, so she didn't hide anything. "Did Robert ever ask you about Mr. Bunny?" she asked.With narrowed eyes, Grayson asked, "Why?""When you went to speak to Grandpa, he came over to talk to me. He asked for my help in asking you about Mr. Bunny's whereabouts. He also said that Mr. Bunny was an old acquaintance of his, and he had to find him.""An old acquaintance?" Grayson repeated with a frown. "Sounds like you knew him a long time ago, then."Belle looked confused. "I don't know what's going on. I really don't remember ever meeting him before this, but he was really sure about it.""What did you say after that?""What could I have said? I had to say yes.""Did you tell him that you're Mr. Bunny?""No."Grayson calmed down a bit at Belle's answer. He was proud that he knew a secret of Belle's that Robert didn't know. He felt just a bit closer to Belle than Robe
Grayson was still unhappy. "Why am I only 'kind of' a friend? Is Robert your friend?" he asked.Belle didn't know what to say. "Why do you always bring him up? You never admit it when I say you like him. Think about it! You always bring him up. Do you have a crush on him or something?""Am I crushing on him, or are you crushing on him?" Grayson replied."I obviously don't have a crush on him, and he doesn't like me either. We're just friends. Do I always bring him up? No, but you do. You know, I heard that people will always subconsciously bring up their crushes in conversations. They'll always find a way to talk about their crush, too."Grayson's mouth twitched. "Don't say that! You may not like him, but what if he likes you?""Then it's his business. I'm not stupid, anyway. I'll know if he likes me. He just treats me as a friend.""What if he really does have a crush on you and confessed to you?"Belle replied without hesitation, "Then I'd stay away from him. It's not like I l