Rural Belle & Three Heirs

Chloe was feeling a bit jittery, thinking Grant was about to kiss her again. But out of nowhere, like he was doing some magic trick, Grant pulled out Chloe's fake mole from his pocket and stuck it back on her face.

"Your mole looks better when it's on," he said with a smirk.

Chloe's heart was all over the place from his teasing, and she just wanted to get away from Grant's embrace as fast as she could-There was something about Grant that was just irresistible. If she kept hanging around him, she knew she'd fall for him.

She had to keep her distance.

So, when she heard the sound of Liam's motorcycle outside, Chloe quickly slipped out of Grant's arms and headed upstairs.noveldrama

Just as she was about to go to her room, she heard Liam's voice behind her. "Hey, ugly girl, wait up."

"Huh? What's up?" Chloe turned around to face him.

Liam quickly ran over, staring at her face like he was trying to figure something out. Feeling uneasy under his gaze, Chloe asked, "Liam, what are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"

Liam snapped out of his thoughts, scratched his head, and mumbled, "Could it be a mistake? Eric must have been mistaken."

Chloe had no idea what he was talking about. She was puzzled when Liam suddenly reached out to grab her mole.

"Ouch, that hurts!" she cried out before he could touch her face, covering her mole protectively. Grant had just stuck it back on, and it wasn't secured properly. If Liam pulled it, it would definitely come off.

Chloe covered it up to keep her secret safe. The fewer people who knew, the less likely she'd be forced into an arranged marriage.

"Are you crazy, Liam? Why are you trying to pull my mole? It's part of my skin. If you pull it off and it bleeds, are you gonna take me to the hospital? I'm telling you, stay away from my mole," she protested.

Liam chuckled awkwardly and pulled out his phone, snapping close-up photos of her face.

As he took the photos, he said, "Eric, are you sure you're not mistaken? I'm telling you, you must have been seeing things. That ugly girl definitely has a mole right on her face, it's unmistakable."

Chloe glared at him and quickly made her escape. Liam was easy to fool; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to keep her secret tonight.

After getting back to her room, Chloe took a shower.

Usually, she loved to sleep, but tonight, she just couldn't drift off. She stared at the ceiling, and all she could think about was Grant kissing her in the car.

Grant's lips were soft, and he was a damn good kisser. She could still feel Grant's scent lingering on her lips and ears, and she couldn't help but replay that long, passionate kiss in her mind. For the first time ever, Chloe felt this weird mix of confusion and restlessness.

Meanwhile, Grant, who was crashing in the guest room, couldn't sleep either. Chloe's face, her body, and her cute, angry expressions kept replaying in his mind. He couldn't help but smile, feeling a warmth spread through his chest.

He grabbed his phone and shot Chloe a message: [Kissing you in the car was amazing, but that center console was a bit of a pain.]

Lying in bed, Chloe saw Grant's message and felt so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. She never thought the usually serious Grant could be such a flirt.

Chloe was already having trouble falling asleep, and after Grant's teasing, it only made it worse. She managed to drift off into a hazy sleep for a few moments before it was time to get up for school in the morning.

In the morning, when Chloe went downstairs for breakfast, she found the three Martin brothers already in the dining room. Michael and Liam were giving Grant a hard time.

"Hey, Grant, rough night? Look at those red eyes..." Michael teased.

Grant ate while his eyes kept drifting to Chloe. "Yeah, didn't sleep well," he admitted. "Why? What were you thinking about?" Michael, always the curious one, pressed. Grant glanced at Chloe, who had just sat down, and said to Michael with a straight face, "I was just thinking about a naughty little cat."

Upon hearing Grant's words, Chloe couldn't help but tense up. She lowered her head, mechanically stirring the oatmeal in her bowl.

Michael seemed intrigued. "A little cat? Grant, you got a cat? Where do you keep it? In the office? I love animals too. How about you let me see your cat someday? I'm great with cats."

Grant shot Michael a glare and quickly stuffed a sandwich into his mouth.

"Eat your food and stop talking. That's my cat, and I'm not letting you see it," Grant said firmly.

Chloe's head dipped even lower. Dealing with this side of Grant was driving her nuts. After finally finishing breakfast, Chloe packed her school bag and got ready to head out with Liam as usual. But Liam had other plans.

"Ugly girl, Grant asked me to handle something, so I can't go to school today. You'll have to ride with Grant," he said.

Hearing that, Chloe quickly refused. "No way, I'll just take a cab. I don't want to bother Grant."

Just as she finished speaking, she grabbed her backpack and made a dash to escape. However, to her surprise, the tall figure of Grant suddenly appeared behind her, grabbing her by the collar.

"It's no trouble at all to take you to school," Grant's cool voice whispered in her ear.