Rural Belle & Three Heirs

After Lucy stopped Chloe, she lifted her heavily made-up face and sneered, her tone was dripping with disdain. "Hey, ugly girl, what are you doing here? Looking for someone to hang out with?"

Lucy's tone was unfriendly, and her eyes were filled with disdain for Chloe. No wonder, with Chloe's current disheveled appearance, most people would look down on her.

Chloe, anxious to find Grant, had no time for Lucy's nonsense. She tried to walk past her. But then, the old guy with his arm around Lucy reached out to grab Chloe. "Hey, ugly girl, what's the deal? My girlfriend's talking to you, and you just ignore her? You disrespecting me, Hugh?"

When Hugh Fields grabbed Chloe's arm, she felt a wave of nausea. She quickly shook off his hand. "Get off me, don't touch me with your filthy hands," she snapped, her face cold.

Chloe's hostility ticked Hugh off. Seeing his reaction, Lucy felt a twisted sense of joy. She couldn't handle Chloe herself, but Hugh could. He had his fingers in both legal and shady businesses and even owned a piece of this Karaoke Bar. Chloe talking back to him was bringing trouble to herself.

"Ugly girl, you got a death wish? How dare you call my hands dirty?" Hugh, fueled by booze, started cursing at Chloe.

Chloe wasn't one to back down. "You're holding a girl young enough to be your daughter and still think you're clean? Get out of my way."

After Chloe finished her tirade, she turned to leave in a different direction. However, Hugh, who had never been insulted like that before, was extremely furious.

Seeing this unfold, Lucy egged him on, "Hey, ugly girl, you usually bully me, and I let it slide. But talking like that in front of Hugh? Do you even know who he is? You think you can afford to piss him off?"

Hugh, pleased with Lucy's words, looked at Chloe with a smug grin. In Sovereign City, he had a bit of a rep. He could have any girl in this Karaoke Bar whenever he wanted. No one had ever talked to him like that.

"Get lost, I'm busy. I don't have time for this," Chloe said, focused on finding Grant. But Hugh suddenly let go of Lucy and yanked Chloe into the private room they had just opened. Lucy quickly locked the door behind them.

Chloe quickly came to grips with the reality of the situation: defeating Lucy tonight wouldn't be as easy as it used to be. But she wasn't scared. She'd faced worse before. "Lucy, what do you want?" Chloe asked, staring her down.

Lucy let out a cold laugh. She picked up a bottle from the table and smashed it with a loud "crack." She then picked up a shard of broken glass and menacingly waved it in front of Chloe. "Ugly girl, because of you, my dad got fired from Quest University. I went from being a top student to a hostess. Now that you're here, what do you think I want to do?"

Chloe almost laughed out of sheer anger. "Lucy, didn't you get expelled for bullying and breaking rules? And wasn't your dad fired for abusing his power? How is any of that my fault? I didn't make you become a hostess. You chose this place. You did this to yourself, and now you're blaming me? That's rich."

Chloe's words hit a nerve. Lucy, furious, waved the glass shard closer. "Ugly girl, you sure can talk. But no matter what you say, you're not getting out of this. You made my life hell, so today, I'm going to make your ugly face even uglier. Let's see how you deal with that."

As Lucy moved to slash Chloe's face, her eyes filled with rage; Chloe didn't have it. She reacted swiftly, kicking Lucy hard in the stomach with a force that sent her crashing onto the sofa.

"You..." Lucy gasped, clutching her belly in pain, her face contorted with agony.

Chloe glared at her coldly. "You got your ass kicked by me at school before, Lucy. Don't make me do it again here; you won't win."

Chloe's fierce demeanor caught Hugh's attention. He hadn't seen a woman this tough

in a while. Even though Chloe wasn't a looker, he was intrigued.

"Ugly girl, you've got some fire. I gotta say, I like that. How about this, today's just a misunderstanding. I'll let you go," Hugh said, eyeing her with interest.

Chloe knew he wasn't being forgiving; there must be some hidden agenda. "Fine, if you're letting me go, open the door and let me leave."

Hugh picked up a bottle of wine from the table and handed it to her. "Drink this, and we'll call it even. From now on, I'll protect you."

Chloe almost laughed in his face. In Sovereign City, was he more powerful than the Martin Family? Did she look that desperate for protection from a bald creep like him?

Just as she was about to tell him off, her phone rang. It was Grant. She pulled out her phone, but Hugh, thinking she was calling for help, slapped it out of her hand, making her even angrier.

"Drink the wine, and you can go. Otherwise, I'll teach you a lesson today," Hugh demanded.