Love or Die CEO’s Daily Dose of Swoon

Chapter 140

1. Aster?

The name sent a ripple of shock through the crowd gathered in the gallery. Eyes wide with disbelief, they turned to look, wondering if it was the same renowned artist they’d heard of.

Laurinda, however, was oblivious to the prestige. She hollered, “I don’t give a hoot of who he is. Fanny here is the president of the local art club, and she’s declared this painting worthless. So what are you rambling on about, eh?”

Fanny, the mentioned art club president, wished for nothing more than to vanish into thin air at that moment. But the more she wanted to escape the limelight, the more Laurinda sought her out, “Where’s Fanny?”

Pointing at Fanny, she demanded, “Well, Fanny, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Fanny’s lips quivered; she couldn’t muster a word and looked desperately towards Mrs. Collins for help.

Mrs. Collins felt a surge of vindication. She’d always thought Fanny spreading rumors about Mrs. Delaney was shady, and Fanny’s recent comment at the auction had pushed someone into an embarrassing spotlight, which

irked her.

This was her auction, a place where everyone showed respect. How dare anyone stir up trouble here, especially against the family of Joy’s beloved Cordelia?

So, the usually diplomatic and capable Mrs. Collins, who never embarrassed her guests, instead of smoothing things over for Fanny, slowly pronounced, “Laurinda, Fanny might be the head of the Greenmeadow Art Association, but B. Aster is the chair of the National Fine Art Association!”

That little piece of information was a revelation for everyone present.

Silence fell upon the gathering. Sanderson, too, was stunned by the turn of events and was momentarily speechless.

Everard, on the other hand, turned around, his cool gaze sweeping across the Miller family who had just scoffed at them, and casually remarked, “Yes, he was a pawn we arranged.”

Ballaster was called in by Cordelia, so he was indeed a pawn, wasn’t he?

To the Millers, the implication was mortifying! Who in their right mind could get B. Aster to act as a pawn? The remark from the Delaney family’s son–in–law was pure mockery!

but laugh, feeling even more satisfied with

continued to twist the knife into Fanny, “But why on earth would Fanny say

I’m curious too. Why is your

Aster’s?”

been searching for the artist Lorn, you told him that

had been admiring the painting “Lone Bluff,‘ finally caught up and frowned, “Fanny, you said you were Lorn’s roommate and that she had died, yet here she is, alive and well. What’s going on?”

taken aback. Suddenly, she understood and stood up abruptly, “Fanny, you’ve been against me ever since college. It’s

the dots, the crowd began to gossip and speculate, quickly grasping

Delaney is actually an incredible artist!”

about her painting being pulled from the exhibition because of bribery–that was spread by Fanny, wasn’t it?”

Chapter 140

Delaney’s painting was too amateurish, but B. Aster recognized it as a masterpiece, looks like deliberate sabotage

“Poor Mrs. Delaney.”

Delaney hasn’t painted for eighteen years; could

was fully understood only by those who were trapped

for his work. To me, this painting is indeed subpar, not my cup of tea. Is there a problem with that?” Lourinda, who had resented Lorna for years, eager to see her downfall, hastily added, “If this painting is so good, why didn’t it sell? What’s the use of painting well? It’s just a bunch of worthless paper. Go ahead and cash it in–talk is cheap. They say it’s priceless, but no

the echo of her words faded, a cool, deep voice spoke up, “1

Along with everyone else, she turned to see

for a painting

Everard as if he were mad. Rachel nudged

“He’s just the owner of a small shop. Where’d he get the money? It must be Sanderson’s doing–just throwing money at Lorna to

Then-

million!” another voice

turned again in astonishment to see Louie in the crowd, raising

Laurinda was stunned.

Ballaster, who hadn’t yet left the stage, suddenly joined in, “Actually, this price isn’t high at all. The

were dumbfounded for quite a while. Just moments ago, the painting that almost went unsold for a mere $50,000 had, in the

bid of the day for any item had only reached $1 million