Rural Belle & Three Heirs by Harper Hall

Chapter 19 No Dignity at All

After a few run-ins, Chloe figured out that Liam wasn't really a threat, so she wasn't scared of him. Grant, even with his icy attitude, had sparred with her a few times, and she wasn't afraid of him either. But Michael? He gave her the creeps. He was a schemer, always getting others to do his dirty work. Just a few words to the gullible Liam, and he'd have him wrapped around his finger.

Chloe wondered what Michael had in store for her. If he tried anything, she'd fight back with everything she had, even if it meant risking her life. She'd scratch his face, yank out his hair, and throw mud at him, ruining his pretty-boy looks. She wanted to see him strut around after that.

Determined, Chloe crossed her arms and slumped in the back seat.

Outside the car, Michael was chatting with someone before he got in.

Chloe braced herself, thinking he was going to make a move on her, but to her surprise, nothing happened.

Instead, Michael started his endless rant, "Chloe, do you have any idea how much trouble you could've gotten into sneaking out to meet a boy? The world's a sketchy place, and you can't trust just anyone.

He pressed on, "Staying with the Martins means we gotta watch our backs. If I hadn't caught you while I was working on my script, who knows what could've happened?

"You might not be blood, but you're family to me, and I don't want to see you getting messed up. What you pulled was seriously wild."

relentless, and Chloe, holding her head, felt like she

explode. Under Michael's barrage, Chloe started to feel like she had really messed up. She shouldn't have had dinner with Philip;

She was wrong!

kept at it, "Chloe, did you do something wrong today? If you don't admit it, I'll tell Grant and Liam. They'll track down that boy tomorrow and give him a piece of their mind. Who does he think he is, hitting on any girl he

pressure, Chloe had no choice

admitted her mistake to Michael. "Mic, Meeting that boy for dinner was a naive move

was growing accustomed to it, as it didn't seem as off-putting as before. When Michael realized

he couldn't picture himself marrying someone he found so

Chloe quickly slipped into her room, took a shower, and started a video

to go back to the Northwest. If I stay with the Martin Family for a few

the evening, making

called me ugly and refused to marry me. Then I had dinner with Philip, and he dragged me back and nagged me the whole way. Is he crazy? If this keeps up, I

quickly empathized with Chloe's

explained, "Chloe, don't worry. I don't think Michael has any feelings for you. I think the young heirs are like dogs guarding their food. They don't eat it themselves, but they won't let other dogs

she made a lot of sense, but she also felt