Chapter 396

Hugo didn’t bother hiding the call from Bowen. “Birgitte is calling me.”

He added, “I heard your girlfriend is pretty close with Birgitte. Maybe you could put in a good word for me sometime.”

Hugo picked up.

Birgitte, never one to lash out for no reason, asked, “Hugo, are you busy?”

“Not at all. What’s up?”

“I’m in Rithol City right now, and I just ran into Grace. She seems to have some misunderstandings about our relationship. Do you think you could talk to her and clear things up?”

Birgitte had put the call on speakerphone.

‘Grace?’ Hugo wondered.

Hugo’s brow furrowed in recognition, but before he could say anything, Elizabeth’s voice came through the speaker.

She said, “Hugo, it’s Elizabeth. I’m here with Grace at an art exhibition. We happened to run into Ms. Cherniavsky and Ms. Miller. Grace can be a bit impulsive, and there was a bit of a conflict.”

Hugo swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. He thought, ‘Elizabeth is there too? I could ignore Grace’s feelings, but with her cousin present, I can’t just say whatever I want!’

Bowen’s attention snapped to the phone at the mention of Aubree. He asked, “Bree, you’re there too?”

On the other end, Aubree was caught off guard by his voice. ‘Seriously? What are the odds?’ she thought.

“Yeah, Birgitte and I came to buy some paintings, and we ran into a moron,” Aubree said before pausing, clear amusement in her voice.

From the way she said it, it was obvious she hadn’t been the one to lose out.

Bowen’s eyes softened in relief. “Is it any trouble? Want us to come over?”

Hugo felt that Grace’s constant pestering was quite troublesome. He knew exactly how he felt about Birgitte. There was no way he’d let her get hurt. Besides, with Birgitte’s personality, if he ever started waffling, she’d drop him in a heartbeat.

“Where are you? We’ll come over and check things out,” Hugo said.

Hearing they were coming, Grace quickly rattled off the address. After hanging up, she shot Birgitte a smug look. “See? The moment Hugo heard I was in trouble, he’s rushing right over.”

Birgitte didn’t say a word, but Aubree just looked at Grace like she was watching a circus act.

‘Elizabeth seems perfectly normal. How did her cousin turn out like this? Did all the brains skip a generation or something?’ she thought.

Elizabeth’s lips curled into a faint smile as she glanced at Grace’s half-swollen face. ‘Didn’t expect to get this kind of bonus bringing her out today. When Bowen shows up, I’ll make sure to put on my best performance,’ she thought.

Each of them was lost in their own thoughts.

Bowen and Hugo showed up in no time. Before the four in the lounge had even finished a glass of water, the guys were already there.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming out to buy art?” Bowen asked.

“Weren’t you supposed to be with Enrique today? Besides, I’m here with Birgitte. Why are you barging in on our girl time?” Ever since she started dating Bowen, Aubree had started addressing his dad in a different way.

Bowen chuckled.

Ever since Bowen walked in, all his attention was on Aubree. Elizabeth, whose face had been lit up with anticipation, instantly darkened.

Jealousy raged inside her like a rabid cat clawing at her insides, desperate to break free and wreak havoc.

“I was just worried some clueless idiot might upset you,” Bowen said.

That was definitely a pointed remark.

Elizabeth’s face paled slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. “Mr. Turner and Ms. Miller really seem to have a great relationship.

“But Mr. Turner, you’re a reasonable guy. My cousin got hit. Shouldn’t we at least get an explanation?

“Grace’s been spoiled by our family, sure. She and Ms. Cherniavsky both wanted the same painting. It’s one thing not to give it up, but actually throwing hands? That’s just too much, isn’t it?

“And Hugo, if I’m not mistaken, there’s an engagement between the Lawson and Moore families. You can’t really blame Grace for getting emotional, can you?”

She really managed to say everything all by herself.

Aubree let out a cold laugh. “Looks like Ms. Lawson has a case of selective amnesia.”