In the mansion's living room, Shirley Thorne sat alone on the sofa, fending off the fawning guests.
"Miss Thorne, I never knew you were such a talented painter. Which great master did you study under?"
'Even if I told you, you wouldn't know who they are!'
'My teacher... that was a lifetime ago.'
"I don't have a teacher. I'm self-taught!" she could only reply.
The person pressed on, "Self-taught? I heard you had a very difficult life before you met Mr. Grant, Miss Thorne. Did you really have time to learn how to paint?"
Shirley Thorne inwardly scoffed. She understood the implication—they suspected the painting she gave the old man was done by a ghost painter.
"Well, I did," Shirley Thorne said, deciding to be difficult.
"Haha, Miss Thorne, you're so humorous."
A flicker of contempt crossed the person's eyes. 'As expected of someone from the gutter,' they thought. 'She can't even lie properly.'
'Looks like Ethan Grant hired a ghost painter for that auction piece. The top billionaire must have thought his commoner girlfriend was too embarrassing and wanted to gild her reputation.'
Everyone present thought the same, and the contempt they felt for Shirley Thorne deepened.
Shirley Thorne shrugged. She didn't care what they thought. 'Besides, the billionaire boss believes me.'
"Sister-in-law!"
Shirley Thorne turned at the sound of his voice. She saw Julian Grant approaching slowly, his eyes crinkling in a gentle smile.
Julian was holding a paintbrush and a drawing board. He smiled at Shirley Thorne and said, "Sister-in-law, I absolutely loved your painting. Could you possibly draw a simplified version for me? I'd like to use it for practice."
The person who had just implied Shirley used a ghost painter covered their mouth to stifle a laugh. "Oh, Julian, how could you? You're putting her on the spot."
"Exactly! Don't go too far!"
"Be careful, or Ethan will have your hide!"
They all chimed in, one after another. No one said the words "Shirley Thorne can't paint" outright, but every single comment pointed to that conclusion.
Shirley Thorne...
Julian Grant maintained his gentle expression, his tone earnest and sincere. "Sister-in-law, is this too much to ask? If it is, we can arrange it for another time."
The guests snickered, their eyes filled with disdain.
Shirley Thorne shrugged, taking the board and brush. "What's so difficult about it?" she said, unfazed.
'It's just a sketch.'
'Couldn't be simpler.'
With that, she grasped the brush and began to paint with practiced ease.
The guests, who had been ready to watch her make a fool of herself, found their eyes widening and their expressions growing more and more exaggerated as time passed. The shock on their faces was impossible to hide.
Only Julian Grant maintained his pleasant, breezy demeanor from start to finish.
'Actually, Shirley Thorne could understand why people didn't believe she could paint. After all, the old Shirley Thorne really couldn't. But as for Julian Grant...'
'Does he trust me that much?'
Still puzzled, Shirley Thorne finished the sketch and handed the board to Julian Grant. "Practice well," she said.
Julian Grant's smile was radiant, his tone sincere. "Thank you, Sister-in-law."
Seeing his sincerity, Shirley felt a sudden appreciation for a fellow art lover. "You like to paint, too?" she asked.
Julian Grant smiled back. "Yes. I love pastoral landscapes under a blazing sun. I even went to Solridgia a while ago."
"Oh, Solridgia is a great place! Nice!"
Shirley Thorne gave a strained smile, feeling a little unsettled.
'Wasn't it the rainy season in Solridgia a while ago?'
'A blazing sun?'
Julian Grant didn't notice her discomfort, his attention focused solely on the drawing in his hands as he began to shower it with praise.
The same people who had been ready to laugh at her expense now chimed in with their own compliments, praising her to the heavens as if they couldn't find enough superlatives.
'Yeah, right,' Shirley Thorne scoffed inwardly, wanting to roll her eyes. She had no patience for such obvious, over-the-top flattery.
'She was actually starting to miss Ethan Grant. At least the human refrigerator wasn't two-faced and didn't make pointless small talk.'
Speak of the devil. A moment later, Ethan Grant was coming down the stairs.
He glanced at Julian Grant standing beside Shirley Thorne, ignoring his brother's slightly ingratiating smile. He wrapped an arm around Shirley's slender waist and said coolly, "Let's go."
Shirley Thorne compliantly nestled into his embrace, giving Julian Grant a friendly nod and a smile.
Clutching the drawing, Julian Grant smiled back like a perfect gentleman.
The moment they were in the car, Shirley Thorne couldn't hold it in any longer. "Mr. Grant, that brother of yours is so strange!"