Chloe was stunned.
Who the heck was this guy? How dare he yank her blanket off? Was he trying to pull something shady?
Chloe never let creeps get away with stuff like that. As he leaned in, she sprang up and kicked him hard.
The guy was caught off guard by the sudden kick. He quickly grabbed her kicking foot with his big hand.
"Who are you? How did you get into my room?" His voice was deep and smooth.
Chloe took a second and realized this must be Grant Martin.
His brothers were no good, and she didn't expect Grant to pull such a stunt to get at her for whatever shady reasons he had.
"Who am I? You Martin guys are really something, barging into my room in the middle of the night. What do you want? Watch this..."
Chloe said, throwing a punch right at Grant's face. He wasn't ready and took the punch hard.
"Little girl, don't push it."
"You started this, and now you're saying I'm pushing it? Watch me beat you to a pulp."
With that, Chloe threw another punch, and the two of them started brawling in the cramped bedroom.
Meanwhile, Michael and Liam were outside the door, listening to the chaos inside.
"Oh man, they're fighting, they're fighting..."
"Think Grant's got the upper hand?"
"You mean, has that ugly girl got him? Grant's so handsome, it'd be a shame if she did."
Liam gritted his teeth and cheered, "The fight should get rougher, so that ugly girl knows how tough we Martin men are!"
Just as Liam finished, the door flew open, and Grant stumbled out, looking pained with a red, swollen nose. The door slammed shut behind him.
"Grant! What happened to you?" Michael scratched his head, pretending to be worried.
Grant glared at him and said, "What happened to me? Don't you know?"
"Grant, we're innocent."
Liam shook his head, trying hard not to laugh.
The three brothers were struggling: Michael was shut down by the girl, Liam was insulted by Chloe, and Grant was kicked out of his room.
It was a total humiliation.
After glaring at Michael and Liam, Grant pulled his torn bathrobe tighter and headed to the guest room.
He was confused the whole way.
Michael and Liam had told him on the phone that Chloe was ugly, but during their fight, in the dim light from the window, he thought he saw her face, and she didn't seem ugly at all.
Grant saw her differently because of her fierceness. No wonder she was from the wild Davis Family in the Northwest. While she was with the Martins, he would make sure she learned that wild women didn't get the upper hand with him.
The next day, Chloe woke up feeling completely rested.
She carefully drew a mole on her face, painted a birthmark on the left side, and braided her hair into thick pigtails before heading downstairs.
At the staircase, she tucked the long coat from the Martin Family halfway into her waistband, aiming to appear unattractive and deter any advances from the Martin brothers.
The Martin Family's breakfast spread was fancy, with milk, sandwiches, and high-end stuff like caviar and foie gras.
When Chloe came down, the three brothers were already at the table. Michael quickly looked away when he saw her.
Liam also scooted away from her quietly.
Only Grant, with his red and swollen nose from last night's fight, sat firmly at the head of the table.
Chloe didn't bother talking to them. She grabbed a sandwich, took a few bites, and drank the glass of milk in front of her before asking, "So, is my school sorted out?"
Grant replied coldly, "Yeah, it's sorted. You'll go to Quest University with Michael and Liam. They're juniors, and you'll start as a freshman."
"Got it," Chloe said, glancing at Michael and Liam.
Liam piped up, "Grant, I don't want to ride in the same car with her to school..."
Before Grant could say anything, Chloe cut in, "Me neither. How about this, I'll take your car, and you can ride in the servant's farm truck?"
"You... ugly girl, that's my car. Why should I take the farm truck to school?"
Liam was fuming at Chloe's bossy attitude.
Chloe grinned and shot back, "Because I'm the one your grandpa invited from the Northwest. If you don't want me here, tell him to let me go. If it wasn't for his nagging, do you really think I'd care about riding in your beat-up car?"
Liam was left speechless.
Bobby Martin, the head of the Martin Family, always had the final say. Liam wouldn't dare question Bobby's decisions, no matter what.
Liam swallowed his anger silently.
Michael, who was naturally timid, saw his twin brother go quiet and kept his mouth shut.
Grant, on the other hand, had a smug smile on his face.
Suddenly, he found this bold, "ugly" girl in front of him quite interesting. What kind of place in the Northwest could breed such a wild spirit?
He thought, 'Interesting.'
Chloe, feeling good after putting Liam in his place, noticed Grant's smirk.
Seeing his red and swollen nose, she vividly recalled the intruder from last night with ill intentions.
For her own safety, Chloe figured she should give Grant a warning.
She walked up to Grant, lowered her eyes, and studied him for a moment.
Then she said, "Your nose, it must hurt, right?"