She took it out and saw it was a call from Miles Hawthorne.
"Hello?"
Chloe Reed walked out onto the balcony and answered the call.
Miles Hawthorne’s cheerful voice came through the phone. "The court will be contacting you for mediation in a few days, so be prepared."
Having come this far, she was already more than prepared.
She tightened her grip on her phone and asked, "Is there any chance we could lose?"
"That’s very possible," Miles Hawthorne sighed. "But you can’t keep thinking about failure. What if we win?"
Chloe Reed, however, felt a deep sense of unease. But with no other options at the moment, she said, "Okay, I understand. Thank you."
"Don’t mention it," Miles Hawthorne chuckled. "Just remember to pay a generous legal fee."
Chloe Reed laughed. "Okay."
After hanging up, she turned to the real estate agent and said, "I’ll take this one."
The apartment was already furnished and move-in ready.
She had arrived in the afternoon, so the paperwork would have to wait until tomorrow. She arranged a time and place to meet the agent then.
Preston Vance had been watching from the side. He waited until she finished with the agent before asking, "Do you have plans for later?"
"Yeah, I took time off work to come here." Chloe Reed nodded. "I have to get back."
Preston Vance’s lips twisted in a helpless smile. "And here I was hoping you’d be free. I was going to suggest dinner. That restaurant is really good, I’ve been wanting to go back."
Chloe Reed said, "Then you should go. You could invite one of your friends."
"To be honest," Preston Vance said, pushing his glasses up his nose, "you’re the first friend I’ve made since coming back."
Chloe Reed was even more surprised. "What about before you went abroad?"
"We lost touch a long time ago." Preston Vance shrugged, then added, "Don’t I sound pathetic?"
But Chloe Reed said, "That’s just because you haven’t tried to make any. If you wanted to, I’m sure people would be happy to be your friend."
Ivy Vance crossed her arms and scoffed. "Are you paranoid, Miss Reed?"
Chloe Reed shook her head. "I’m not, but you’re the one who doesn’t seem normal."
Then, she turned to Preston Vance and said, "You seem perfectly normal. But your sister... you should take her to get her head examined when you have a moment."
Preston Vance shot her a surprised look, not expecting her to have such a sharp tongue.
Ivy Vance’s face instantly darkened. "Chloe Reed, are you insulting me?!"
Chloe Reed’s tone was perfectly level. "You’re the one who started this. I don’t even know you, yet you walk over here and insult me. Is that what you call polite?"
"You!"
Ivy Vance was so furious she was speechless. The very sight of Chloe Reed was infuriating!
’What in the world does Walker Grant see in her?!’
’It’s so infuriating!’

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