The Beauty and the Brain by Natalie Jones novel Chapter 139

Chapter 139 

“Yeah, Asher, go ahead and open it for us to see. Marie has always been filial, so the gift she prepared must be good.” 

Mia walked over, intentionally or unintentionally pushing Noel aside, and blocked Asher. 

The guests watched as the Spence family gathered around, pulling and pushing each other, gradually moving closer to see what gift Ms. Marie had prepared. 

More and more guests gathered around, with a somewhat whispering atmosphere. They were 

discussing that Marie probably hadn’t prepared any decent gift, which was why Asher was so embarrassed and didn’t dare to open it in public. 

Olive was already laughing heartily. This time, Marie was simply killed by her own stupidity! 

Asher had already become the center of attention, so he clenched his teeth and opened the gift box. 

The long gift box was opened, revealing a scroll inside. Asher took a symbolic glance at it and was about to close the lid when Olive quickly grabbed the scroll. Was Marie trying to deceive Asher with 

some sort of cheap trick? 

She shook open the scroll, revealing a high-quality canvas that fell with a swoosh, displaying a 

perfect and beautiful artwork. The piece was captioned with the words, [May you be blessed with a 

long life and great prosperity.] 

Olive looked at the oil painting and sneered inwardly. The canvas felt new, and it was obvious that it wasn’t an antique. Even she could tell that, so how could Marie dare to deceive Asher with it? It must have been brought in temporarily just to make up the numbers. 

“Is this… a work of Mr. Kennedy?” An old man stepped out from the guests, took out a pair of reading glasses and put them on, then looked carefully and nodded affirmatively, “That’s right! This is a work of Mr. Kennedy!” 

“Mr. Kennedy? Mr. Walter Kennedy? Did Professor Lynch not make a mistake? This expert in oil painter is already 80 years old, and his works are hard to get!” A middle-aged man stepped forward 

and asked. 

“Asher, you’re so fortunate! Your granddaughter has such great abilities, she was able to obtain a 

piece by Mr. Walter Kennedy! Look at this canvas, these ink strokes, it’s clearly just recently 

completed!” Jacob examined the scroll, unable to put it down. 

“That’s right, that’s right! Marie is the most filial! If I wanted the sun, she would even try to get it for me!” Asher proudly boasted about his granddaughter with a beaming face. 

Asher also joined in, admiring the artwork with Jacob. Walter Kennedy was a master oil painter, but he was already advanced in age. Even his existing works were considered rare, let alone having him 

create a new one. 

Asher got this oil painting, just like a woman got the rarest diamond, which could be shown off for a 

lifetime. 

Olive stared at the artwork and exclaimed, “Impossible! How could Marie have gotten a piece by 

Mr. Kennedy?” 

Jacob suddenly frowned, “Ms. Olive, I’ve been studying these things my whole life, could I really 

have made a mistake?” 

Jacob and Asher had a deep friendship, so when Jacob’s expression changed, Asher also became somewhat unhappy. 

Originally, Olive had been pressuring Asher step by step to open the gift, clearly intending to embarrass Marie in front of everyone. Now, she was publicly challenging Jacob. Was she really trying to ruin Asher’s birthday party? 

Marie still had a puzzled look on her face, “What’s this Mr. Walter Kennedy? What artwork? What 

does ‘hard to get’ mean?” 

This artwork wasn’t brought by her, and the box that Luca brought wasn’t prepared by her either. 

Marie looked at Luca with confusion, and Luca shrugged, appearing unconcerned. 

Asher pulled Marie up and said, “Marie, you must have put in a lot of effort for this, right?” 

Marie gave a dry laugh and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, as long as Grandpa likes it…” 

Jacob said enviously, “Asher, you’re so lucky! If I had such a filial granddaughter, I’d wake up 

laughing in my dreams!” 

Asher happily pulled Marie and asked, “The ball is about to start, shall we go to the ballroom with Grandpa?” 

Marie nodded, her face showing complete confusion as she couldn’t understand the situation. She 

decided to appease Asher first. 

“Grandpa!” Olive chased after him discontentedly, wanting to stop Asher. 

She was the eldest daughter of the Spence family, but Asher ignored her and went straight away 

with Marie. 

“Shut up!” Asher’s voice was low, but still carried an undeniable authority, leaving Olive rooted to 

the spot. 

Olive opened her mouth, and Asher looked at her with dissatisfaction, “Do you think you haven’t embarrassed yourself enough?” 

Asher turned around, pulled Marie, and headed towards the ballroom. 

Get Borth 

This time, Asher was truly fed up with Olive and Mia. They never cared about the occasion or their relationship with others, and they always caused a scene, as if they wanted the whole world to know that the Spence family was not getting along! 

In contrast, Marie had been constantly yielding to them and showing mercy in every situation, yet she did not receive even a shred of gratitude in return. 

Olive stood there angrily. Why? Why was it always Marie who stole the limelight in the end? 

Olive turned around and met Noel’s gaze. There wasn’t a trace of pity in Noel’s eyes as he coldly looked at Olive and said, “I gave you an out, but you brought this upon yourself.” 

Just now, Noel had clearly wanted to pull Asher away, ending this pointless fight, but Olive stubbornly held onto Asher. Even Mia went to help, holding a candle to the devil. And what was the result? 

As a result, Marie once again stole the limelight, and Olive became the loser once more! 

It was like a replay of the Carly incident, one provocation after another, one failure after another, until finally, a crushing defeat. 

Noel suddenly thought of Marie’s cold gaze, and perhaps, she really could do it. 

She said, “I will drive you all out one by one.” 

Olive was mocked by Noel and, burning with anger, she walked over to him, leaned in close to his ear, and sneered, “My dearest brother, do you really think Marie will let you off in the end? If I lose, you won’t win either!” 

Noel gave her a complicated look, holding the champagne, and headed towards the ballroom. 

This house has always been like this. 

Everyone had their own schemes, including his beloved younger sister, who gradually revealed her sharp claws and teeth. 

The ball had just begun, and the rest was meant for the young people. Asher was a bit tired, and Edward had already helped him go back to rest. 

Marie found a corner and sat with Iliana, eating finger food. 

“Marie, how did you get that oil painting?” Iliana asked curiously. 

Marie shook her head, “I don’t know, I didn’t do it, I don’t know where Luca got it from.” 

Iliana became more curious and said, “Then let’s go ask Luca?” 

Marie looked at her eyes, which were filled with curiosity and shining brightly, and reluctantly nodded, “Alright.” 

She stood up to look for Luca, while Iliana was two steps behind her, but Andres stopped her and led 

her to the dance floor. 

“Mr. Robert?” Iliana asked with a puzzled expression, as she was inexplicably pulled onto the dance. 

floor. 

“Dance with me,” Andres said as he led her to dance. 

Iliana suddenly became a bit angry, as she and Andres weren’t close enough for her to know what he wanted and just give it to him. 

She said somewhat coldly, “Mr. Robert, you forgot, I don’t dance.” 

After she finished speaking, she was about to turn around and leave, but Andres grabbed her slender waist and pulled her closer, his voice carrying a hint of pleading, “Don’t go, just one dance,” 

Iliana had an injury on her hand, so he didn’t dare to use force. He could only hold her waist gently. 

The delicate and soft touch made him feel much better. 

Iliana lifted her head and met Andres’ pleading gaze. He seemed determined to dance this dance 

with Iliana. 

Iliana suddenly had a thought and turned her head slightly, only to see Nataly angrily staring in this direction, watching Andres dance with her in his arms. 

Iliana suddenly felt very happy, she reached out and gently placed her hand on Andres’ shoulder, saying, “For Ms. Carmen?” 

Andres gave a bitter smile and said, “You think I’m ridiculous too, don’t you?” 

Nataly came to the banquet, possibly because Dennis was supposed to come, but ended up going on 

a business trip. Suddenly without a target, Nataly noticed Andres, who had been behind her for a long time. 

However, when Nataly turned to him and smiled, Andres knew that if he went over and invited 

Nataly to dance at that moment, she would definitely agree. 

However, he suddenly felt very bored, and he almost avoided Nataly’s gaze, turning his head and seeing Iliana getting up. 

In the vast sea of people, they were the only one who could save him, at least making him look less like a fleeing soldier. 

So he desperately held onto Iliana, asking her to finish the dance with him. 

Iliana looked into Andres’ eyes, and at the hint of a helpless smile on his lips, as if empathizing with him, shook her head and said, “No, it’s not funny.” 

Andres looked down at her and asked, “How could it not be funny?” 

Iliana laughed and said, “There’s nothing funny about liking someone.” 

Andres suddenly laughed and said, “Thank you.” 

Iliana leaned on his shoulder, gave a sly smile, and said, “I did it for Marie, just wanted to annoy 

that Ms. Carmen.” 

As the song ended, Andres released Iliana’s hand and asked, “Your hand…” 

Iliana shook her head, “It’s fine, Mr. Robert, don’t worry about it.”