Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

"Miss, what do you think you're doing? You can't just touch the painting if you're not buying it!" The security guard at the area shouted, "Put the painting down now, or I'm treating you as a thief!"

Rosemary, startled by the bellow that echoed through the floor, came back to her senses and realized that, somehow, she had taken the painting off the hook without noticing.

Becoming aware of her gaffe, she quickly reined in her emotions nd said in a hoarse voice, "Sorry, I just got carried away. I'll take the painting, could you please get in touch with the seller for me?"

The guard called the manager, while he was half believing and half doubting.

The manager arrived promptly; after learning she wanted to purchase the painting, he contacted the provider.

Learning that the person was also present at the exhibition, the manager said, "Ms. Chambers, there's a buyer who is interested in your painting. Would it be possible for you to come over and discuss the price in person?"

Rosemary frowned, a suspicion forming in her mind. 'Chambers' might be a common surname, but there was only one person with the surname Chambers who could have this painting, Stacey.

Her fingertips gently touched the balloon in the shape of a rabbit that the girl in the painting was holding.

The painting was the work of her mother, and the little girl in it was her.

When her mother passed away, she was only eight and couldn't deal with her mother's belongings. Later, Larry Chambers took Stacey and her mother abroad, and by the time Rosemary got the news and rushed back, the Chambers' mansion had already changed hands and everything inside was gone.

She had called Larry to ask about her mother's belongings, but he was annoyed and all he had said was, "Why keep the stuff of the dead? Isn't that bad luck?"

Before long, Rosemary saw Stacey enter the hall.

The woman was wearing a delicate makeup, dressed in a white knit top and a grey A-line skirt that came halfway down her thighs, which vaguely exposed her straight and slender legs.

This carefully chosen outfit was clearly more than meets the eye.

She approached and greeted the manager, "She's the one who wants to buy my painting?"

The manager nodded, "Yes, you two can discuss the details."

Stacey crossed her arms and lifted her chin, "Fixed price, fifty million."

This was clearly an attempt to make things difficult. Fifty million could buy a very famous piece of art, and Rosemary's mother wasn't a professional artist nor was she known in the art world. Without considering other factors, the painting would normally sell for at most a few hundred thousand.

Rosemary knew it wouldn't be easy the moment she saw Stacey. Given Stacey's character, she was bound to exploit this opportunity to make things as hard as possible for her.

Seeing Rosemary silent, Stacey became more brazen, "What, can't afford it? Ha, even if you’re married to Maxwell, you're still a pauper who can't cough up fifty million if you can't win his favor!"

Back when she learned that Rosemary was going to marry Maxwell, she had suggested to her father that she should take Rosemary's place, but it hadn't worked out, and Stacey had held a grudge over it ever since.

Fortunately, since she came back to the country, she had heard plenty about Maxwell and Victoria, and one could imagine that Rosemary had been living the life of an abandoned wife these past few years!

Stacey lowered her voice, continuing to provoke her, "Actually, your mom left quite a lot of stuff behind, probably because of her profession, lots of valuable items. Dad had moved them elsewhere before he declared bankruptcy."

As she spoke, she lifted her hand, "See this bag I'm carrying? I should thank her, cause I sold just one of her pieces and got this bag in exchange."

"Slap."

Before Stacey could finish her sentence, she got a solid slap across the face!

Just the sound of it was enough to tell how hard Rosemary had hit her, and a handprint immediately appeared on Stacey's face.

A hiss went through the crowd!

Stacey was so stunned by the slap that she couldn't regain her composure for a long time.

"Rosemary, you dare hit me?"

She hadn't expected Rosemary to resort to such action here. Wasn't this woman Mrs. Templeton? Wasn't she afraid that such a vulgar act would tarnish the Templeton family's reputation?

"Why not? I'm not afraid of losing face!" Rosemary's icy gaze was piercing as she stepped forward and raised her hand.

Stacey thought she was going to be hit again, so she quickly backed away, covering her head and shouting, "Security, this person can't afford the price and is trying to force a sale, kick her out!"

Rosemary, however, just scoffed and opened her hand, "I'll ask you one more time, how much for the painting?"

She didn't want to give Stacey a dime, but since her mother was legally married to Larry before she died, that jerk was entitled to half of the inheritance. If things got too ugly, with the nature of those dogs, they'd probably destroy the painting rather than give it to her!

Knowing that Rosemary was pleading her, Stacey regained her arrogance, "I'm not selling. No matter how much you offer, I won't sell!"

And in this tense moment, a calm male voice suddenly interjected.

"Excuse me, could I buy this painting?"

Both turned their heads to see Martin, dressed casually, emerging from the crowd.

He had gathered an understanding of the situation from the whispers among the bystanders. He didn't look at Rosemary but instead focused his smiling gaze on Stacey, "May I ask how much you're planning to sell this painting for?"

You can tell a person's background by their demeanor, and it's something you can't fake. So when Stacey saw Martin for the first time, her eyes lit up!

She was here to find a wealthy husband, and Martin was undoubtedly the best candidate she had seen today.

She tossed her hair to partly hide her swollen cheek, and looked at him with a mix of reproach and coquettishness, "This isn't a professional artist's work, and the craftsmanship isn't top-notch. A

hundred thousand will do."

Martin nodded and called over the staff to handle the paperwork; after receiving the painting, he handed it directly to Rosemary in front of Stacey, "For you."

Faced with the painting handed to her, Rosemary didn't play coy, "I'll transfer the money to you later."

The man smiled, "Sure."

Stacey was left gaping at the scene unfolding before her, "You two!?"

Martin might appear gentle on the surface, but he wasn't someone easy to deal with, and...

Maxwell and Archer were waiting for him upstairs; he just stumbled upon the situation and lent a hand. After dealing with it, he didn't give Stacey the time of day; instead, he just shot Rosemary a quick hello and split.

Rosemary was about to hit the road too, but Stacey came hustling after her.

"That guy was Martin, right? Look, Rosemary, hook me up with an intro to him, and I'll talk my dad into giving back the rest of your mom's stuff!"

The Chambers family and the Gellar family had some business dealings back in the day, but Stacey's circle didn't overlap with Rosemary's, so she didn't know Martin from a bar of soap.

But not knowing him personally didn't mean she hadn't seen him making headlines.

She floated the offer, pretty sure Rosemary would bite, 'cause it was just a meet and greet, not asking her to do anything sketchy.

But Rosemary just stopped dead in her tracks, her delicate brows and eyes arching with a touch of disdainful chill, "He's out of your league."

She barely got the words out when she turned to find two dudes standing a few meters away, Maxwell and Archer!

Rosemary's brows knitted—when did they show up?

Maxwell gave her the cold shoulder, not losing his cool, but his words were pretty biting, "She's out of his league, so who's in it? You?"