Not A Small Town Girl (Danielle and David) novel Chapter 172

Danielle looked at Emma coldly, "You'll know in a moment if it's an excuse."

Emma couldn't stand how Danielle acted so indifferent, pretending not to care about anything. In reality, she thought Danielle was the most manipulative. If it wasn't for her using charms, David wouldn't be with someone like her.

Xavier was so angry that he was about to go up and argue with her for insulting his sister.

The next second, Jaden grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back.

"Jaden, what are you doing? Stop pulling me! Don't you see these people bullying my sister?"

Xavier was already angry, and now he was even more furious, like a pufferfish about to explode.

David had just publicly acknowledged Danielle. If she couldn't handle this small matter, there would only be more trouble in the future.

Moreover, with David around, no one could bully Danielle.

"Let's wait and see." Jaden glanced at Xavier, who was about to explode with anger. He knew that the other sons of the Darling family were all clever, but he didn't understand why Xavier was so naive.

Xavier shot Jaden a glare. "You're easy to talk to when you're not the one involved. I don't believe you'd stay calm if your sister was being bullied."

Celine widened her eyes as she looked at how Xavier boldly yelled at her brother. She glanced at Jaden's face, afraid of being caught in the fight.

"Calm down, I promise no one will bully Danielle. Why are you so angry?" Jaden patted Xavier on the back, trying to calm him down.

"Don't pat me," Xavier said angrily, pushing Jaden away with his arm.

Jaden was not angry. He continued to comfort him with a good temper.

Celine, who was standing aside, was shocked, wondering if this was really her brother.

It seemed that Jaden had been possessed.

"She didn't know when Jaden became so calm and talkative.

"Mr. Barnes, I'm Emma from the Harris family. I'm here to give you a birthday present as your junior."

Emma introduced herself modestly in front of Giancarlo, looking completely different from the person who had just made things difficult for Danielle.

She took out her gift with a little pride. She had heard that Giancarlo greatly admired Chimera's paintings, which were rare and hard to find.

She had spent a long time looking for this painting through someone she knew. It cost her a hundred million dollars. It was only because her father heard that it was a gift for Giancarlo that he agreed to let her buy it.

If this painting could help her get connected with the Giancarlo family, the hundred million would be worth it. It would also help her overshadow Danielle.

"Mr. Barnes, I heard that you like Chimera's paintings very much, so I asked someone to search for a long time before finally finding this one."

"Emma carefully took out the painting, and as soon as it was unveiled, the guests at the banquet gathered around, eager to see Chimera's artwork.

A magnificent painting was revealed before Giancarlo, with the theme titled "Towards the Sun."

It expressed the positivity of people towards life and offered a ray of light to those in darkness. Every painting of Chimera had a deep meaning, with creative use of color. Every piece was full of creativity and impact.

When Giancarlo saw that it was a painting by Chimera, he became extremely excited. He immediately stood up from his seat.

Even the heads of several big families sitting in the hall stood up and moved forward to take a look.

The painting by Chimera was now right in front of them, and it was enough to make anyone excited.

"Both of them gave Chimera's paintings, and it's the same one. Which one is real and which one is fake?"

"Isn't it obvious? The real painting must be the one from Miss Harris! Just look at how Miss Harris asked Miss Darling to take out the gift earlier. Miss Darling hesitated and didn't bring it out. It's most likely a fake. That's why she was so nervous and didn't show it."

"That's not necessarily true. Miss Darling is Mr. Charrington's publicly acknowledged fiancée. How could she possibly bring out a fake painting?"

"If this really is a fake painting, it will be a disgrace to the Charrington family. Imagine, the future mistress of the Charrington family gave a fake painting at Mr. Barnes's birthday banquet. What a shame."

The media standing nearby were also eagerly taking photos. Whether they get sent out immediately wasn't important. The priority was to take the pictures first.

"Miss Darling, how could you give Mr. Barnes a fake painting at his birthday banquet? If you really couldn't afford a gift, you could have asked David!"

"Quickly put the painting away. Mr. Barnes, I'm sure Miss Darling didn't do it on purpose."

Cheryl stepped forward and directly pointed out that the painting Danielle had given was a fake, yet she still defended Danielle gracefully. This only made many people present even more certain that the painting was indeed a fake.

They looked at Danielle with disdain as if she was a fool for doing such a thing.

"Miss Darling, you are Mr. Charrington's fiancée. How could you give Mr. Barnes a fake painting? You're bringing shame to the Charrington family!" a wealthy lady chimed in with sarcasm, echoing Cheryl's words.

"Miss Darling, I don't know which family you are from, but isn't this a little petty of you? I really don't know what Mr. Charrington sees in you?"

When someone criticized Danielle, others followed suit.

"The prestigious families all care about their reputation. If you don't have money, you can choose not to give a gift. How can you pretend to be wealthy? If we hadn't seen the authentic painting given by Miss Harris, we would have been deceived by you. In the future, if Mr. Barnes hangs the painting, and others find out that it is a replica, wouldn't that embarrass him?"

Emma spoke with a sarcastic tone, "Danielle, how could you deceive everyone with a fake painting? After all, we were classmates. If you don't have money to buy a gift, I can lend it to you! Well, at school, you've been close to some seniors, and your relationship seemed ambiguous. I didn't believe it at first, but now... you..."