Unmasking Mrs. Newton's Secret Identities novel Chapter 1297

Half an hour later, they had finished the champagne in their glasses. After stopping at a nearby server, Ashley took Helen's glass and went over to exchange it for two new glasses of champagne.

Sadie came late. As soon as she entered the gallery, she saw Helen and Ashley chatting happily together.

The art circle in Glendale was quite small, and there were only a few prominent socialites. It was commonly known that artists were beauties, so Sadie had always regarded Ashley as her greatest rival.

Moreover, Helen had recently snatched away the title of National Beauty Sadie was determined to have. Seeing them together now, Sadie felt a strong sense of crisis rising within her.

She observed them from a distance for a while. Then, she took advantage of the crowd to slowly approach Helen and Ashley. As she walked behind Ashley, she swiftly shoved her hard.

Caught off guard, Ashley, in slender high heels, lost her balance and toppled forward.

Although Helen was quick to catch her, Ashley still knocked over the display case in front of her. As she regained her footing, "Peony Fantasia" also toppled over.

The glass cover shattered, and the sharp fragments instantly tore the painting under the great impact.

"Are you alright?" Helen was only concerned if Ashley had sprained her ankle or injured herself.

"I'm fine." Ashley shook her head in frustration. "It's just that painting… I've ruined it."

Helen glanced at the painting on the floor—it was indeed beyond repair. She comforted Ashley, "It's just a piece of paper. As long as you're okay, that's what matters."

Ashley let out a heavy sigh, turning her head to look behind her with a puzzled expression, but she found nothing. It was weird; she clearly felt someone pushing her just now.

"Is something wrong?" Helen noticed something was off.

"What a shame that the painting is ruined."

As Ezra listened to those comments, his face alternated between red and pale, looking extremely upset.

Knowing that she was in the wrong, Ashley went up to apologize sincerely, "Mr. Westbrook, I'm sorry for accidentally ruining the painting. I'll go back and ask my father to compensate you according to the market value."

"Compensate?" Ezra widened his eyes furiously. "How are you going to compensate for it? Ms. Quarto is probably long gone, and her works are priceless. Can you afford to compensate for it?"

Helen was displeased with his attitude and about to step in to help Ashley. However, Chandler held her back and spoke first, "It's also a kind of fate that we can attend your banquet, Mr. Westbrook.

"Gains and losses are all part of destiny. Why don't you take a step back and not get so worked up?"