BXBX NOVEL 174 Chapter 174
Vernon wrapped his hand around Chloe's waist to stop her escape. His gaze darkened, "Where are you going? You haven't told me anything yet."
Vernon pulled her to his side, trapping her in his tight embrace until Chloe's face was buried in his pecs. Chloe looked up and met Vernon's hostile gaze.
It was intimidating, and Chloe wouldn't lie that she was scared.
But the more he tried to intimidate her, the more she felt there was no point in telling him about it.
Chloe clenched her fist to toughen herself so she had enough bravery to open her mouth. Then she replied;
"I don't want to tell you, Vernon."
Vernon's eyes widened for a second before they darkened even worse than before. Chloe could sense the anger in Vernon as if he was ready to crush her if she continued to refuse.
Chloe's heart hammered in her chest. She wanted to look away, but it would probably anger him even more.
"I think I misheard you," Vernon said. "Repeat that again."
He was giving another chance to his sister-in-law to speak the truth. He was being very nice right now, as much as he could. Chloe was the only woman he tolerated this far. If she was just a random woman, she'd never dare to speak like that to him.
He thought he didn't give her enough pressure. He knew that Chloe had turned into a mere meek woman now, so he thought… by adding more pressure, she would finally give up.
"I. Don't. Want. To. Tell. You," Chloe repeated.
It took a while until Vernon could process every word his sister-in-law said. Thousands of ideas floated in his mind;
What caused her to be so resilient so suddenly? Wasn't she supposed to be meek and weak?
Did she also do this to his Big brother? Vernon doubted that she could be this brave when facing Vincent.
Maybe she was brave enough to face Vernon because she saw him being less than his Big brother? Was that the reason for her newly-found courage?
…
They were in dead silence for a while, but Chloe knew that Vernon was terribly angry. She tried to push herself away from him, "You got the answer, Vernon. Please forget that we ever talked about this and release me—AHHH!"
Vernon hugged her even tighter, so tight that she felt so much pain in her waist. She even thought that Vernon's grip would probably break her bones.
Vernon wasn't thinking clearly right now. His mind was clouded with rage. He always hated to be looked down on and compared with his Big brother, especially when the one who did it was his sister-in-law, Chloe.
Her words were like needles that pricked on his pride. He forcefully pushed Chloe to the sofa, just like what he did yesterday, and grabbed her shoulder so tight that she winced in pain.
Chloe struggled to get up. This was the same thing Vernon did yesterday, and she was terrified because of it.
Especially when she knew that Vernon's trapped her out of malice right now.
"VERNON, RELEASE ME!"
"Release you? HAH! Don't take me lightly just because you think I'm lesser than my Big brother!"
Vernon knelt in front of Chloe so they would be on the same eye level. His eyes glinted with malice, and his tone was cold, which was actually scarier compared to his exploding voice.
"I won't let you go. I will never let you go, Chloe," Vernon said ambiguously. "Now, don't make me mad, and tell me about your problem with my Big brother.
Vernon intentionally rubbed his thumb around her protruding shoulder blade, warning her that he could always dislocate her shoulder had she continued fighting back.
Chloe stared at Vernon, who looked at her as if looking at pitiful prey. Her eyes were pooling with tears again, but she refused to cry, at least not now when she was trying to protect herself and the shameful secret of her being abused for ten years straight.
Vernon gritted his teeth. He was done playing nice with his sister-in-law. She was an idiot who didn't know how to appreciate the help!
Vernon saw the tears that were pooling in her eyes again. He clicked his tongue annoyedly, "Oh come on, you're going to cry again? Stop using your fake tears to make me feel guilty! It won't work on me!"
Which was a total lie coming from Vernon's mouth. His heart actually started throbbing in pain when he saw the tears. But he couldn't let it get to him. He didn't want her tears to be his weakness.
"No, I won't cry," Chloe replied. Her voice was shaking, yet she persevered and tried her best to prevent a drop of a tear from falling on her cheek.
"Vernon, do you know why I won't tell you about it?" Chloe asked out of the blue, which caught Vernon off guard.
"Ah— uh… that's…."
"You don't know, right? That's because you don't see what you did wrong," Chloe said.
"What? I didn't do anything wrong! I was just asking you!" Vernon defended himself, thinking he literally did nothing to hurt her.
"Vernon… What you're trying to open is a box of terrible memories that I experienced for ten years straight. Do you think I will tell someone about my traumatic experience with intimidation and fear?"
"Vernon, you're not less than your Big brother. You are just as scary as he is. You are a monster, just like him," Chloe stated.
Chloe experienced the same fear with Vernon whenever he started intimidating her. She was scared and automatically tried to back off and cowered meekly, just like she did when facing Vincent.
Because trauma from years of abuse wouldn't automatically disappear just because she left her abuser.
Vernon could feel Chloe's body trembling, yet she continued staring at him despite her fears. He slowly released his hand on her shoulder, afraid that he might accidentally hurt her for real.