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"Is your heart made out of ice, Chloe?"

The question stunned Chloe, who never expected Diamond to speak so harshly.

Throughout all of Chloe\'s problems, Diamond never argued with her, she was very supportive - too supportive, really, and she believed that Diamond would never disagree with her.

With dazed eyes, Chloe stared back at Diamond. Her mouth gaped as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"D—Diamond, you—"

"What? "Are you surprised that I would disagree with you?" Diamond challenged boldly. She leaned on the chair with her arms crossed on her chest. She was never like this in front of Chloe, and that honestly startled her.

Then she crossed her legs and said, "Do you know why I have always supported you, Chloe?"

…

"I willingly put myself through many stuff to support you because I have the greatest respect for you, as I am aware that you have gone through a great deal, Chloe," Diamond answered to the question that she was asking for, knowing that Chloe probably had no idea why she was always by her side.

"You\'re so brave to come to Vernon\'s office. I know how much courage it took for you to drop all your pride and beg for a job. I know you did it out of desperation because you need to provide basic necessities for your daughter."

"Then you told me your story, and how you left your ex-husband after ten years of abuse..." Diamond said, reminiscing about the moment she realized Chloe was a strong woman.

"I admire your resolve to leave Vincent. It\'s amazing that you\'re able to break free from his shackles despite all the odds."

For a split second, Diamond\'s gaze softened. She had to admit that she still adored his homegirl.

But she had to be firm now because Chloe was going to make a U-turn back at Vincent.

"I—I\'m still keeping my resolution to leave him…." Chloe tried to defend herself, but when she faced the scornful gaze from Diamond, she got a little intimidated and lowered her head quickly.

"Really? Keeping your resolution? Haha… that\'s funny, Chloe," Diamond replied, full of contempt. "Do you think by leaving Vernon after a year, you\'d have a peaceful life with your daughter?"

"Do you really think that Vincent won\'t chase after you to another state? Be. Fucking. For. Real."

"By leaving Vernon alone, all you did is just ruin his life. He will be heartbroken, and might not be able to recover anymore, and you will expose yourself and your daughter. You WILL return to Vincent\'s mansion, either by force or based on your hopelessness."

"I—" Chloe was speechless right now, unable to find a way to counter Diamond, who kept on attacking her until she felt defeated.

"Chloe Carlson, you\'re just making a U-turn back to Vincent. You\'re not a strong woman by being wishy-washy and insipid like this," Diamond said ruthlessly. She said things that she had never said to her homegirl before.

She was ruthless, and she thought it was necessary.

She got up from the chair and looked down at her best friend, who looked defeated.

Her heart was aching, but she had to slap some sense in Chloe.

Diamond was worried that Chloe would make a horrible decision sooner or later. So Diamond tried to do some prevention before her homegirl did something utterly stupid.

"Look, if you want to give up and return to your abusive husband, then go for it. You should\'ve done it sooner though, so you wouldn\'t hurt a man who is so dedicated to save you," Diamond said coldly. "I\'m not going to stop a spineless woman who will repeat her cycle of abuse."

Diamond strutted past Chloe\'s chair, but before she left, she halted and added, "Don\'t worry about Mackie\'s celebration. I will tell my boss not to do too much, just because I agree that she should save the big celebration for important events in her life."

"And for you, Chloe…." Diamond paused for a second. She took a deep breath before continuing, "Go do whatever you want. I am not interested anymore."

Chloe was visibly shaken upon hearing her best friend giving up on her. She quickly turned around. She wanted to reach Diamond, but she had already left.

"Diamond…" Chloe murmured her best friend\'s name. She slumped on the seat weakly. Everything was sudden, and she didn\'t expect her best friend to turn on her.

Chloe was hurt when Diamond called her wishy-washy and spineless. She was not trying to sound or act like a weak woman, but completely breaking free from the trauma and fear that haunted you for ten years straight was really difficult.

"Yeah, she\'s right. I… I might be a little spineless and wishy-washy. But there is a reason for it…." Chloe wanted to say all that right in front of Diamond\'s face.

However, Chloe had to admit that she would hurt Vernon when she left.

She might also hurt Mackie by separating her from another father figure.

She might even hurt herself because deep in her heart, she knew that Vincent would eventually catch and throw her back into that lavish cage, where she couldn\'t even breathe without being humiliated.

…

\'Does that mean I cause pain to everyone around me?\' Chloe asked herself. She always put herself in the shoes of a victim because she was indeed a victim.

But Diamond\'s words weren\'t wrong either.

Her decision to leave Vernon would be a U-turn and hurt everyone, including innocent outside parties like Vernon.

"Then what should I do? Should I stay with Vernon forever?" Chloe asked herself as she felt stuck right now. "Of course I can\'t stick by his side forever. He has his own life, and I don\'t want to harm him even further."

…

Chloe closed her eyes and murmured, "Do I even have an option? Whether I leave or not, Vincent will still hunt me down. I don\'t know what he will do to me after he catches me, but I know it won\'t be pretty."

"Do I even have a chance to win against Vincent?"