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...

"Chloe?" Vernon called her name, but there was no answer from Chloe. Instead, he saw her lap was already wet with a few drops of tears coming from the edge of her eyes.

Vernon went stiff in an instant. He was about to drop to his knees and begged Chloe not to cry. It was almost like muscle memory for him to do anything so he wouldn't see her tears.

But this time, it was different.

As much as he wanted to coax Chloe, what she did was stupid. She always used her heart and put aside her logic, so it was easy for her to fall into a small trap like this.

'I have to be firm. I cannot be swayed by Chloe's tears, not when I'm defending the right thing,' Vernon told himself. 'She needs to know who's her friend or foe.'

Vernon clenched his fists and turned around decisively. He couldn't bear to speak when he saw Chloe looking so vulnerable like this, "I'm not trying to scare you, but you must think logically. What's the chance that a neglectful bitch like my mother will suddenly change and try to help you? Of course she's being controlled by Vincent to do his bidding."

"Don't be an idiot, Chloe," Vernon said. He looked over his shoulder and saw Chloe was still crying. He muttered a low 'fuck' before leaving the room. He couldn't bear to see Chloe crying for too long, or he might lose it and start begging her to stop crying.

'No, I am in the right one here. Chloe is being an idiot who can't use her logic. I can't let her fall into a stupid trap just because her heart is too soft,' Vernon convinced himself as he grabbed his briefcase upstairs.

He made long strides through the foyer heading to the front door. He held the door handle, but his heart was aching right now. He was still fighting not to rush back downstairs to coax Chloe and watch over her, just in case she might actually call Dorothea again.

'No, I can't be too weak. Not right now, Vernon. This is for the best of her, the best of us,' Vernon convinced himself again. 'I need to make my point.'

Vernon took a deep breath and finally left the apartment. He tried to keep himself busy by thinking about his work today since he had a lot to do.

But he kept feeling guilty as he imagined how Chloe would cry because of him, and it ate him up inside.

**

Chloe tried to wipe her tears that couldn't stop. She was sad, but not for herself.

She was sad when she saw Vernon's eyes full of anger, disappointment, and sadness.

He was hurting so much because Chloe decided to give Dorothea a chance.

She had a lot of things going on in her mind right now, mostly about the whole situation between her, Dorothea, and Vernon.

She knew she was illogical, and Vernon was the right one here. Dorothea had done absolutely nothing for the past ten years to help her.

In fact, rather than trying to understand Chloe's situation, she just tried to ridicule her, making it as if Chloe's problem wasn't as bad as hers and she was just being a spoiled little bitch.

Dorothea had treated Vernon terribly too. She was verbally abusive, but this was the first time Chloe heard that Vernon was also getting physically abused by her.

So she understood Vernon's situation really well and would do anything to support him.

But her heart...

She had this gut feeling that something just flipped the switch in Dorothea. As if something just changed her overnight, Dorothea was now genuinely trying to make things better for all of them, especially for herself, as she was trying to have peace of mind.

'But, should I trust my gut feeling?' Chloe asked herself.

There had been an instance where her feelings got the best of her, and she married the wrong man. She ignored all the red flags and married Vincent, and now she suffered the aftermath.

'And what if Dorothea tries to reach me because Vincent told her to do so? What guarantees that she's on my side when there is basically nothing good coming from our in-laws relationship?'

Chloe was conflicted, she lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and the only thing she could think of was Vernon.

How could she not think that her action would affect Vernon badly, and how she made him sad because she didn't heed his words? It was a logical one as well, just to keep her safe.

Then, a question popped into her mind.

'Do I ever think about Vernon as a person?' Chloe asked herself. 'I always think of myself and Mackie, and I took all of his kindness for granted. Do I ever do something to help him other than doing my job as a maid here?'

Now, Chloe believed that Vernon didn't mind her not doing anything, as staying hiding was the best thing she could do right now as he was doing his job.

But it made Chloe feel so... useless.

It made her feel like she was nothing but a dead weight.

She could stay as a dead weight for the rest of her life, and Vernon wouldn't complain.

But she wanted to do something to help him, especially after seeing how hurt Vernon was.

"He resents Dorothea much more than he resents Vincent, and that will haunt him for the rest of his life...." Chloe muttered.

Now, if her gut feeling was right, she might be able to do something between Vernon and Dorothea to give them peace of mind, so they wouldn't at least resent each other for the rest of their lives.

"I might not be able to give him monetary support-- not that he needs it anyway. But I... I can give him emotional support. I want him to be happy, just like how I want Mackie to be happy."