Everything about Vernon was menacing; his big figure, hawk-like eyes, and intimidating aura.
And to top it all off…
Vernon had a similar face to the man Chloe dreaded the most, her ex-husband, Vincent Gray.
The way Vernon pressed her on the sofa triggered her trauma because he reminded her so much of Vincent whenever she tried to raise her voice. He'd grab her wrist and flung her to the sofa before pressing her either by her shoulders or neck.
Vincent would often call her a noisy bitch for raising her voice or simply insulted her physical appearance and status as a woman from a poor family and a stay-at-home mom.
It was so ruthless that Chloe often had nightmares about it.
—
'Chloe Gray, how dare you raise your voice against me? Don't you think that I hadn't tolerated you enough?'
'I allow you to be my wife and let you address yourself as Mrs. Gray. I allow your poor ass to live in a lavish mansion, and I gave you a smart and beautiful daughter. Do you think Mackie can be such a talented little girl because of your gene and teaching? She got it all because she has my blood. She's a Gray just like me!'
'So shut up before I smash your head. Don't you dare raise your voice against me, got that?'
—
The memory of abuse that Chloe experienced at the hands of her ex-husband. She started shaking, and her brain automatically wired to lower her head obediently because if she kept fighting, the man who pressed her would hurt her even more.
"S—S—S—S—Sorry—" Chloe stammered to apologize to Vernon. Her gaze was already blurry as if she could faint soon.
"Why did you say sorry?!" Vernon got angrier when he got an apology from Chloe. He was frustrated by her reaction and how she didn't seem to take him seriously.
Chloe didn't dodge his eyes this time, but her gaze was empty.
Unable to vent his frustration as he got impatient, Vernon shook Chloe's shoulders to wake her up and raised his voice until he was yelling at her;
"STOP BEING SLOW, AND TELL ME WHO MAKES YOU CRY?! I WILL FUCKING KILL THAT BASTARD!!"
Vernon had no intention of scaring his sister-in-law. In fact, he was already trying so hard to hold back but still came out as fierce and scary in front of her.
Chloe was too shaken to react, she just stared at him emptily, and the tears she wiped a few moments ago began falling again.
Vernon soon realized that she was scaring her too much that his sister-in-law started crying again.
He quickly released his grip from her shoulder and stepped back. He didn't expect that he was also the one who made Chloe cry.
"C—Chloe, I—" Vernon didn't know what to say. He wanted to apologize for scaring her, but he became tongue-tied because how he reacted was unjustifiable.
It took a while until Chloe got up from the sofa with all her remaining strength and tried to brush it off despite the fear that had consumed her, "It's okay. It's my fault for crying. I'll return to my bedroom now."
"No, I—"
Chloe didn't want to listen to Vernon's explanation. There was nothing to explain after all.
Chloe thought it was her fault for remembering about Vincent when Vernon pressed her.
Chloe wiped her tears again and said, "Don't worry about me, Vernon. I… I'm just a little dramatic after watching a sad movie."
Chloe went downstairs after she gave Vernon the answer he wanted.
But Vernon knew well it was a complete lie. There was no way it was just caused by a sad movie. Because Vernon saw the deep sadness in her eyes, she was holding so much pain. It was so apparent.
"But how am I supposed to talk to her about it?" Vernon asked himself. He knew that it was also his fault for being uncontrollable.
But he just couldn't help it. The more she shed tears, the more he felt his heart was torn.
Vernon sat on the same spot where Chloe sat for a long time. He could feel the warmth of her body lingering on the sofa, and he closed his eyes, trying to calm down while assessing what had happened just now.
"I saw her crying, and I… I just can't control myself," Vernon murmured. "I keep telling myself not to be moved by a woman's tears. But she's not a random woman…."
Vernon also wondered about Chloe. No matter how many times she told him she was okay and everything was perfectly fine, Vernon knew well that she wasn't okay at all.
"No 'okay' person would hold so much pain…." Vernon said. He wanted to know what happened to his sister-in-law when he was absent for ten years.
Because in his mind, his sister-in-law must've led a happy life with her billionaire husband. Vincent was the one she chose, and she even made it clear about her choice by degrading Vernon, calling him disgusting, incompetent, and not worth the effort. She said it all in front of their late father, Vaughn Gray.
So Vernon thought… he was the only one who had suffered for the past ten years.
But it didn't seem to be the truth…
Vernon started questioning his own method and action toward his sister-in-law.
He always thought that she deserved no respect from him. So he never treated her carefully.
He also often unleashed his rage on her a lot of times, even though it could be unjustifiable sometimes.
He was petty, he admitted. It was a trait that he'd never be able to grow out of.
…
Vernon started counting the times he was nice to her after they reunited.
Which was… none. At least none that he remembered…
Vernon took a deep breath and massaged his temples as he realized one problem that might be 99% true.
'Am I the one who made her cry all this time?'
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com