"He will not believe me, right?" Chloe asked herself. "Vernon will see me as a crazy bitch, just like the rest of them."
Chloe barely tolerated it when someone called her a doormat, a burden, and even a useless bitch.
But she couldn't bear it when someone called her a crazy bitch and invalidated all her traumatic experiences with Vincent.
She knew nobody believed her. Even her mother sided with Vincent because he just couldn't do wrong.
So she preferred to keep it bottled up in her heart, and tried to forget all the traumatic experiences, so nobody would call her a crazy bitch anymore.
"But it's too late now. He will call me a crazy bitch, and would probably be disgusted with me," Chloe assumed. "Will he kick me out of his apartment because he didn't want to live with a crazy lady?"
Chloe bit her lower lip, even though Vernon didn't do anything to her, but she was just so consumed with fear that she instantly thought of the worst scenario possible.
"What should I do so he'd let me stay?" Chloe wondered. "Should I... use my body again?"
...
...
Chloe liked Vernon's touch because it was passionate and gentle towards her. But she felt degraded if she had to offer her body just so he'd let her stay.
"But what choice do I have?"
**
Chloe woke up early in the morning to cook as always. Despite all the crazy stuff that happened last night, she felt it was her duty to take care of him.
She checked the clock and was relieved, "Still five-thirty. I can cook a quick breakfast before Vernon wakes up."
Chloe didn't dare to cook upstairs because she might accidentally wake Vernon up with the sound of the utensils. So she started cooking in her apartment instead.
She washed her face before cooking to wash out all the tears and bruises from last night. Her forehead had turned purple, but she didn't have time to treat it for now.
The first thing she needed to do was cook.
Chloe made a quick breakfast and put Vernon's portion on a big plate.
She went upstairs and carefully tiptoed into the kitchen. She checked the living room from afar and was relieved when she saw no sign of Vernon, so she didn't need to worry that she might accidentally meet with Vernon.
She wasn't ready to meet him because she couldn't handle the contempt look that he'd given her.
Chloe put the breakfast and glass of banana-apple juice on the dining table, and she had also prepared Vernon's juice last night and stored it in the fridge.
Chloe stared at Vernon's bedroom door for a while before she turned around and went downstairs.
She knocked on Mackie's bedroom until her little daughter opened the door.
Mackie rubbed her eyes and murmured, "Mommy, Mackie is still sleepy...."
"Ah, dear, you need to go to school earlier. You should prepare yourself now, and grab your breakfast on the table," Chloe said.
"Umm? It's still early, Mommy...."
"I know, but you really need to go to school early," Chloe implored.
Mackie was a little annoyed, but she obeyed her Mommy and prepared to go to school.
Chloe also prepared herself for the day, even though it was very early.
She wanted to avoid Vernon at all cost, at least for a few days, until Vernon would (hopefully) get too busy and forget about what happened last night.
Chloe concealed her purple bruise with concealer to ensure that her daughter didn't notice it and then came out of the bedroom.
Mackie and Chloe came out of their bedroom at the same time. They were ready to go, although it was still six-forty in the morning.
"Let's have breakfast, dear," Chloe said.
"Un! I will wake Uncle Vernon up!"
"N--No!" Chloe grabbed Mackie's hand to prevent her from dashing into the penthouse. "W--We will have breakfast here, on our floor, okay?"
"Ehh, why?" Mackie tilted her head. "It's more fun eating with Uncle."
"U--Uncle is very tired. He didn't sleep for the whole night, so we shouldn't disturb his sleep, okay?"
"Ah, okay then!"
Mackie ate her breakfast quickly, while Chloe ate an apple with her because Mackie said she refused to eat unless Mommy ate as well.
After they were done with breakfast, Chloe and Mackie hurried to the elevator. They left the apartment, avoiding Vernon, who was still asleep.
***
"No--DON'T--CHLOE!" Vernon yelled as he opened his eyes out of shock.
...
He stared at the ceiling in a daze and soon realized he had a nightmare.
In that nightmare, he saw himself trapped in a cage while his Big brother dragged Chloe by her hair. She struggled as hard as she could to no avail, and Vernon could only watch as Chloe screamed and called his name while she was being dragged into a room by Vincent.
The nightmare was so realistic that Vernon thought he had lost Chloe forever.
Thankfully, it was just a dream...
Vernon raised his hand to the air and saw the bite mark from Chloe last night.
Vernon smiled bitterly, "I wish this bite mark is also a nightmare, so I won't feel guilty for accidentally triggering her trauma."
Vernon got up from the bed and checked the clock on the small table. He frowned when he saw the time, "Already eight-thirty? Why didn't she wake me up? Did something happen while I was asleep?"
Vernon worried that Chloe might harm herself last night, so he quickly opened the bedroom door and rushed to the kitchen. He wanted to check downstairs.
But his step stopped when he saw a plate full of breakfast and a glass of banana-apple juice on the dining table.
There was also a small note, so he picked it up and read it;
--
Vernon, if this breakfast is getting cold, you can reheat it. I've also prepared another banana-apple juice in the fridge just in case this one on the table is too lukewarm for you.
I've prepared your suit, it's on the sofa, good luck with work.
-- Chloe.
--
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