She saw that Vernon was still confused and took the opportunity to shove him to the side until he lost his footing and fell.
"Ouch!"
Vernon landed on his butt. He looked up and saw Chloe standing in front of her with a reddish hue around her cheek.
"That's my answer for you, Vernon," Chloe said. "I'm not gonna cheat on you. I love you more than you know."
Vernon was amazed by how bold, and domineering Chloe could be. She never showed this tough self of her before and probably never showed it in front of anyone except him.
And that made him feel... special.
Also, the fact that she said love so lightly as if she had loved her far longer than he thought and his love had been reciprocated long ago.
Ba-dump.
Vernon felt his heart racing. He swallowed his saliva hard and kept staring at Chloe without blinking. He thought he'd hate it if Chloe lost her meek and gentle demeanor.
But even now, when she had shown the other side of her, Vernon felt that he fell in love even harder than before.
So he discovered that...
'Is this how it feels to be so hopelessly in love?' Vernon wondered. 'How is she able to finish our argument with only one kiss, and I yield almost instantly? Damn, isn't that a little unfair?'
"It's fine if you don't want me to move out, I will just stay downstairs with Mackie. You don't need to worry about us," Chloe said before she opened the door and left.
"W--Wait! Chloe--!"
SLAM!
Vernon's words were hanging as he stared at the door. He still had a lot to say to Chloe, mostly asking if she was also down to make out after an argument-induced kiss.
"... I could ask that, or maybe I should've asked if I get another kiss if we make up...."
Vernon sighed defeatedly, "Oh well, guess this is my life now."
**
Chloe strode to the kitchen in silence. She slowed down once she was about to go downstairs.
She had to calm the chaos in her heart before she faced her daughter.
Chloe could feel that her face was so hot right now, and it must be red like a cherry.
"God, I can't believe what I did just now...." Chloe murmured. She never had that kind of urge to dominate Vernon. Heck, she never had the desire to dominate anyone in her life.
She was always a modest, shy woman and wouldn't say a thing as long as it saved her from a beating or two.
But when she saw how crazed Vernon got and didn't even want to listen to her, Chloe realized that she had to profess her love even in the most bold way she could think of.
"W--Well, at least now he won't question my loyalty to him anymore...." Chloe said. "Did he enjoy the kiss, though? I think he did. He looked like he was on cloud nine just now...."
"Ah, why do I think about stuff like that? It's weird...." Chloe shook her head. She took a deep breath, trying to regulate her breath and calm down her heart. Then she went downstairs to check on her daughter.
Mackie was playing with her dolls on the sofa. She tried to busy herself to distract her mind, or else she'd go upstairs to check on Mommy.
Despite her worry, she kept telling herself to believe in Uncle. Because Uncle would never hurt Mommy, no matter what!
Chloe went downstairs and smiled at her daughter, who surrounded herself with many dolls. She was relieved that Mackie didn't seem to be heavily affected by her fight with Vernon.
But before she could say a thing, Mackie asked her a difficult question, "Mommy, did you have a fight with Uncle?"
"Ah-- w--well, it's not that big of a deal, dear," Chloe replied.
...
"Mommy, please don't lie to me. Uncle and Mommy came in before, and you two didn't smile at me," Mackie said calmly while playing with her dolls.
...
Chloe was thinking for a while. Usually, when they were still living together with Vincent, Chloe would lie to her daughter.
She didn't want to show the ugly part of her marriage with Vincent, so she always lied and said that Mommy and Daddy were just talking about important stuff together.
Thankfully, Vincent happened to be the master of faking his kindness.
He would act so kind and gentle in front of Mackie and lie to her, saying he would never hurt Chloe. So Mackie had no reason not to believe it when both of her parents said the same thing.
But Vernon wasn't as proficient as Vincent at pretending and faking his mood.
He was an open book. It wasn't hard to spot whether Vernon was pissed, angry, sad, happy, or even when he was judging someone silently.
Besides, Vernon's temper was far too explosive to be able to handle a fight with grace, so even a little girl like Mackie could read his mood.
"Dear, in a relationship between two people, it is normal for us to have a fight," Chloe said, trying to ensure that Mackie didn't feel too stressed after witnessing an argument. "It's normal, and sometimes it can't be helped."
"But Uncle didn't beat you, right, Mommy?"
"Ah-- he never beat me...."
"Un, then it's alright!" Mackie nodded. "I had a fight with my friends before. But we never hit each other and apologized later! Um... well, except Jaden and Mia. They're mean to me! They like to hit me just like how Daddy beat you! Hmph!"
Chloe went silent instantly. Whenever Mackie brought up the topic of Vincent, she got a conflicting feeling in her heart.
Should she say yes, and tell Mackie that her Daddy did far worse than just 'beating' her Mommy?
Or should she just lie and defend Vincent again?
'I don't think I can defend him anymore, after what he did to me in the Principal's office before,' Chloe thought. 'And Mackie witnessed his deed with her own eyes, it was basically impossible to defend him at this point.'
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