"Um, why should I tell Uncle if I got bullied? Will Uncle do something about it?"
"Obviously," Vernon replied. He also got a little confused with her question just now. "What's with your question? Of course it's natural that I will do something if someone dares to bully you. I will… punish them."
There was a slight pause because Vernon was about to say that he would make sure those bullies would drop out of the school. But that might be too scary for Mackie.
He just wanted Mackie to know that she was well protected.
"Uwaaah!" Mackie's eyes were sparkling with awe. She grabbed her Uncle's other hand and wrapped it with her two small hands. "Uncle, will you defend Mackie too? Will you stop those mean boys and girls who are going to bully me?"
"Of course!" Vernon got even more confused, but he gave a default answer.
Of course, he would protect her. He already took her as his daughter! Of course, all fathers would protect their children, right?
Mackie got even more excited. She darted at her Mommy and chirped excitedly, "Mommy, did you hear that? Uncle said he will protect me! Does that mean I don't need to hide it when I get hurt?"
"Y—Yes, dear, you don't need to hide it anymore…." Chloe said weakly. She glanced at Vernon, who was eyeing her with a pair of terrifying dark eyes. Chloe hunched her shoulder instantly. She was scared that Vernon might get mad once he knew the truth.
"Chloe, we need to talk, let's go to my room first," Vernon said.
"But I have go to school now, Uncle!" Mackie pouted. I don't want to be late!"
"Y—Yeah, we can talk about this later, Vernon," Chloe wasn't prepared to get confronted over this problem. So she tried to go along with her daughter.
Vernon's gaze deepened once he realized Chloe was trying to hide something from him. He wasn't angry— at least not yet. But he got annoyed because he had never heard of this bullying problem and how Mackie had to hide it.
"We will talk at night, prepare yourself," he warned Chloe, and the latter nodded weakly.
Vernon finally left after giving Chloe a warning gaze.
Chloe could finally let out a relieved breath once Vernon left. She didn't know how to tell Vernon about her lies and how she tried to stop Mackie from telling Vernon about the bullies in her old school.
Because Vincent set up those bullies to make his daughter's school life a living hell, Chloe had to return to him as a requirement for Mackie's safety.
Chloe couldn't do anything then, and she was scared that Mackie might tell Vernon about this, and Vernon would do something rash that would endanger his life and career.
"Mommy, Uncle looks mad just now. Did I do something wrong?" Mackie asked.
"No, dear. It's not you who did something wrong," Chloe sighed. "He's mad at me."
"At Mommy?!" Mackie's doe eyes widened. "But Mommy did nothing wrong! Don't worry, Mommy! If Uncle wants to hurt you, I will protect you!"
Chloe stared at her daughter, who bravely wanted to protect her even if she had to face a terrifying man like Vernon.
Mackie had shown her bravery many times and had grown a lot since the last time they left Vincent's mansion together.
Of course, Chloe was very proud of her daughter. But she also felt very guilty.
She wondered if she should've returned to Vincent at that time, so Mackie wouldn't have to fight those bullies.
'Things have changed now. Mackie won't get bullied anymore, and she grows to be a brave and strong little girl, but at what cost?' Chloe lamented. 'She lost her innocence. She had to get beaten, and the stupid me can't do anything but to wipe her wounds and told her that everything will be okay someday.'
'I feel so useless….'
"Mommy? Mommy!" Mackie shook her Mommy's body because she didn't get any answer from her.
"Ah— d—don't worry, dear. Uncle won't hurt me. He is just angry because I did something wrong. He'll probably just scold me," Chloe tried to pacify her daughter.
"Humph! I will scold Uncle back if he makes Mommy cry!"
"Hahah, he won't," Chloe said before she shifted the topic. "Well, finish your smoothie now, we will have to go or you might be late. I think the driver is already down there."
"Un, okay Mommy!"
Since Chloe couldn't drive for the time being, Vernon hired a private chauffeur— who was actually one of his military-trained bodyguards— to drive Mackie to the school and drive Chloe around if she wanted to buy something.
Chloe and Mackie tried to talk to the chauffeur a few times, but he was silent. He only replied with a hum or yes whenever Chloe asked him to go somewhere to buy something she wanted before returning to the apartment.
'I bet, Vernon told him not to speak with me no matter what. He is almost like a robot,' Chloe thought.
Chloe tried to offer the driver some of the food she bought, but the driver always rejected anything by shaking his head or saying no.
One time, Chloe tried to grab his wrist. She wanted to hand him a bag of donuts without saying a word, so the chauffeur had no time to reject her offer. But the man jolted out of reflex and tried to distance himself as far as possible from Chloe.
His face paled as if he had seen a ghost, and he was terrified to the bone just because their hands almost touched.
Chloe couldn't help but pity this guy, 'I wonder what kind of intimidation Vernon did until a big man like him was terrified of me. Well, as long as he did his job, I guess. But I can't help feeling pity for him because he has to act like a robot.'
Chloe sat in the backseat with Mackie, then told the chauffeur, "Drive to Mackenzie's school."
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