It was around eight when they finally finished the buffet, and Mackie got sleepy after eating so much.
She kissed her Mommy and Uncle good night and then went down to brush her teeth and sleep, leaving Chloe and Vernon alone at the dining table of the Penthouse.
Chloe busied herself by putting all the dishes in the dishwasher while Vernon watched from the side.
He crossed his arms. There was a lingering worry despite seeing Chloe in full health in front of him.
'How did she bump into Chelsea?'
'Why did she try to protect that little boy?'
'Did she realize that she was being recorded by so many people?'
'Does she know that she and her sister are trending on so many platforms right now?'
Those questions lingered in Vernon's head. He waited until Chloe finished putting all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher before he asked, "Did you stumble into something interesting today?"
Chloe paused for a moment. She turned around awkwardly to face Vernon and tried to force a smile, "I—I don't understand what you mean, Vernon. Stumble into something?"
"Yes, maybe an old face that gives you trouble," Vernon said.
"…" Chloe gulped. Her face got paler instantly, and she shook her head, "I—I don't understand what you mean, Vernon."
Vernon clicked his tongue, "Come on, just come clean about it. You know that you're a bad liar, right?"
"Ah—" Chloe sometimes forgot how bad of a liar she was. But she truly didn't want to make unnecessary trouble for Vernon. "How do you know about it?" She asked.
"… it's trending on many platforms. People are talking about the Female Joker because of Chelsea's disfigured face and crazy behavior," Vernon said. "Everyone recorded your fight with her, now everyone is searching about the identity of that Female Joker. The only thing we can salvage about this whole incident is the fact that you're not as flashy as her, so nobody really has any curiosity to search for your identity."
She sighed and murmured, "I'm sorry, I really don't know what to do against her. She keeps yelling at me, shouting in the parking lot and attracting people's attention."
Vernon leaned on the wall and said, "You should tell me what happened first so I get the gist."
Chloe sat on the stool and put her elbow on the kitchen countertop. She took a deep breath and started, "It happened today in the morning, right after I finished getting my cast taken off. I went to the parking lot, and saw Aaron crying in the middle of the lot with a bruised cheek."
'… I think I already know how this story goes,' Vernon guessed. It was easy to predict because Chloe had a strong motherly instinct.
"So I brought him into the car, then hugged and coaxed him with snacks until he finally opened up to me about his problem," Chloe said. She felt heavy as she had to remember all the sad things Aaron spoke about his home these days. "He said that his Father had left without a trace, leaving his Mother and Grandma alone. His Grandma had become old, so he helped with house chores. Meanwhile, his Mother got attacked, and became very unhinged these days. She started beating Aaron and his brothers even for the smallest reason."
"He told me that Chelsea slapped him so hard because he said that her face scared the other kids in the hospital," Chloe said. "Now I know what he said was wrong, and Chelsea is probably not in the right mental state right now. But beating your kid is still wrong no matter what!"
Vernon gritted his teeth in silence while staring at Chloe. He felt conflicted right now.
Obviously, he was the one who caused this whole mess in Chloe's family. He just couldn't let his beloved get hurt repeatedly by his mother and sister, so he planned an elaborate revenge against Chelsea and Tommy first.
He ruined Chelsea's face and indirectly gave Tommy a job that paid him well while he did nothing, so he ran away with his groomed girl.
He loved seeing that useless family crumble to pieces. It was a good payment for using Chloe as their bank account, but they couldn't care less when she was being abused by Vincent.
But he was so blinded by revenge he forgot that Chelsea had four sons, and they were innocent.
Now, even Vernon didn't know what to do. Of course, he couldn't reverse the whole thing. Tommy had run away, and Chelsea's scar was permanent without intensive plastic surgery.
Chloe rested her cheek on her palm, "I don't know who attacked Chelsea, and I sympathize with her. I can even help to pay for her surgery if she wants. But no matter how bad the situation becomes, she still cannot hurt her children."
"Not everyone is as strong as you, Chloe," Vernon interrupted. "Just because you can persevere under pressure to be a good mother for Mackie, doesn't mean the others can do the same. Just look at my mother for example."
"She was beaten by my late Dad, and then turned on me to release her frustration," Vernon let out a heavy sigh as he remembered Dorothea again. "Chelsea is not as good of a mother as you are. She must be frustrated over something, and she released her frustration by beating her sons."
"But it's wrong!" Chloe insisted.
"I never said it's right. I just say that it's something commonly happening in real life. Mother hurting their own children to let out their frustration."
Chloe went quiet. She knew that Vernon was right in this one.
Dorothea and Chelsea were prime examples. Even her mother—Judith, also had her moments of breakdown, though she never beat Chelsea or her at least.
"I gave Aaron my phone number, and told him to call me if things got really bad in his house," Chloe said. "But other than that, I cannot do anything else. I—I want to protect those boys, Vernon."
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on (f)reew𝒆(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦