Mackie buried her head on Mommy's neck and quickly fell asleep in her warm embrace.
Chloe caressed Mackie's hair gently until she made sure she had fallen asleep completely.
After being assured, Chloe slowly shifted away from Mackie to separate themselves. She tucked Mackie with a blanket before leaving her daughter's bedroom quietly.
She tiptoed around the corridor, afraid that Vernon was waiting for her in her apartment. But thankfully, he wasn't here.
'But what about the banging sound I heard earlier?' Chloe wondered. She indeed heard the sound of banging when she was inside the bedroom with Mackie.
It was so loud and continuous that it was hard to ignore.
She looked around, checking if anything was damaged or destroyed in her apartment. But everything was intact.
So, the most plausible explanation was Vernon stopping at the stair before returning to his penthouse.
Chloe gulped as she stopped in front of the stair. She knew she had to hide from Vernon from his violent streak.
But she wanted to check on him, she would sincerely apologize for what she did wrong…
"Though, I still don't know what I did wrong…." Chloe murmured. "But he helped me, he is my employer, and I am the one who makes a mistake…."
Chloe took a deep breath to brace herself and climbed the stair while tiptoeing, hoping she didn't make any noise disturbing Vernon.
She peeked before she stepped on the last staircase. She expected the penthouse to be absolutely destroyed. But there seemed to be nothing wrong. No glass or plates were destroyed, and no table was overturned.
As if Vernon had just ended his violent streak right after Chloe escaped with her daughter.
Chloe didn't understand this guy, his mood swing was crazy, and Chloe didn't even know what made him angry. Everything about this man was just so random.
After ensuring that Vernon was nowhere near the kitchen and dining area, she braced herself and entered Vernon's penthouse. She looked around and couldn't find Vernon everywhere until she saw a silhouette sleeping on the long sofa in the living room.
The living room was dim as the only source of light was the moon showering his handsome face gently. Chloe approached the man and saw Vernon sleeping there.
He seemed to be in a deep sleep, with his arm covering his eyes.
Chloe stood at least two feet from the long sofa, staring at Vernon, who was fast asleep.
"I don't know what's on your mind, Vernon. You can be so kind one time and vicious a minute after," Chloe murmured, ensuring her voice was low enough so she wouldn't wake him up.
She heard Vernon grumbling about something in his sleep, but it was inaudible. Yet, Vernon repeated that random name continuously, so it must've been something important.
Curious, Chloe took a step forward to check on Vernon and heard Vernon someone's name in his sleep. Unfortunately, Chloe couldn't really catch the name he was murmuring in his sleep, but it was definitely a name because he repeated it over and over.
As Chloe observed the sleeping lion, she noticed something wrong with the wall behind the sofa.
It had been cracked badly, and blood splattered on the wall. Chloe gasped and held her breath instantly. She covered her mouth, afraid she would wake Vernon up.
She observed the cracked wall with blood again and checked Vernon's hands.
The first hand— the arm that covered his eyes wasn't injured, but when she checked the other hand hanging low, she almost gasped twice.
"Oh… my… god…." Chloe saw Vernon's fist had been bloodied. It looked so terrible that she wondered if she should call an ambulance.
'Wait, I don't know if he is still mad or not….' Chloe wondered. She wanted to help him, but his rage made her hesitate. 'Okay, if I can't call an ambulance, at least I can give him first aid.'
Chloe climbed downstairs and returned to Vernon with a first aid kit.
She took a deep breath and carefully sat on the floor while checking the bloodied hand. She took out an alcohol antiseptic wipe, bandage, and a small bucket of water from the bathroom.
Chloe checked the fist first by carefully holding Vernon's wrist and slipped her fingers to intertwine with his, so Chloe could spread his fingers and gently wash them with water.
At first, Vernon cupped his fist tightly, even when he was asleep.
But once Chloe's fingers tried to open his fist gently, the tight fist lowered its defense slowly until Chloe could intertwine their fingers and started washing Vernon's fist.
The blood had been dry, so it must've been a while since he punched that wall. After she was done washing the dried blood off his knuckles, the wounds became visible.
It was horrible, and Chloe didn't understand why Vernon would do this to himself.
'Okay, okay, relax, Chloe. It's time to apply the alcohol wipe.'
Chloe carefully soaked the cotton wipe with antiseptic. She tapped the wound, but Vernon reacted instantly once he felt the stinging pain in his hand.
"HRHHMM!"
Chloe quickly ducked when she heard the grumble. She was afraid that Vernon would be angry again if he woke up.
But contrary to her expectation, Vernon just switched his position a bit. He moved his wounded hand and stretched it on top of his head.
"Phew…" Chloe carefully sat on the bed beside Vernon's head and grabbed his hand.
She checked the wound and continued tapping the antiseptic-soaked cotton wipe on the wounds. Vernon's brows creased, but he didn't respond until the fifth tap on the worst wound.
Vernon suddenly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was his sister-in-law's face, staring at him with shock and fear in her eyes.
'Is this a dream?' Vernon pondered in his mind. He had this dream many times, after all.
The same face, the same expression.
Vernon chuckled, mocking himself, "Even in my dream, you're still the same…."
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