?
"Four bodyguards, that's a bit…." Chloe paused for a moment. She saw that Vernon already expected her refusal and thus showed a disapproving stern expression. He definitely didn't want to listen to Chloe's argument right now.
But Chloe thought that four bodyguards were just too much. She knew she was in danger and had to stay hidden, but wouldn't it be even more obvious with that many bodyguards around?
"Vernon, if you send that many bodyguards around Mackie and I, then people around will notice. Who knows that might attract Vincent and Maria?" Chloe argued. "Wouldn't it be better to just send one bodyguard by my side. After all, it's just Mackie and I, and it's in the hospital, where Vincent has no control over the people inside, unlike that school where the Principal was completely under Vincent's order."
"And let you and Mackie get beaten to death by my bastard brother? Fuck no!" Vernon clenched his fist. "Just imagining Mackie and you suffering because of that bastard is enough to make me furious, Chloe. There is no fucking way I'd let that happen again!"
Chloe flinched when Vernon suddenly yelled in front of her face. But she understood that Vernon must be really upset because of that incident in the Principal's office.
Honestly, Chloe was also upset back then. She wished to at least bring a knife with her. Then she would kill that fucker all by herself and end the torment.
She didn't care if she had to be the one that went to prison for it. After all, she believed that Vernon could be a good father to Mackie.
'My suffering will end if I kill that guy with my own hand…' Chloe thought. 'Why didn't I do that back then anyway? I have all the time in life to kill Vincent.'
Chloe recalled all the time she wasted trying to appease Vincent while he kept beating her to a pulp. She feared for her life so much that the only thing on her mind was to survive with Mackie.
'Maybe because of Mackie…' Chloe thought. 'I don't want my daughter to suffer because I know Vincent will definitely hurt Mackie if I tried to fight back.'
Chloe gently held Vernon's hands to calm him down, "Vernon, calm down. Mackie might hear us downstairs."
"Calm down? You asked me to calm down when my family's life is in danger?!" The more Chloe tried to pacify Vernon, the angrier he got. He grabbed Chloe's wrist instead and then pointed at her right hand, "Do you not remember how you can't use your right hand for almost a month?! Do you think I like seeing you trying to endure the pain when you try to stop me from finding Vincent after he beat you?!"
"I—I just think that you're overreacting a bit…" Chloe said. She lowered her head, afraid to see his face because she felt guilty for upsetting him.
Vernon suddenly put her hands on his chest, and she could feel his accelerating heartbeat, which made her raise her head spontaneously. She was scared because Vernon's heartbeat was irregular, but she was even more terrified when she saw him shedding tears.
Vernon was a very tough man. He rarely whined, let alone cried in front of Chloe. He usually put up that strong man persona and was always logical despite all the things happening to them.
He was always the voice of reason and would try to find a way to help Chloe and all of her problems.
So when Chloe saw him in this pitiful state, she panicked instantly.
"No, no, don't cry, Vernon, please…" Chloe begged as she pulled her hand away from Vernon's chest and tried to wipe his tears.
"Do you not realize how important you are to my life?" Vernon asked with a hoarse voice. "I don't want to cry in front of you. But imagining you being hurt again makes me too upset. Why don't you understand that you and Mackie are my heartbeat. You two are the reason I keep pushing through!"
"Vernon…"
"So please, Chloe," Vernon begged. "Please let me protect you. I can only be assured when you're under the right amount of protection. I'm already doing my best to hold myself not to guard you and Mackie with my own body wherever you go outside."
Chloe finally zipped her lips once she realized Vernon was upset because of her stubbornness.
Sometimes she asked herself, to what extent would Vernon tolerate her and all her problems? Would he stop helping and protecting them once he got tired of her?
'I don't know. I still don't have the answer myself…' Chloe knew she had burdened Vernon so much. Too much, in fact, that she felt she had become nothing but a deadweight for him.
So Chloe always instinctively tried to lessen Vernon's burden, even with the cost of her own safety.
In the end, Chloe had to give up and wipe Vernon's tears that kept falling with her pajama sleeve, "Okay, I understand, Vernon. You can bring four bodyguards to surround Mackie and I."
"Really?" Vernon asked while wiping his snot. "You'll let me do that?"
"Mhm," Chloe nodded. "I'm sorry that I make you upset. I just don't want to burden you further with my problems."
"Your problem is my problem as well, Chloe. I'm not burdened when it's about your safety," Vernon said. He grabbed Chloe's hands that had been wiping his tears for a while and then kissed her fingers one by one. "You should know that nothing burdens me about you. You are my end goal, Chloe."
Chloe's cheeks reddened. Though she had been with Vernon for a while, she still wasn't used to his pampering and gentle touch. It made her feel wanted, something that she never felt with Vincent for a long time.
Thus, after it was settled down, Chloe said, "Um… y—you can release my hand now, Vernon. I have to go down to check on Mackie."
Vernon finally stopped kissing Chloe's fingers after a while. He glanced at Chloe, whose face was as red as a lobster, and then reluctantly released her hand, "Okay then, I'll freshen up before work. Remember, Chloe, I will bring four bodyguards for you and Mackie, and you can't refuse me after this."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l