After she was done paying, Chloe walked out of the school building feeling weak from head to toe. She tottered towards her car and entered.

She sat in the driver's seat while staring at the front with an empty gaze. The burden of forty thousand dollars was on her shoulder now. She had to face Vernon while saying she had used that much money from his black card.

Chloe shuddered out of fear. She already imagined what kind of face would Vernon make once he found out about it.

"Or maybe he already knows about it? I know you can get an email from the bank if your credit card has been used to a certain amount. Oh God, I don't know how to face him this time."



"Please don't fire me, Vernon," Chloe begged alone in the car because she wasn't sure if she could say it in front of Vernon once she faced him later.

Her phone vibrated suddenly, and she checked the caller.

"Why you—" Chloe was frustrated when she saw the caller, who was the devil who threatened the old principal using his family name just to make sure everything was going his way.

Chloe picked up the call, ready to vent;

'.',



"What is it, Vincent?"

'Visit (No ve (l)B i n) to read, pls!',

"Why are you talking to me so wryly? Do you not realize that I'm still technically your husband?" Vincent taunted, but really, he was smiling while calling Chloe.

Vincent leaned on the executive chair, staring at his empty office, "Today is the day to pay for Mackie's tuition, right? If you don't pay the amount, Mackie's education will be in trouble. You don't want her to be expelled from school, right?"

"She will not be expelled just because of money!" Chloe replied harshly. She felt humiliated because she was trying her best to stay afloat for her daughter, while Vincent just played around like he never had a family. "Do you know what the principal has told me about you? You used your family's power to intimidate her! Vincent, you're despicable!"

"And? Family's power and connection are there to be utilized. I don't care about your opinion, Chloe Gray—"

? "—It's Chloe Carlson for you!" Chloe insisted on using her maiden name when talking with Vincent, as she felt gross just thinking she would stand beside him as his wife.

Vincent laughed low, thinking that Chloe's reaction was funny, "I just told that old principal that I can always take the matter of the land to court since the land where the school is erected is still legally my late father's. I can always take it if I want since my dad only let them borrow it out of generosity, no lending, or giving up the ownership."

"But you did this to protect your affair with those women! Do you know that your daughter got into a fight with your side chicks' children? You're hurting your own daughter!"

"I'm not hurting her, not at all," Vincent replied lightly. "What I did is showing my daughter there is a consequence because her mother is a dumb bitch who cannot admit defeat and be obedient to her own husband—"

BEEP.



Chloe hung up the call instantly. She knew there was no point in talking to an asshole like him. He would only twist her words and turn them into a weapon toward Chloe.

"Does he even love his daughter? I get it if he hates me, and I don't care anymore. I don't even care if he purposely tries to make it difficult for me since there is nothing I can do about it."

"But Mackie… what he did right now is hurting his own daughter!" Chloe was frustrated. She was so frustrated that she wanted to pull her hair out. "I swear to God, once I have enough money to move to another state, I will fucking do it!"

Chloe calmed down after a while. Since she knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything about Mackie's problem, she planned to let her study in this private school for the whole semester and pass to the next grade before they could move away to a cheaper state, away from New York and the grasp of the Gray Family, especially that waste-of-oxygen man named Vincent Gray.

"Okay, take a deep breath and relax, Chloe. You still have to face the real monster in his office later. You have to explain about borrowing that much money from him. That's your real problem for now."

Chloe started the car and pressed the gas gently, leaving the school and heading back to Phoenix Tower. She needed to cook for Vernon's lunch since he demanded her to bring a lunchbox.

It took her almost three hours to return to the apartment, cook the food, and then go to Vernon's office building.

Chloe parked the car in front of the hotel lobby and gave the key to the security guard, "Would you mind driving the car to the VIP parking downstairs? Boss is waiting for his lunch, and I don't want to be scolded."

'',

"Sure, Mrs. Gray," the driver accepted the car key, and Chloe rushed to the VIP elevator. She checked her watch, and it was already 11.30. She feared Vernon would scold her even more if she was late for his lunch break.

She was also a little worried that Vernon might not like her cooking.

'Okay, Chloe, relax, relax… worrying over this will not change anything, seriously,' Chloe said in her heart.

DING!

The elevator stopped at the highest floor. Chloe straight towards the CEO's office door in front of her.

The door was half-open, and she didn't see the sign of Diamond sitting on her seat in front of Vernon's office.

'That means either Vernon and Diamond had a meeting outside, or they are talking about something inside the office,' Chloe thought.

Once she was near the elevator, she suddenly heard Diamond's voice from inside;

"Mr. Gray, are you sure about this? Don't you think it's a bit cruel for her?"