310 Chapter 310

Vernon already had a lot of doubt in his heart. He was unsure about many things, and his only anchor was one truth.

That he was undoubtedly, hopelessly in love with Chloe Gray.

'But... a concept of love? Am I in love with Chloe just because I'm obsessed with the idea of love?' The more Vernon tried to process Shailene's words, the more confused he got.

He wasn't well versed in psychology, and everything that Shailene said didn't help him.

'ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ No(ve) l Bi n',

In fact, it only made him wonder if everything he had worked on so far was in vain.

And whether his hard work to give Chloe a good life was all just because he was obsessed with the idea of love, not because he loved Chloe.

Vernon glanced at Shailene for a second, 'I feel like I'm the one getting manipulated here. But... Why would she do that? I'm here coming as a client, and I'm paying her for it.'

Shailene allowed Vernon to process everything before she continued. She leaned back on the chair and crossed her leg, "No wonder you accidentally said the wrong thing that hurt Chloe. You're not in love with her, Vernon."

"I--" Vernon hesitated.

Usually, he would be quick to jump and defend himself for this.

But right now, he wasn't sure about everything.

He was confused, too confused to process anything.

Shailene was quite satisfied with the development, 'That's good, Vernon. I'm helping you, so you will release yourself from the grasp of that evil, manipulative woman.'

Shailene cleared her throat and asked, "So, Mr. Phoenix Gray, shall we continue with the session?"

"No... no need..." Vernon replied weakly. He got up from the chaise lounge and walked away from her.

"Wait, really? But we've just started with our session. It's not even an hour yet," Shailene said. "Don't you have another thing in your mind you want to say?"

'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N(ov)elBin',

"No, in fact, I would rather not say anything to you anymore, Shailene," Vernon replied. "You're confusing me with my own feelings."

"That is normal, Vernon. You're just trying to fight off the truth that I just told you."

"It's not the truth! You're just putting words in my head, and confusing me!" Vernon insisted.

"What I said comes from the words of an expert. You might think I have a malicious intention to you. But I am 100% doing this based on my study and professionalism."

He looked over his shoulder and saw Shailene still sitting on the chair. "Professionalism my ass! I don't care if you're the expert in this field or whatever. I know in fact that you're not fucking helping!"

Vernon left the private office and grabbed his suit on the sofa. He left Shailene's apartment and slammed the door behind him.

BAM!

Shailene flinched a little when she heard the door being slammed. Though she wasn't surprised that Vernon would deny the fact again.

"He's always so stubborn. I know him very well."

"But it's fine. It's just the way he is," Shailene said confidently. "Like when he was yelling at me for calling his Big sis Chloe a pedophile and groomer. He was so mad, but he returned to me after a few days."

Shailene was certain that Vernon would eventually realize that Chloe was not a good woman.

Shailene stared at the view of the skyscraper in front of her and murmured, "Chloe, you've ruined a man's life. You confused him for your own selfish desire. You ruined a family, and I will not allow that to happen."

"Because the man you ruined is the man I love."

**

Vernon went to the parking lot and left Shailene's apartment building as fast as he could.

He was scared that he might be even more confused by Shailene's words the longer he stayed around her.

"That bitch!" Vernon gnashed his teeth as he drove through the city. "She knows that I'm not good at this psychological bullshit, that's why she's trying to manipulate me!"

"Does she think I'm just a kid who cannot differentiate between real love and not? Why does she keep on insisting that I'm not in love with Chloe?"

"I AM HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH HER! I FUCKING KNOW THAT!" Vernon claimed boldly.

However, no matter how often he tried to convince himself, a dark cloud brewed in his head, making him unsure about his feelings.

Shailene's words got into his head, and he hated himself.

"I shouldn't have come to her. I know she's just doing this to get her revenge on me."

Vernon knew that he had made the wrong move by coming to Shailene. But he was just so devastated by Chloe's words that he was trying to find someone who could ease him a little.

"I shouldn't have contacted her in the first place. She's nothing but a poison," Vernon said.

He continued driving until he saw his apartment building on his left.

All he needed to do was to turn to the left and enter the parking lot. But somehow, he was hesitant.

He wasn't ready to face Chloe. He didn't want to come home only to find Chloe staring at him with disgust in her eyes.

"I also want her to eat her dinner. She said she can't eat anything when I'm around because I remind her of Vincent...."

Vernon bit his lower lip as he drove away from the apartment, enduring the heartache that only worsened as time went by. He drove aimlessly as he just wanted to spend time alone.

"It hurts. My heart hurts so much because of your words, Chloe," Vernon said. "Why can't you just tell me what I did wrong, and then we can work on it."

"Now I feel lost, I don't know where to go when you reject me like this. I tried going to a psychologist, but she didn't help at all."

Vernon felt his heart get heavier and heavier until he couldn't handle it anymore.

He drove past the exclusive bar he usually visited before he reunited with Chloe. He knew that he shouldn't use alcohol as an escape, but...

"Ah, fuck it!"

Vernon made a U-turn with his car and went to that bar.