353 Chapter 353

"There is no way I'm going to let him hurt you..." Chloe murmured. "No matter how many times you claim that you're a big man who could face anything, I still see you as my cute Little Vernon, and it's my obligation to protect you from harm."

Chloe's heart was bleeding as she realized she would give her freedom back to that bastard. She would probably die in less than a month after returning to Vincent.

She sighed helplessly, "Maybe this is the only way for me to protect you, Vernon. Please don't hate me for this, I just don't want your life to get ruined."

…

Chloe picked up her phone again. She scrolled through her contacts, trying to find Vincent's phone number under the name 'Cheating Bastard.'

Her thumb hovered around the green button area, still deciding whether she had to call him or not.

Because if she called Vincent, her solitude with Vernon and Mackie would be ruined. She would probably never see the sun after returning to that dreaded mansion, knowing how crazy Vincent could be.

Chloe's hands trembled as the fear started taking over once more. But she shook her head immediately to wake herself up, "This is not the time to get scared, Chloe. You're just a wasted woman in your mid-thirty. Nobody would worry about your disappearance," Chloe tried to put up some more courage in her before she called the man who'd been her executioner.

She took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay, I'm ready."

Chloe's hand was about to press the call button, but she couldn't because she got a call from Vernon.

Thus, she accidentally pressed answer on Vernon's call instead.

"Ah—" Chloe was surprised when the call was connected, and before she could hang up, Vernon suddenly asked;

—

"Did you arrive home safely, Chloe?"

…

Chloe didn't want to answer Vernon's question because she feared her resolve would weaken.

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But Vernon kept on badgering her;

"Chloe? Answer me now. Are you home? Is everything alright? You're resting in your bedroom now, right?" Vernon grew increasingly anxious because Chloe didn't answer him at all.

But the phone was connected, so he knew that Chloe was listening.

"Damn it! Stay right there, and don't do anything stupid! I'll be home soon!" Vernon grabbed his car key. He was going to return home and check on Chloe's condition.

But Chloe suddenly opened her mouth, "I'm alright, Vernon."

Vernon halted his step and then asked, "Where are you right now?"

"In my room… I'm lying on the bed…." Chloe replied.

Vernon couldn't believe that, so he turned on the video call, "Answer the video call, Chloe. I want to make sure that you're really on your bed right now."

Chloe sighed, she had to comply, or Vernon would definitely drive back to the penthouse to check on her, and she wanted to be alone for now.

"I… I don't have the best appearance right now…." Chloe reasoned, hoping it'd stop Vernon. "I look haggard…."

"Doesn't matter! You're always perfect in my eyes!" Vernon snapped as he got even more worried. He didn't even care about what he said just now.

"Now, show me your face so I will know whether you're fine or not!" he demanded.

Ba-dump.

Chloe's heart suddenly beat harder, like a drum she could hear. She knew that she shouldn't wish for too much, but she had never been called a beauty by Vincent.

So when someone called her a beauty, she was… undeniably feeling a little shy, yet happy.

She decided to open the video call, so Vernon could see her haggard appearance.

The first thing she saw was half of Vernon's face, peering at the camera as if he was looking through a crack. He looked like someone that would question your smallest movement simply out of suspicion.

Chloe quickly covered half of her face with a blanket as she was ashamed, but her red eyes told Vernon that Chloe must've been crying the whole time.

"D—Did I make you worry?" Chloe asked awkwardly because they kept staring at each other through the camera lens for at least five minutes straight.

"You think?" Vernon returned the question. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Of course, I'm fucking worried! Do you know what kind of irrational fear is in my head right now?!"

"S—Sorry…"

Vernon's chest was still heaving up and down, he was trying to calm down, but he couldn't.

"Are you sure that you don't do anything stupid?" Vernon asked.

"I—I didn't. I was just… on my bed right now…." Chloe replied as she tried to cover the fact that she was about to call Vincent and gave herself in to save Vernon.

"Well, that's good," Vernon breathed in relief. "Don't do anything stupid, and don't worry about my statement before. I know that it's risky, but I'm not an idiot."

'So confident…' Chloe thought. She knew that Vernon was a confident young sunny boy since he was a kid. But she never expected him to be this confident when he would go against Vincent Gray.

"I know how to take him down, and I'm in the process of it, Chloe," Vernon said. "So discard any stupid idea of yours and trust me."

-

Discard any stupid idea of yours, and trust me.

-

That word echoed in Chloe's mind. His confidence emanated like a radiant sun shining through her dark path.

Chloe bit her lower lip, which she covered with a blanket. She was holding this kind of excitement in her heart, which she had never experienced.

Somehow, she felt excited by Vernon's statement that she simply wanted to discard all logic and say yes to him.

And she did.

"Um…" Chloe nodded weakly while staring at Vernon on his phone. "I won't do anything stupid, I promise…."

"Great!" Vernon was completely assured now. "Go take a rest at home, you don't need to cook, I'll buy something for dinner."

"And don't worry about Mackie, just tell me the exact time, so I can go there and pick her up."