264 Chapter 264

'ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ No(v) e lBin ᴏɴʟʏ.',

Vernon drove to Shailene's apartment. He knocked, and Shailene opened the door for him.

She was wearing a casual loose shirt and tight jeans, very different from what he saw yesterday.

"Huh, you're far more casual today," Vernon commented without intention.

But Shailene didn't take this kindly, "Why not? You're not so formal with your messy suit as well. You looked like a middle-aged salaryman."

Vernon's brow twitched. He wanted to continue the banter by arguing with Shailene. But he really had no time for bickering. He wanted to get this over with, so he could get an answer on what he should do next to help Chloe.

"Okay, okay, can we just skip to this bickering part and get straight to the therapy?"

Shailene responded with a scoff. She turned around and told Vernon to follow her to the same private office she had.

"Go lay on that chaise longue," Shailene pointed at the lazy chair while she walked to the desk to pick up a pen and a note.

Vernon followed her instructions and lay on the chaise longue while Shailene sat on a chair right beside it.

She crossed her legs and cleared her throat;

p "Now, Mr. Vernon Phoenix Gray, this will be our second therapy session. Though, this might as well be the first because you fell asleep and slept like a log last night," Shailene quipped. "Anyway, you're free to start telling me about Chloe, but don't fall asleep, you'll dirty that chaise longue with your drool."

"I'M NOT DROOLING!"

"You're snoring loudly and also drooling, admit it,"

"Urgh!" Vernon constantly got annoyed and really wanted to argue again. But he didn't want to waste more time, so he took a deep breath and started talking about Chloe.

"Well, Chloe and I-- we've known each other for so long. She practically raised me when I was a kid because she has been in my life since I was seven-years-old," Vernon said reluctantly, feeling a little vulnerable as he had to tell secrets in his heart to someone else.

"That long?" Shailene raised her brow while writing something in her note. "How did she meet you? Through family gatherings?"

"No, she was--" Vernon paused for a while. He glanced at Shailene, who was staring at him with a scrutinizing gaze as if she wanted to know everything in his mind, making him very uncomfortable.

After all, he was not really the type to open up about his problem.

Vernon took another deep breath and continued, "--she was my big brother's girlfriend in high school. My Big brother was in love with her so much, that was why he brought her to my family mansion."

"She took care of me when no nannies were mentally strong enough to endure my antics. She was the only one who could make me listen," Vernon said.

"She is the one who raised me right, the one who listened to my worries, and also the one who taught me many things. She did everything that my ever-ignorant parents didn't do."

He wanted to close his eyes to better visualize his childhood again.

But if he did it, he was afraid he might drown in his fantasy and fall asleep again.

"I see..." Shailene nodded. She continued writing on her note and asked, "So I assume that you fell in love with her because of familiarity, correct?"

"Familiarity--?"

"Yes, when you live with someone that is not blood-related to you, you will get familiar with them," Shailene explained. "When two people are familiar with each other, a romantic connection might develop. I think this is what happened to you."

"Now, the question is... if Chloe is replaced by someone woman who took care of you when you grew up, will you fall in love with that woman as well?" Shailene left a question that got Vernon thinking.

'',

What she said made sense.

If Big sis Chloe was replaced by someone else growing up, would he fall in love with that person?

Vernon was thinking for a long while, and he hesitated, "I--I'm not sure. But... I don't think she is replaceable. She is the only one who could understand me. So there is nobody to replace her."

Shailene sighed, "That is what we call familiarity and dependency. That is not love, Vernon."

"What?!" Vernon got up from the chaise longue and glared at Shailene. "I've been in love with her for more than fifteen years, and you claimed that my feeling is not love?! What kind of stupid psychologist are you?!"

Shailene wasn't phased at all by Vernon's sudden outburst. She looked at the tall man and replied, "I am just analyzing within my field of expertise. No need to get worked up."

"I'm here to get help, so I can help my Chloe at home!" Vernon raised his voice as he found that statement to be very offensive for him.

He was in love with Chloe for fifteen years straight. Although he would never admit it in front of Chloe, he knew deep in his heart that she was the woman who kept him going every day.

Because if he had to be true to himself, he was a man who didn't give a shit about reputation, status, and such.

He started doing business because he knew that women wanted money, and if he wasn't as rich as his Big brother, then he had no worth as a man. He also thought that Chloe would laugh at him if he wasn't filthy-fucking-rich.

So when his love for Chloe got questioned, he felt that his whole existence was also being questioned.

Shailene shrugged it off lightly and added more fuel to the fire, "Do you want me to be more ruthless with my assessment? I think your 'Big sis Chloe' is a groomer who manipulated you to fall in love with her when you're a kid. That's why you're hopelessly in love with her now."

"Everything is just part of her manipulation tactic because she's a pedophile."