265 Chapter 265

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

Shailene dropped the bomb and stunned Vernon to the point that his face paled for a second before it got red out of rage. He clenched his fist and roared at Shailene;

'',

"TAKE THAT BACK, YOU BITCH!"

"That's not a kind word to say to someone who wants to help you, Vernon," Shailene said nonchalantly.

Vernon thought she sounded callous and ingenuine right now. How could she say that she wanted to help him but also that Chloe was

a pedophile who had groomed Vernon since he was a kid!

She was framing Chloe for something that she didn't do at all!

"Listen, you dipshit. Big sis Chloe never did anything sexual, nor did she ever harrassed me when I was a kid. All she did was nurturing me, and teaching me to become a better human!" Vernon insisted.

But Shailene scoffed again as she found that ridiculous: "You're saying that because you see things on rose-coloured glasses. Maybe she did it when you were too young to understand. She is a pedophile."

"STOP SLANDERING HER, YOU—" Vernon could not hold his rage anymore. He walked towards Shailene. He wanted to punch her face, but when he saw that Shailene didn't feel scared, he knew that punching her would be a bad idea.

Because she came from an influential family, any lawsuit would be very troublesome for Vernon.

So he held himself from hurting Shailene and kicked the drawer right next to her seat until it flew and hit the wall.

Vernon was still angry and knew that he would eventually destroy everything here if he didn't get out.

"I'm leaving. I don't want to stay here for too long or I might accidentally snap your neck, bitch!" Vernon yelled. He walked to the door, and Shailene only stared in silence until she opened her mouth right before Vernon left the office;

"We're not done with the session, Mr. Vernon Phoenix Gray."

Vernon halted on his track and looked over his shoulder.

His eyes were filled with wrath. He was so close to jumping at Shailene and snapping her neck.

"Are you fucking nuts? Do you really think that I will continue this bullshit session?" Vernon sneered. "I'm here to get help, but what I got was a condescending bitch who can't stay professional with her work."

"Go on, you can call it off for today's session. But you should think about it once you get home," Shailene said. "Do you actually love her, or is it just because her presence has filled your childhood, that's why you have nobody other than her filling your heart."

"You're being manipulated, Vernon," Shailene said. "I am an expert in my field, and I know what I'm talking about."

"And I don't give a fuck, Shailene!" Vernon snapped. "You're not helping me, that's what I know!"

"… Question yourself first, and after you make sure that you got the answer, you can return here," Shailene said. "And I know you WILL return to me, I know that you picked me as your psychologist for this case because you're not someone who can open up easily, especially to strangers."

…

Vernon didn't say a thing after that and left the office. He slammed the door behind him and rushed out of the apartment as he didn't want to be close to that bitch, Shailene.

He entered his car and sat in silence for at least ten minutes before punching the dashboard, "HOW DARE SHE SAID THAT MY CHLOE IS A PEDOPHILE?! I SWEAR I WILL FUCK HER UP!"

Vernon remembered her words. She kept insisting and telling Vernon to question whether he was in love with Chloe or if he was just in love with her because of childhood dependence.

…

"Why am I thinking about this now?" Vernon asked himself. He started to doubt himself. He was so sure that he was in love with Chloe, even though he never admitted it in front of Chloe.

But Shailene said that he might've been groomed by Big sis Chloe since he was young, which was why he became so dependent on her.

…

"No, I don't want to think about it. The only reason I'm branching out in New York is that I want to meet Chloe, and ruin her as an act of revenge— initially. Everything that I do up to this point is because I have her in my mind…."

Vernon closed his eyes for a while, trying to dispel the lingering doubt about this in his mind.

But no matter how often he told himself not to think about it, he kept worrying, scared that his feelings might not be true.

So he had an idea;

"I have to meet her. I have to make sure."

**

Meanwhile, Shailene sighed as she heard the front door being slammed shut. She got up and put her notes on the table.

She sat on the chaise longue while staring at the vast skyscraper adorned with lights.

"I made a mistake," Shailene confessed to herself. "I know that as a psychologist, I shouldn't let my emotions cloud my judgment. But I got jealous when I heard from his mouth how he regarded his Big sis Chloe in such high regard. As if she was an angel on earth."

Shailene had never seen Vernon be so zealous over a woman. He treated Shailene like trash, but he was different when discussing Chloe. Even his eyes were glimmering with love.

It made Shailene feel so wronged as she had to sit here while listening to that scum Vernon who broke her heart, talking about his beloved woman whom he had been in love with since he was a kid.

So Shailene assessed the situation with a coldhearted approach and accused Chloe of being a child predator who groomed Vernon when he was young. That was why Vernon became so attached to his Big sis Chloe.

Shailene bit her lower lip as she tried to defend herself by doing the right thing;

"But it's true. There is a big chance that woman has groomed Vernon, right?"