Chapter 418 418

Chloe sat beside Mackie on the little girl's bed at night. Mackie was lying on her bed with her blanket tucked up to her chest.

She stared at the ceiling and then at Mommy, who carefully patted her head after dinner. She was happy that her stage play was a success. Even Mr. Peterson said that she was the one who played the best as the Big bad wolf.

She was also happy to see her Daddy, though not for long…

Her little brain was still trying to process what happened between Mommy and Daddy back in the Principal's office.

She saw how her Daddy handled her Mommy roughly, lifting her up until her feet hovered above the ground, choking her.

When she lived with Mommy and Daddy in the mansion, she often witnessed her Daddy hit Mommy. Though he'd always stop when Mackie saw.

She saw her Mommy was often hurt with many blue or purplish marks, but always told Mackie that it was alright or Daddy didn't mean to hurt Mommy.

Her Mommy often told her not to get angry at Daddy because Mommy was at fault for angering Daddy.

She was too small to understand what was happening then and truly thought it was normal to get bruises.

But when she got bullied by Jaden, Mia, and a few other kids in the school. She realized that getting bruises and cuts hurt so much.

Getting shoved to the ground hurt, and so did getting her hair pulled.

So she fought back until none of her bullies dared to attack her anymore because Mackie was truly like a little wolf, not sparing anyone who dared to hurt her.

"You should close your eyes, Dear," Chloe muttered softly while caressing Mackie's long hair. "You must be tired from your stage play."

"I'm not sleepy, Mommy."

"Really? Why so?"

"Because I keep thinking about you…." Mackie said. She put her hand on her Mommy's cast and caressed it gently. "Why don't you cry, Mommy? I got hurt by my bullies, and I cried in the bathroom a few times before I could fight them back. It hurts so much when they shove me to the ground or pull my hair."

"Daddy did the same to you, but why aren't you crying?" Mackie asked with her innocent eyes staring at Chloe.

…

Chloe stopped caressing Mackie's hair for a moment. Her heart was bleeding, knowing that Mackie had to know about her father's abusive behavior, no matter how hard Chloe tried to hide it.

She was trying to portray a good family for her daughter, thinking it would help her grow normal, unlike Chloe, who never had a father figure.

But today's eventful encounter between all three of them- Chloe, Mackie, and Vincent, must have put doubts in Mackie's heart.

'I thought I could hide this until Mackie is at least old enough to understand….'

Chloe sighed, "Getting hit by your Daddy does hurt me, dear…."

"Really? Then why have I never seen you crying after getting hurt?"

"… Because I don't want to make you sad," Chloe replied. "I'm sorry for not telling you that bruises are painful. I just don't want you to be sad about me."

"Mommy…" Mackie noticed the sad expression that Mommy made, even though the light around the room was dim. Mackie lifted her hand to touch her Mommy's cheek. "You can cry now, Mommy. Mackie is a big girl now. Now I know that getting bruises is painful after I get bullied. So you don't need to hide it when you get hurt."

Mackie's words effectively stabbed Chloe in the heart. She wanted to preserve Mackie's innocence as much as she could, but she got bullied in the school instead, and Chloe couldn't do a thing to prevent it.

Chloe tried to hold her tears, but a tear dropped from the corner of her eyes and landed on her daughter's cheek.

"I'm sorry, dear," Chloe muttered while sobbing. "I can't protect you from the bullies in school…."

"Mmm, it's not your fault, Mommy," Mackie replied. "Jaden and Mia are just bullies. They just don't want to play with me anymore, and I don't mind, because I have other friends as well."

'My dear girl, if only you knew that your father is the one who set up those kids to bully you….' Chloe could only say that in her heart.

While Mackie already had a faint understanding of what happened around her now. Chloe didn't want to shove a bitter pill of truth into her mouth.

Mackie already learned too much from what they encountered today. If she had to know about the truth sooner than Chloe expected, then at least it needed to be gradual. She didn't want to completely shatter a little girl's heart in just a day.

"Mommy, promise me that you will not hide from me when you cry or get hurt," Mackie demanded. "Mommy also needs to stop puking! You need to keep the food inside your stomach!"

Chloe chuckled. He wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and nodded, "From now on, I promise I will not hide it from you if I get hurt. I also promise that I will not puke after eating anymore. Is that enough?"

"Mm!" Mackie nodded happily. She was satisfied with Mommy's promise, though she still had a few things bugging her mind.

"Well, go to sleep now, Mommy will talk to Uncle about something," Chloe said. She kissed her daughter's head before getting up and leaving the room.

Chloe closed the door and let out a deep, relieved breath. While she was nervous and sad that she had to tell Mackie about her bruises, at least Mackie still hadn't asked her about her Daddy.

Or maybe not yet. Chloe believed that the question about Vincent was already lingering in Mackie's mind, and the little girl would eventually ask why her Daddy had hit Mommy so many times in the past.

But as long as Mackie hadn't brought up the question, Chloe had no obligation to answer.

'I hope the question won't pop up anytime soon. I want her to grow up first before learning about the painful truth….'