Chapter 477 477

Chloe woke up earlier than Vernon the next morning. She was sweating all over, even under the aircon, because Vernon kept on spooning her subconsciously while he was sleeping, not giving her a chance for Chloe to separate herself from him.

Chloe struggled a little, trying to break free since she had to check on Mackie and get going by making banana juices for them as well.

"Vernon, let go…." Chloe said while she was struggling.

"Hrhm…" Vernon snorted before snoring like an idiot again. He was like a big gorilla you couldn't break free of unless it was by his own will.

Knowing she might spend the whole morning stuck in this, she decided to use her mighty skill instead.

Chloe stopped struggling and leaned deeper inside Vernon's embrace, making the man very comfortable. She used her butt to start rubbing on Vernon's morning wood until his half-erect cock got fully erect in seconds.

Vernon had a thin smile as he also started grinding his dick against Chloe's soft butt. Thinking that Chloe wanted to do it, he opened his eyes, and his hand reached for her boobs from behind, "So eager in the morning, hm?"

Chloe smiled and looked over her shoulder. She saw from the corner of her eyes that the big guy was grinning perversely.

Which was unfortunate because she wasn't in the mood right now.

"Let me off, Vernon. I need to check on Mackie, and also make smoothie or juice for you two."

The perverted grin disappeared instantly. Vernon snorted annoyedly and released his embrace. He murmured 'Blue Balling' a few times before closing his eyes again.

Chloe thought it was cute, so she giggled as she left the bedroom.

She went down to check on Mackie and was relieved that Mackie was in a deep sleep, probably because she kept snacking cookies in the evening.

Chloe went to her room to check her phone. She expected Dorothea to blast her phone like before.

To her surprise, there was no phone call but a text from Dorothea.

"Just one?" Chloe wondered. "Did she finally give up? How about all her worries for me and Mackie? Was it all just a farce to trap me so I will meet her?"

Chloe couldn't help but get a little suspicious of the sudden change. She opened the text, and her heart skipped for a second.

She kept reading the short text over and over. She blinked a few times, trying to see if her eyes were tricking her.

But that short text was clear as day.

-

Dorothea:

I know everything, Chloe. Call me once you read this text.

I want to talk to you, even for the last time.

Please.

-

It was a short text, but Chloe felt the urgency in it. It didn't feel like a threat but more like a plea.

Dorothea was pleading with her, even if it was for the last time. She even used the word 'please,' something that Dorothea had never said before to her.

Chloe gulped. She tried to keep things logical, like what Vernon kept trying to remind her.

But right now, she felt the urgency of Dorothea's text meant that she was at her wit's end. She was exhausted from all things right now.

Chloe sat on the bed, staring at the text for a long time before she gripped her phone to make one decisive action, "Please don't hurt me, Dorothea. I don't think I can trust anyone outside of Vernon and Mackie if you turn out to be as evil as Vincent. I can't manage another betrayal…."

Thus, Chloe pressed Dorothea's contact and gave her a call.

Dorothea was sleeping on the sofa when she heard her phone ring on the table in front of her. She opened her eyes slowly. It wasn't difficult to wake up, though, since she had a long nightmare through the night.

She rubbed her eyes and checked on the caller, thinking it was just the head butler in the Gray mansion.

But her eyes widened when she saw the caller's ID. Her drowsiness disappeared instantly, and she immediately picked up the call.

-

…

…

"H—Hello?" Chloe opened the conversation first after the long silence. "Dorothea, are you there?"

Dorothea took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. Chloe's voice was gentle, just like what she expected.

In fact, Dorothea never saw her getting angry at anything, even at Mackie, who often threw tantrums when she was a kid. She was very patient, 'Unlike me, who beat my own son for being a child…' she thought as the self-blame continued in her mind.

"Dorothea?"

"I'm here," Dorothea said. "T—Thank you for calling me. I thought… we will never talk again."

"… What happened, Dorothea?" Chloe asked.

'Oh, a lot happened, dear. So many crazy things are happening in my life right now and I think I'm so close to just ending it all,' Dorothea said in her heart. Though she didn't want to come off as trauma-dumping or trying to hook her sympathy on the phone.

Dorothea still didn't know if Chloe was genuinely a good woman or if she was a manipulative bitch like what Shailene said.

Her instinct told her that Chloe was the former one, as she had never experienced getting harmed by Chloe in any way.

But she still didn't want to sound desperate until they met, at least.

Thus, Dorothea cut straight to the point;

"Chloe, I— I know everything already," she said.

"What do you mean?" Chloe went on full guard once they returned to the topic. As much as Chloe remembered, only her new small family and Diamond knew about the identity of Vernon as her benefactor.

Was there a mole the whole time?

"I know the identity of the man who has been hiding you and my granddaughter the whole time," Dorothea said. She wondered if this would be the right time to say it, but she had no chance to back down, knowing that Chloe might never call her again after this.

"I'm staying in his apartment right now."