Chapter 479 479

She was feeling guilty that she had to trick Vernon again.

Vernon had been nothing but good for her, and it was true. He was being so protective because Chloe had just got beaten to hell and back by Vincent.

But Dorothea's case was special, and Chloe had to meet or at least come to room 1112 to check if she was actually in Phoenix Tower. It'd be great if she was lying, trying to scare or threaten Chloe.

But if Dorothea's threat was true, that Dorothea already knew about Vernon's identity, then she might have to do the most extreme, whatever that was— as long as Vernon's identity would be safe.

"Good, I'm going to work now. See you later—" Vernon paused for a moment. His mouth was slightly open as there was a word he wanted to say but couldn't because the timing wasn't right.

And that word was 'Honey.'

Vernon exhaled helplessly and patted Chloe's head gently before he entered the elevator and left.

Chloe watched him until the elevator door was completely shut. She let out a relieved breath.

Chloe couldn't keep calm and continued lying through her teeth when Vernon was around. Because she kept remembering how hurt Vernon was when he found out that Chloe was talking to Dorothea on the phone yesterday.

"Well, maybe I'm going to hurt him even more for now. But I will do anything to prevent your downfall, Vernon," Chloe murmured. She was determined to face Dorothea, even if she already had a guess that Dorothea might blackmail her soon or the worst— Vincent was already here, hiding in Dorothea's room, ready to catch Chloe off guard and drag her back into that cage.

But that was just her paranoia talking.

Dorothea might be ignorant and arrogant back then, but she never tried to fiddle with Vincent's married life.

Which could be a positive or negative trait depending on the situation.

Of course, no woman wanted to have a nagging mother-in-law.

But no woman would ever wish to get beaten by her husband and ignored by her mother-in-law, even after all the reports she made about Vincent's crazy behavior.

Chloe returned to the penthouse and saw Mackie reading a storybook. She seemed so engrossed with the book that she didn't notice her Mommy walk past her, grab her access key, and sneak right out of the penthouse.

Chloe went down to the eleventh floor and walked to room 1112.

The door was slightly ajar as if the person inside this room had been expecting Chloe's arrival.

Chloe peeked from the gap and saw Dorothea's back as the old woman sat on a chair facing the open balcony.

Chloe's body tensed immediately. She covered her mouth so she wouldn't gasp out of reflex. She stepped back and leaned on the wall to prop herself because her legs felt weak.

'She's here. She knows about Vernon and me!' Chloe was screaming internally. She panicked, and the fear that Dorothea would use this information to ruin Vernon's life made her palpitate.

Her instinct told her to flee because that was all she could do most of the time: cower or flee so she wouldn't get hurt.

But when she checked Dorothea again. She sensed something that Dorothea never showed before, and that was… vulnerability.

Chloe could only see her back, but that was all she needed to realize that Dorothea looked weak.

Her shoulder drooped like the old woman that she should be. She placed her hands on the armrests, and Chloe noticed how her fingers were shaking from time to time as if she had been enduring extreme pain that she couldn't bear.

This wasn't the usually proud and condescending Dorothea. She looked like a regular old woman with so much mental exhaustion.

…

Chloe's fear slowly dissipated as she kept staring at Dorothea's back, and at some point, the fear had been replaced with pity.

She knew it was crazy for her to pity Dorothea just because she looked weak. After all, when Chloe was at her lowest, Dorothea never gave her an ounce of pity.

No matter how many times Chloe told Dorothea that Vincent was hurting her, Dorothea would turn blind eyes and then ignore Chloe's completely, saying that it wasn't her concern Chloe couldn't be a good wife to Vincent or that Chloe was simply overreacting.

Chloe felt that she should be vengeful to that old woman. She should laugh at Dorothea for looking so weak and vulnerable and also taunt her in the process so Dorothea will understand how much pain Chloe felt when living with Vincent for the past ten years. After all, karma is a bitch, right?

But Chloe was never a vengeful person. She never wanted to hurt others, a trait she sometimes despised because it made her weak and stupid, just like how Vincent described her.

Chloe was still thinking about whether she should just barge in and talk with Dorothea or leave, but before she finished thinking, her legs had already moved on their own when she heard a sob from Dorothea.

Chloe opened the door and closed it behind her. She walked in carefully and stood behind Dorothea.

From this angle, Chloe could see how frail Dorothea looked. She could see Dorothea's side profile and noticed the exhaustion on her face.

She had lost the glamorous beauty she had spent so much money on. Dorothea looked like she had been aging a lot faster since the last time Chloe saw her, and her eye was slightly droopy, watching the bustling morning of New York city from the balcony.

"I'm glad you came, Chloe," Dorothea said without looking at her daughter-in-law. She smiled thin as she continued, "I thought you'd chicken out as usual. Won't blame you if you do so, though."

Dorothea's snark was actually on point. Chloe was about to chicken out. But two reasons made her stay and confront Dorothea instead of running away.

First, she felt that Dorothea's vulnerability was very odd, and it concerned her to see the usually condescending woman become so weak.