Chapter 482 482

Dorothea admitted that getting no answer from Chloe stung her in her conscience. Because her silence was an agreement that Dorothea was a terrible mother to her sons and an awful mother-in-law to her.

But she realized that Chloe's indirectness was something she actually needed.

Cold hard truth might be easy to say but very hard to swallow.

But Chloe's silent agreement gave time and space for Dorothea to think by herself and swallow the bitter pill.

"It's fine, Chloe. I understand I'm not a good mother for Vernon," Dorothea finally admitted. She finally released her hand on Chloe's arm and returned to her seat. She stared straight at the view of New York City and murmured, "In the end, it's all my fault because I brought him to this world."

Chloe felt something was off with that sentence as if Dorothea was still trying to hide something. Normally, Chloe wasn't a fussy person, but this involved Vernon, and she wanted to know every detail about him just to ensure that she didn't accidentally hurt that big guy's heart.

Chloe grabbed a wooden seat and sat right next to Dorothea.

She knew she couldn't ask directly, so she muttered, "Your hatred for him is not natural, Dorothea. Vernon told me that you beat him with a beer bottle when he was five to six years old."

...

"Is that true?" Chloe demanded an answer.

"Yes, it's true," Dorothea nodded. Her heart was crushed because she had to admit her past sins. "I beat him with a beer bottle, sometimes shoved him to the wall or the ground when he was around that age too. It is my fault, and I will not try to defend myself."

Chloe's mind instantly returned to that moment when Little Vernon stared at her with a glimmer in his eyes as if she was some kind of angel that had been sent for him.

She thought Vernon was just a lonely boy because his family ignored him. But it seemed to be a lot more nefarious than what she saw on the surface.

"I don't understand, Dorothea," Chloe said. "Why would you hurt him that badly? Vernon wasn't even that naughty when he was a kid...."

​ Dorothea glanced at Chloe.

She was glad that she and Chloe could instantly connect and talk like two old friends, but she was also a little sad because Chloe became bolder and asked questions because it involved Vernon, not because of her.

'Well, at least that means she cares a lot about Vernon, unlike me, who has failed him,' Dorothea pondered whether she should tell Chloe about this big secret early in their newly formed bond. But Chloe's seriousness convinced Dorothea to go all out and tell everything, or else Dorothea would never get Chloe's trust.

"Because Vernon was an unwanted kid," Dorothea confessed. She took a deep breath as she was about to drop the big bomb. "He is a product of rape."

Chloe gasped when she heard that sentence. Chloe quickly understood what Dorothea meant because she had also experienced the same.

Vincent tried to rape her many times after she gave birth to Mackie. Saying that Chloe should be grateful that Vincent was willing to fuck an ugly walrus.

But Chloe always resisted crazily whenever Vincent tried to put it in. Usually, Vincent would go soft after she struggled so much.

Thus, he beat her horribly instead as a punishment for her unwillingness.

Dorothea sensed that Chloe must've experienced the same, but the result differed.

"Vaughn also tried to rape me a few times in the past. Though I've always tried to ward him off because he has been cheating with too many women, it makes me feel so gross to be touched by him," Dorothea confessed. The tears that welled in her eyes started streaming down her cheek because she had to open such a painful wound of the past.

"But he took advantage of me when I was drunk. He tied and raped me. I... I can only cry that night, wondering if I should bite my own tongue to kill myself right in that moment," Dorothea said. "But I didn't, and he impregnated me that night."

"I got pregnant soon after, and Vaughn used all means necessary to keep me pregnant. He said that having two children would be fun, and I had to fulfill my duty," Dorothea inhaled deeply. "He said that I'm a woman, and it's my job to get pregnant. He said that the only thing I have of worth is between my thighs."

Chloe remembered that moment when Dorothea said the same thing to her back when she decided to leave Vincent;

-

"The only thing you have of worth is between your thighs."

-

"For each second I had Vernon inside my belly, I felt nothing but hatred and disgust. I hoped I could abort him back then, and it grossed me out that I got pregnant because I got raped by my bastard husband," Dorothea said without a filter.

"After I gave birth to Vernon, I couldn't even look at him. I felt like I'd go crazy if I have to breastfeed him. So they had to find a wet nurse for him."

Dorothea lowered her head, feeling both shame and guilt.

"I know it's not his fault that he was born in this world. But I was basically a waste who could barely keep myself sane by excessive drinking and snorting heroin. I beat him out of spite to Vaughn even though Vernon was just an innocent kid back then."

Dorothea felt the guilt crushing her heart right now. Her tears couldn't stop falling as she couldn't handle the sadness that hit her whenever she remembered her past mistakes.

Chloe lowered her head, just like Dorothea, as she listened to her story. She felt anger, disappointment, and grief as she wanted to comfort Vernon.

He was right.

Dorothea was a terrible mother. He had all the right to be angry and hate her forever.

Because Dorothea was the monster in Vernon's mind. Just like how Vincent was the monster in Chloe's mind.