Chapter 497 497

Chloe let out a relieved breath once Vernon left the penthouse carrying the tumbler. It was a sign that he wasn't all that mad to her.

Maybe he was in a bad mood because of work, so he had that naturally bitter face the whole time.

"See? I'm just overthinking," Chloe said as she tried to convince herself. "He hasn't noticed a thing, and that's good. I don't want him to notice Dorothea's presence way too early. I still have to plan out the best way to introduce Dorothea to our small family."

Chloe grabbed her phone on the kitchen counter and texted Dorothea, asking if she was available, and Dorothea replied quickly;

-

Dorothea:

Please come at seven, the door will be slightly open like yesterday.

I also want to tell you about the progress of my plan to disturb Vincent's charity work.

-

"Great!" Chloe cheered. She checked the time and realized that she only needed to wait fifteen minutes before going to the eleventh floor.

Chloe hummed as she made two more banana-apple smoothies for Mackie and Dorothea. She didn't know if Dorothea liked this kind of drink, but Vernon and Mackie had the same taste, so she thought their tastebud must've been inherited by someone in the family.

She was busy cutting the banana and apple with one hand skillfully, when Mackie suddenly came upstair.

She rubbed her eyes and stared at her Mommy, who was busy making smoothies as always, and asked, "Good morning, Mommy...."

"Morning, dear," Chloe turned her head towards her daughter and smiled. "I'm still preparing a banana smoothie for you."

"Mommy, can I eat cereal today?"

"Cereal? Alright then, but not too much, okay? Eating too much cereal is not good," Chloe said. She grabbed a bowl, cereal box, and milk from the fridge to the dinner table.

Mackie was already used to preparing her own cereal and generally would be happier if she was allowed to do so.

Thus, Chloe allowed her daughter to help herself while she poured the banana-apple smoothie into a tumbler.

She also poured the rest into a glass and decided to have that as breakfast.

She sat in front of her daughter. She watched her daughter, who was eating cereal and milk. Though she probably poured too much cereal compared to the milk because she loved the sugary cereal.

Mackie glanced at her Mommy and then at Uncle Vernon's bedroom door that had been opened and asked, "Mommy, where's Uncle?"

"He went to work early," Chloe replied. "He's busy."

"Mm... is he mad?"

"Huh? Mad? Why?"

"I don't know, Mommy," Mackie shrugged. "Uncle looked so scary when I told him that you left for four hours. He was like-- the real Big bad wolf from my school play!"

"Ahahaha... he always looks scary, don't you think?"

"Nu-uh," Mackie shook her head. "Uncle is usually very kind. He might not smile so much, unlike Daddy. But he is very kind when talking about you!"

"Really?"

"Um! Uncle is always happy whenever he talks about you!"

...

'Crap, now I feel guilty for lying to him.'

Chloe already knew that Vernon had feelings for her. He might call it love. However, Chloe thought Vernon's love for an old, ugly, unassuming woman like her was weird.

But if she had to be honest, she also felt the same.

As she lived with Vernon for the past seven months, she realized that Vernon had all the traits that Vincent lacked.

He showed more genuine emotion.

He was tough on the outside but surprisingly very attentive and soft in the inside.

He was full of passion. His touch carried the heat that Vincent lacked. He was the man that Chloe's body was naturally attracted to.

So she'd be lying if she said she didn't have the same feeling.

She was attracted to Vernon, and she found that feeling to be dangerous and unnecessary.

'He might not realize that I lied to him for now. But what'd happen when he found out about me hiding the news about Dorothea once I introduced her to our small family?' Chloe started to get anxious. She realized that she wasn't thinking about the long-term impact.

'Surely, Vernon would be angry and feel betrayed...' Chloe thought. 'But I really can't let Dorothea leave without trying to mend her relationship with Vernon!'

Mackie watched as her Mommy gradually turned anxious for some reason. Though she was still a child, she had seen that expression more often when they lived with Daddy in their real home.

Mommy would always have that expression, and whenever Mackie asked if she was alright, she'd try to smile and say that everything was alright and Mommy was okay.

Toddler Mackie couldn't discern that something was wrong.

But as Mackie grew older and lived with Uncle, she realized that Mommy's anxiety in their old home was not supposed to happen because Mommy was mostly in a good mood when she lived here with Uncle.

Now that she showed her anxiety again, something must be wrong.

"Mommy, is everything okay?" Mackie asked. She scooped a spoonful of cereal and milk while staring at her Mommy.

"Ah-- E--everything is okay, dear. Just finish your cereal, okay?"

...

"Mommy, do you want to go out again?"

"Ah-- uh..."

"It's okay, Mommy. I won't tell Uncle this time!" Mackie said. "I promise!"

"R--Really?" Chloe was surprised by her daughter's initiative. Usually, Mackie would report everything she did for the whole day to her Uncle so her Uncle knew that she had done a great job today as a cop.

"Un!" Mackie nodded. "Mommy said that you're bored yesterday, so you went out for four hours! Mommy is anxious today, maybe you should walk around the apartment again!"

"Mackie..."

"Un, I won't tell Uncle. But Mommy must promise me that you won't be sad or anxious after you return home, okay?"

Chloe got up and hugged her daughter from behind. She kissed her daughter's forehead and murmured, "Oh dear, thank you so much. I promise to bring you with me once everything has been settled."

"Un! I also want to go for a walk!" Mackie said. "I hope my new school will be very big, so I can walk a lot!"