Chapter 500 500

"Why don't you put yourself in my shoes?" Vernon said.

"W--What do you mean, Sir?"

...

Vernon paused for a while. He had a moment of clarity. He contemplated telling Diamond about his past and his deepest feelings for Chloe.

Of course, he could shove Diamond to the side and enter that elevator. But he felt that Diamond's bias was unfair.

He was obviously the one getting hurt here. Why would Diamond try to defend a cheater just because Chloe was her best friend?

Thus, he decided to let it all out so she'd understand.

"Imagine yourself born as an unwanted child, your father didn't give a shit about you, your mother despised you, and your Big brother treated you like his pet," Vernon said.

Diamond gasped. It seemed that her boss wanted to open up about his past in front of her, which was taboo to talk about this whole time.

"Your life was bleak and depressing. You were a child starving for love and attention... then a young woman-- ten years older than you, came to your life. She showered you with genuine love and attention that you never had in your life before."

"As you spent the time together, of course, you'd fall in love with her, and you thought you had the chance even with the age gap...."

"Then everything was robbed in front of your eyes. She told your father that she'd rather marry your Big brother because he was better, and you were just a useless piece of shit with no future."

"And she did, she chose your Big brother, married him and shoved you to the side. She was so happy with her new life that she simply forgot about your existence."

"So you left, with all of your heartbreak, you left your home to Europe. Because you thought your presence was unneeded, and the love of your life had abandoned you."

"Your life was filled with nightmares. Days were fleeting, you got drunk, slept with random women, studied hard and then worked your ass off every day. But no matter how successful you were, you still felt empty."

"So you returned to New York, worked here, thinking that you could at least catch a glimpse of her with her lovely family, only to realize that the marriage failed."

"So you thought you'd finally had the chance... to avenge your pain to both of them. Then you realized that she was actually suffering from constant mental and physical abuse."

"So you abandon your plan for a revenge, and take her in, constantly treating her gently so she'd heal from her trauma while hoping that eventually you could be the man that'd treat her right."

"And you thought everything was going smoothly until this random man suddenly entered our life and fucked her while I'm here working my ass off for our future," Vernon scoffed. The more he tried to laugh it off, the scarier he got. "I want to see what kind of man dares to touch my woman. Is he better than me? Or it's just Chloe spurring out of control because she wants to taste another man's dick."

"But the reason doesn't matter in the end, because I will kill that bastard and make sure that Chloe won't be able to do this again in the future," Vernon said coldly.

Diamond listened to everything and was so shocked that she couldn't speak anymore.

Because she actually sympathized with her boss who was about to murder someone soon.

"Step aside, Diamond," Vernon ordered.

"Sir, t--think about this. Please, you... you're going to make a big mistake!"

Vernon looked down at Diamond with a cold gaze, "I know you're her best friend. But she called me a useless-good-for-nothing man in front of my dad and now cheated on me. You'd step aside now if you still have any conscience."

...

Diamond lowered her head. She really wanted to believe that Chloe did no wrong.

But Anna said a male guest was in room 1112, and Vernon claimed he had the video footage of Chloe going inside that room.

It was too hard for her to defend her homegirl, and Vernon was right... if she still had a conscience, she'd step aside.

And so she did...

Diamond stepped to the right, allowing her boss to pass her.

She dared not look back, afraid that she'd change her mind, and tried to stop her boss again.

She heard the elevator door closed with a Ding, and her feet wobbled as she tried to reach the sofa to sit.

Diamond was so shocked that she still didn't know whether she had made the right judgment or not.

"But I can't stop him if what he said is right, Chloe...." Diamond said. She covered her face with her palms. She was confused and frustrated at the same time.

"Chloe, Did I really make the wrong judgment about you? I thought you're my best friend, and I'm usually good at reading someone's personality...." Diamond murmured. "Am I wrong all this time? Are you really that kind of whore?"

"Chloe-- Homegirl-- I... I don't know if I can continue being your friend if his accusation is true...."

**

Chloe entered Dorothea's room and saw the old woman watching random news on the TV.

"Morning, Dorothea," Chloe greeted with a smile, and Dorothea smiled back at her.

"Morning, I thought it'd take you a while to return here," Dorothea said. "After all, you're living with Vernon right now. You have to be careful, you know...."

"Ahaha, relax," Chloe sat next to Dorothea and put the tumbler on the coffee table in front of them. "He hasn't suspected a thing.

"Are you sure? I don't think you're a good liar," Dorothea said. "Vernon is not stupid. He must be perceptive enough to read lies."

"Well, I guess he's just too busy with work. That's why he hasn't noticed a thing," Chloe tried to pacify Dorothea. "Though I do feel guilty for lying, but it can't be helped, since I can't just bring you inside the penthouse and act like we're all good."