Chapter 14
Chloe’s head was lowered, completely. oblivious to the growing darkness on Steven‘ s face.
After Gianna left, Steven suddenly felt an unsettling clarity in his mind. He belatedly realized that Gianna had never spoken ill of Chloe. On the contrary, it was Chloe who had, both intentionally and
unintentionally, spread negative remarks. about Gianna in front of him.
Suddenly, he felt like a fool. He had blindly trusted Chloe, his childhood friend, who had been subtly sowing discord between him and Gianna. And now, this was the result.
Unable to contain the fury rising inside him any longer, Steven raised his hand and slapped Chloe across the face with a sharp crack.
Staring at him in shock, Chloe was
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Chapter 14
stunned.
Steven‘ s expression was icy, his voice low and cold. “Who told you to say these things?”
The sudden outburst left Chloe rooted to the spot. But soon, she began to play the victim, trying to feign vulnerability.
“Steven, you actually hit me… Did Gianna say something bad about me? I knew it! She’s so cruel and petty, she’s jealous of me and of our childhood bond. You can’t trust her. She just wants to ruin what we have!”
But before she could continue, Steven kicked her hard in the chest, sending her crashing to the ground.
“What are you even worth?” he spat, his voice icy and merciless. “How dare you speak ill of Gianna behind her back?”
His words cut through her like knives. What was happening? What had gone wrong? Steven, who had always treated her
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Chapter 14
kindly, was suddenly a completely different
person.
Chloe writhed in pain on the ground, her face twisted in anger and humiliation. It wasn’t until she reflected on her actions in the past few days and thought she didn’t do anything wrong that she finally found some courage. She wiped her tears and spoke, her voice filled with a dramatic
sorrow.
“Steven, I don‘ t understand why you‘ re treating me like this. Did I do something wrong? You promised me, when we were kids, that you’d always take care of me. But now that you have Gianna, you‘ re discarding me, aren’t you?”
She spoke passionately, her voice breaking in sobs, her words dripping with what seemed like infinite resentment.
“Fine, I’ll leave. I’ll never show my face. in front of you again.
But those last words ignited a fire inside
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Steven. Never see him again? He thought of never seeing Gianna again, and the feeling was like ice, freezing him to the core.
This time, Steven had no patience left for her. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the door of the villa.
“Leave. From now on, don‘ t ever show up in front of me again, or you‘ I know the consequences.
The situation was completely beyond Chloe‘ s expectations. This was not the outcome she had envisioned. Looking at Steven‘ s cold, terrifying face, she realized just how wrong she was.
She clutched his pant leg, begging.
“Steven, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things about Gianna. I was just jealous. Please forgive me this one time. I can’t live without you. I won’t fight with Gianna. I just want to be by your side. A little bit of your love is enough for me.”
But as Chloe confessed, her words turning
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even more ambiguous, Steven felt nothing but discomfort. Her words no longer
comforted him; they only made him feel
worse.
What foolish and ridiculous things had he and Chloe done during this time?
He had abandoned Gianna when she was suffering from appendicitis, on the verge of passing out, and left her on the side of the road.
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