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CHAPTER 34

WHEN Chloe arrived at their house, her parents, who were in the living room and seemed like they just arrived, got surprised upon seeing her.

"Chloe. You're already here?" Her mother said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Where is Vito?" Her father seemed confused and even looked past her. She gritted her teeth.

"I left him there in the store."

Her father stood up abruptly from sitting in the couch. "What?! Why would you do that?! Vito even came all the here from Tallahassee just to see you!"

"I didn't ask him to come, dad. Why would I stay there with him in the first place? We went there with the purpose of buying a dress for me but I never said that I would agree to be with Vito in case he happened to show up.

"I left because I didn't see any reason to stay there with him. What about you, mom, dad? Why did you have to leave like that? Why did you have to set me up into being with Vito?" Even though she was enraged, she tried her best not to raise her voice that much even though it was hard to do so.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Chloe. We left because my feet were already killing me and since Vito happened to be there, your mother and I gladly left because we were sure that you would be in safe hands. We trust Vito." She shook her head upon hearing the response of her father.

"Stop trying to mislead me, dad, because I know you. I don't know what you were planning to do that you even invited Vito to join us today but I'm sorry, I can't play along this time. I have a boyfriend and being with another man like that without his knowledge is cheating which I can never commit no matter what happens." Her mother gasped.

"What? You have a boyfriend? Since when? Why didn't you mention about this to me?"

She closed her eyes momentarily as she suddenly felt her head ache. "I'll tell you about him next time, mom. For now, I need to be alone." She turned her back on them and was about to head towards the stairs when her father spoke.

"Okay. You can relax for the rest of the day but remember to get ready on time for the party."

She gritted her teeth. "I don't—"

"—Your presence in the party is a must, Chloe, so don't start with me. You know what needs to be done so don't make me repeat it all over again. We already talked about this a thousand times." His voice was firm and held finality. Her fists tightened. She really felt trapped and helpless.

Her eyes watered but she didn't want to cry. She quickly ascended the stairs and went inside her room.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to go to that party but at the same time, a part of her wanted to because of what she was planning to do. Running away from all of this wouldn't solve anything anyway.

She wanted to call Cross but she knew that he was busy in whatever he was doing that was why she just chose to doze off to rest. It was already 5 pm when her mother woke her up and without any energy at all, she prepped herself for the party, determined to do what she was planning to do.

"Oh, you're really so pretty, darling. I can't believe how time flies. Now, you're a beautiful and intelligent woman and I'm proud of what you've become. Your dad and I are." Her mother said while fixing her hair. Since she was just a kid, everytime Chloe attends parties like this, her mother would always do her hair.

"Really, mom? If so, then why do I feel like this? I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm thankful because I grew up comfortably and had all the material things that I wanted. But there are times that I feel like I'm not enough for you and dad.

"You two keep on pushing me to do things that I don't even want to do without even asking me if I wanted to do it or not, especially dad. Honestly, it's very hard to be your daughter." She confessed full of resentment and mother got surprised.

"Oh, darling, don't say that! I know that you've been trying your best to understand your father in everything that he does but can I ask you to extend your understanding even further? Yes, I know that he's beyond strict but you know that he means well." Chloe didn't answer but a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

Of course, her mother would always defend the actions of her father and would always ask her to just try to understand.

She'd been trying ever since she was young but now, she reached the point where she felt so tired in doing so.

"I don't know if I'm still capable of doing that any further, mom. Trust me, I've been trying my best to please you two, especially dad, but it seems it's nowhere enough. My efforts are still not enough. I'm sorry that your daughter is not as intelligent and successful as you." Her mother stopped what she was doing and made her face her.

"That's not true! You're an intelligent woman and you're successful on your own too not to mention kind, sweet and gentle soul even though you tend to hide that part of you from other people. Why would you think that you're not enough for us?"

"Because that's what I've been feeling for the longest time and honestly, I'm tired of it. You know why I chose to work at Larsen Corp. instead of helping you and dad managing our businesses?" Her mother shook her head, still stunned.

"Because I wanted to get away and experience freedom. Yes, I love you and dad but I felt like I would regret for the rest of my life if I wouldn't do everything that I wanted to do without your meddling. I wanted to live freely without dad dictating what I would do. Honestly, I wanted to be free from all the responsibilities of being your daughter even just for a short while and I experienced all that in Tallahassee.

"Initially, that was the only goals I desperately wanted to achieve but God gave me more than I expected. I learned how to be truly happy even just by doing simple things. I learned how to appreciate those small details of life because a special person came to my life and taught me to.

"Because of him, I learned how to be in love and I'm genuinely happy whenever we're together which I've never felt before. I thought, I already experienced true love when I was with Liam before but I was wrong. My feelings for him were shallow and now, I finally understand why I got to totally move on from him for a short period of time although, he managed to leave a scar within me because of what he had done to me but that was it.

"He had left nothing but pain and disappointment which led me to be distrustful with men. But everything changed when the right one came.

"What I'm feeling right now is deep and special and I can't afford to lose him. I'm sorry that I'm being selfish right now but I'm already in love with him, to the point of no return." Her mother's lips parted in shock because of what she said.

"Oh, my. So, it's true that you have a boyfriend?"

Chloe nodded her head. "Yes, mom and just like I've said just now; I love him so much and I don't have any plans of leaving him. I'm sorry but this time, I'm choosing my happiness." Her mother was silent for a minute or two before she released a breath.

"What about your promise to the Larsen family? You know how our family values a promise, especially your father. I don't think, he will accept your decision easily and I'm worried of what he might do if you continued on disobeying him." Her voice had a tinge of worry and Chloe chewed on her bottom lip.

"I know that mom. Knowing dad, he will surely do everything he could for that promise to happen but I already made up my mind. I know it's my fault for giving my word to the Larsen family but I still believe that I could fix this with a proper communication."

"What do you mean, darling? Don't tell me..."

"Yes, mom. I'll talk to the Larsen family once and for all that's why I will attend the party. I want to make them understand that I can't push through my initial promise to them because my situation is different now. I'm sure, they will understand if I explain it right."

"Do you think, everything is as easy as it sounds? You're taking the situation lightly, Chloe." Chloe and her mother looked at the person who spoke at the door. It was her father, wearing a serious face.

He was already dressed up for the party.

"D-Dad..."

"If you really want to talk to the Larsen family tonight, you can try doing so but I'm giving you a warning now. Mr. Larsen is not an easy person to talk to especially about promises. You know what's at stake here so you should think thoroughly before you do something that could potentially affect our whole family." Before she could react, he turned his back and left which surprised her.

She thought, her father would chide at her for what she was planning but he actually didn't and it was new.

"Chloe, listen to me." She met her mother's gaze and saw concern in her eyes. "You know that no matter what happens, we still love you, right? Even though, you question that love most of the time, I know deep inside my heart that we love you so much because you're our daughter. We only want the best for you and aside from that, we also want you to be safe. Please, promise me that you won't do something that could threaten the friendship of our family with the Larsens." Chloe's eyebrows creased.

"What do you mean, mom?"

Her mother took her hands and looked into her eyes. "Just promise me that you're not going to." Even though she got confused of what her mother was saying, she nodded her head.

CHLOE felt like her knees were about to give out on her while they were walking on the red carpet, heading inside the party venue.

Today was the birthday party of the patriarch of the Larsen family and they chose to celebrate it in Tennessee this year for some reason.

Of course, there were many important and popular guests not to mention that the Larsen family was a huge name in the USA that's why press people were there too.

"You look so tense. Just relax, will you?" Chloe's father whispered to her as cameras continued on clicking. The guards were keeping the press away from them and only allowed one from them to ask questions.

To her surprise, the man from the group of press, who was allowed to approached them came up to her. "Hi, Ms. Rosenberg. This is a surprise. You haven't been attending any social gatherings for a while. May I ask you some questions about your acting career? Do you still have any plans of taking any projects?"

"She's not an actress anymore so she's not obligated to answer any of your questions." Her father answered.

"But I'm sure, there's a lot of fans anticipating to hear any news from her. I mean, I'm sure that you still love your fans, right? Just like them, everyone is interested to hear any update from you." The man was very pushy and when the guards noticed what he was doing, they immediately rushed towards them to pull him away from her and her parents but he didn't stop just like that.

"Just one more question before I go." The guards shielded them from him but with a loud voice, he still asked the question he wanted to ask.

"We heard that something special is about to happen tonight on Mr. Larsen's birthday celebration. Does this have got something to do with the rumor that you and his son are about to get married? What about Liam? We haven't heard anything from the two of you since the scandal that happened three years ago.

"People are still speculating until now that what happened three years ago was just a scripted ploy to get attention from the public which unfortunately didn't do you two any good. Is it true that you planned that embarrassing scandal so that you two would get more attention? I mean, Liam lost the Mayoral race but what happened actually made him famous in a way while you on the other hand suddenly disappeared from the showbiz industry." Hearing that made her blood boil.

No one witnessed what she'd been through, aside from selected people in her life, after that scandal so no one had the right to judge her in anyway. Absolutely no one!

Her lips parted, intending to put him in his place when the attention of all the people there shifted to the newly arrived car. A man in black suit opened the car door and Vito got out. The press tried to get an ambush interview from them but the guards quickly avoided them from approaching further.

"Mr. Larsen, is it true that you and Ms. Chloe Rosenberg are dating? Are you going to announce tonight when is the wedding date?" One member of the press asked with a loud voice as Vito marched on the red carpet, towards them but upon hearing that question, his steps came to a halt.

With a smile on his face, he faced the press people. "So, everyone here already heard about the good news." Chloe's forehead crinkled. What?

"So, it's confirmed that you two are together?"

"Yes. Don't worry because the wedding date will be announced sooner than you think." A gasp escaped from her lips while staring at Vito in disbelief.

"What the hell, Vito!" She was about to go to where he was standing but she felt someone hold her by the wrist. Her father.

"Let go of me, dad! I need to go there and take back what Vito had just announced!"

"Don't make a scene, Chloe. If you want to confront him, do it when no one is around."

"But I can't just let him say lies about me and him like this! He's not even my boyfriend for Christ's sake!" She was already fuming, couldn't believe that Vito would do that to her. She thought he was her friend!

"Your father is right, darling. There's a right place and time for everything. You will just embarrass yourself and our family is you confront him right now. It's better for us to go inside. Vito's parents are surely waiting for us." Her mother said and pulled her hand towards the door.

She looked back and saw Vito still talking to the press as if he was enjoying their attention. She gritted her teeth.

Vito has been her friend ever since she could remember and he was one of the few male friends she had that she felt comfortable being with because he's a good person. But now, she felt like he suddenly changed into someone that she couldn't recognize.

Now, she couldn't help but to get nervous of what would transpire in tonight's party. She prepared herself before coming but now, she suddenly felt sick inside as if something bad was about to unfold.

Cross suddenly crossed her mind and her longing for him intensified even more. If he were only here with her, she wouldn't surely feel like she would be going to a war zone alone.

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What do you think will happen in the party? 

What do you think of what Vito had done? Was it right for him to do that to Chloe?

Where do you think is Cross?

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