°｡⋆★- - - - -☽───⛧ ༺♰༻ ⛧───☾ - - - -★⋆｡°✩♡

CHAPTER 50

CHLOE groaned and reached her hand beside her but felt nothing but the empty space. She opened her eyes and her chest tightened painfully when she realized that she was alone in her own bed. Her eyes watered but tried her best not to let her tears fall.

Instead of getting up, she stayed lying in her bed and didn't feel like starting her day. She stared at the ceiling with somber eyes. It was still early in the morning, but her mind was full of Cross already.

Everyday from morning until she falls asleep during the night, she had nothing in mind but Cross. It has been a month since the Palazzo Night and she hasn't heard anything from him nor seen him.

With everyday that passes by, she grows desperate to see him. Even though she wasn't sure if it would be her best interest to see him again and ask him the questions that has been bugging her mind this past one month.

Until now, she felt like her world had stopped moving and all the motivations she had before disappeared into thin air.

"Chloe?" Someone called from outside her room but instead of getting up to open the door, she remained staring at the ceiling as if she wasn't hearing anything. it went on for a minute or so.

Then, the door opened, and her mother entered. "I knew it. You're here but why weren't answering?" She asked her in disbelief.

She just threw her a glance. "Mom, please. Not now. I want to be alone."

"What the heck, Chloe?! What's happening with you?! I received a call from Grey and told me about what you've been doing!" She looked around her room.

"Look at this room! It's too dark and unorganized!" She pulled the curtain aside and opened the sliding windows to let the air and sunlight in.

"Mom!" Chloe pulled the blanket over her head and her mother huffed.

"Fine. I'm sorry for acting like that, darling. I'm just not used of seeing you like this. When I heard what's happening to you from Grey, we came here as soon as we could." She sat on the edge of her bed, evidently worried.

"What's happening with you, darling? Mommy is here. You can tell me." Upon hearing that, she felt like all the emotions that she's been holding inside her flowed like an unstoppable river upon hearing. Tears fell from her eyes. As much as she didn't like crying, she couldn't take it anymore.

She pulled the blanket off her and sat up.

"Oh, Chloe, darling." Her mom hugged her upon seeing her crying. She couldn't believe that she finally broke down after a month of holding it in.

All the pain within her was stabbing her heart over and over again and everytime she woke up and alone, she had never felt so cold to the bone before. Grey and his friends together with Jade and Nevaeh have been coming over to check on her but she refused to face them.

She shut everyone out because she didn't want them to see this vulnerable side of her because she didn't want them to feel sorry for her.

She cried her heart out on her mother's chest until her eyes were already puffy and red.

"Cry everything out, darling. Mom is here for you." Her mother said soothingly and then kissed the top of her head, comforting her.

"What happened? Tell mommy. You're making me worry right now." She asked when Choe's tears finally stopped. She pulled away from her mom.

"I don't know what happened, mom. I thought, we were happy and in love, but it seems like I was the only one who was serious about our relationship. Now, I feel so pathetic after he left me with a bleeding heart."

"Was he the boyfriend you were talking about the last time you were home?" Chloe nodded her head.

"Did he break up with you?"

A bitter smile broke across her lips. "I wish, he did."

"What?! He didn't even have the decency to break with you?! What kind of man was that?!" Her mother's voice held anger. Chloe shook her head.

"He left me just like that, mom. Until now, I still can't comprehend what went wrong for him to just discard me like a garbage when he's done with me." Her voice trembled as her emotion began kicking in again. She's never experienced this kind of pain before that was why she didn't know how to deal with it.

It was not even close with what she felt when she caught Liam cheating on her.

She groaned wanting to hit her own head. She didn't want to cry anymore because of Cross but the pain was too great that she couldn't handle it.

Tears began falling from her eyes once again. This was her first time talking about what happened with someone. Her mother cupped her face.

"Look at me." She did as she was told. "That man is nothing, but a coward and he doesn't deserve even a tear from you, Chloe. Yes, I understand that you're hurting right now but you shouldn't stop living just because of what he did. Move on. He's not the only man in this world. I'm sure, you will find someone a lot better than him." Chloe looked down and bit her lower lip.

"Your mother is right." Her gaze flew to the direction of the door and was surprised upon seeing her father, looking at their direction wearing a serious face.

"Dad..."

"I can't believe that you're here, crying over a man who isn't even worth it. I am not going to tell you 'I told you so' because it already happened. But I want you to do one thing and that's for you to get up and continue your life. We didn't raise you just to be weak like this because of a man.

"You've been staying home for weeks now without seeing anyone nor going to work and that's not healthy. Going out will help you heal for sure and if staying here in Tallahassee gives you a hard time, then I think, it's better for you to come back home to Tennessee. Your mother and I will be happy to have you back with us." Chloe was surprised upon hearing that from him.

She really thought that the moment he heard about what happened between her and Cross, he would scold her and blame her for her poor decision-making. But for the first time, he actually didn't.

"Your father is right, darling. You've been living here for so long. We missed you already. Our home is not complete without you in it." She looked at her parents and somehow, it made her feel a lot better knowing that they were there for her.

"You came here for me?"

"Of course, darling. We didn't know what's been happening to you lately because whenever I call you, you never told me anything. I noticed that you were sad but whenever I asked you if you were okay, you always tell me that you're fine. Thankfully, Grey told us. He's been worried about you, you know? Us too. We're worried sick so please stop this. Get up, fix yourself and start living again.

"If you don't want to work today, it's fine. We'll just accompany you here. But promise me that starting tomorrow, you will start getting your life together. This is not like you. Where is the strong Chloe that I used to know?" Her mother said and Chloe looked down to her hands on her belly, trying her best to gather herself together.

She bit her lower lip. Her mom was right. This shouldn't be the end of her world. Even though it hurt like hell, she should get up and continue her life. Not for her but for someone more important...

CHLOE noticed the surprised look on the employees' faces upon seeing her arrived at Larsen Corp. They greeted her and she greeted them back formally.

She felt like it has been so long since the last time she stepped foot in there and even though everything in her life has changed, she knew that she had to move forward even if she didn't know how to.

She promised herself to be strong but while she was walking towards her office, her eyes were looking for a certain person. She wanted to laugh at herself. She didn't know why she was still looking and yearning for him even though it was obvious that he didn't care about her, enough to even say goodbye properly.

That intense pain attacked her chest, but she had to shake that off forcefully. It wasn't just her now so she shouldn't be selfish.

Upon arriving in her office, she worked her a*s off and didn't stop, intending to forget everything and just focus with her work, until someone knocked on her door.

"Chloe..." She slowly tilted her head to see the person who just came in and all the emotions on her face disappeared upon seeing him.

"With all due respect, Mr. Larsen, but I am in the middle of working right now and I don't have any time to spare for talking." Her voice was firm while staring at Vito coldly.

"Chloe, I just wanted to say that I'm glad, you finally came to your senses. Now that you're back, it feels like I got back all the motivation to work too." He walked towards her and then handed her the bouquet of flowers that he was holding.

Vito had been trying to contact her this past one month, but she didn't answer any of his messages nor return his calls. She didn't see any reason to do so.

She huffed. "Vito—"

"—Please, accept it, Chloe. It's for you. This is like a symbol of the new beginning for you and this company."

"There's no new beginning for me here at Larsen Corp., Vito, because I will be leaving this company in a month time. I already gave my resignation letter. I'll just finish everything before leaving for Tennessee for good." His eyes went wide.

"What?! Why?! I thought—"

"—I don't need to explain my decision to you. For now, I'll be working here until I finished my responsibilities that I need to do until the end of the month." Vito's face hardened and was about to answer when his phone rang.

"Dad." He answered, listened for what his father has said for a couple of seconds.

"What?! Are you serious, dad?! I thought Cross no longer works for this company?! Why is he here?!"

Chloe almost gasped loudly upon hearing his name. It has been a while since she heard it and it made her heartbeat faster. But at the same time, the pain surged within her instantaneously.

She groaned inwardly. Just hearing his name was already affecting her and she wanted to hit her own head. Even after all the pain, he still affected her this much.

She wasn't ready to see him but at the same time, maybe this would be a good chance to put an end to their chapter and finally start really moving forward. Without him by her side.

"Okay, dad. I'm coming. I'm currently here at Chloe's office...Okay dad." He then ended the call.

"Chloe, dad said that we're needed at the conference room. I don't know what's happening but apparently, Cross is also there. That fùcker! After what he did, he still has the nerve to show himself here. I can't believe it." Vito was undeniably mad.

She raised her chin proudly and stood up. "If our presence is needed there, then let's go. Let's get this over with. I have a lot of work to do so I can't afford to waste time."

"Are you sure, it's okay with you?"

She scoffed. "Don't act like you care, Vito. I don't know what you're trying to prove by coming here but one thing's for sure. You're just like him, trying to use me in any way you can to achieve your goals." Before he could react, she marched her way out of her office without waiting for him.

Upon arriving at the conference room, she noticed that all the important people in the company was present. They were already seated quietly as if they were waiting for someone. In not so obvious manner, she looked around, but Cross wasn't there.

She greeted everyone formally and then sat on a vacant seat.

"I'm glad you're here, Chloe. I know that you're busy, but I've already made up my mind about a very important decision involving the future of this company and I want everyone to know as soon as possible so that we could start implementing the possible changes."

"Pardon me, sir, but I wasn't aware about this. But whatever it is, I hope that it will be for the betterment of the company." The CEO was about to answer when Vito entered with furrowed eyebrows and sat next to his father. She was at his left side while Vito was seated at his right.

"What's happening here, dad? How come no one informed me about this meeting?" He then looked around as if he was looking for someone. Even without him voicing it out, she knew that he was looking for Cross too.

"Because I wanted to surprise everyone about this. I've been giving this thing a thought for months now and now, I finally made my final decision."

"About what?"

"You'll see. For now, let's wait." He then checked the time on his wristwatch. Vito was about to say something again when the door opened. The CEO's face brightened.

"Oh, he's finally here." Everyone looked at the newly arrived person and Chloe gasped in shock upon seeing Cross.

He was wearing a serious face and his looks screamed of wealth and power. It was her first time seeing him wearing his office coat and tie and it suited him well. Even his hair looked neat, but his bad boy look was still as bada*s as she could remember.

He looked intimidated as his aquamarine eyes held no emotion at all.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm sorry for making you wait." Even his voice was formal. Chloe thought that he would at least look at her way, but her heart ached when he didn't even throw her a glance as if he wasn't interested in her presence.

"What are you doing here? And you even made everyone here wait? This just shows how ignorant you are when it comes to things like this." Vito remarked sarcastically.

"Stop, Vito. Your brother was the earliest one here, but he had to do something in his office that's why he had to leave the conference room for a couple of minutes." Mr. Larsen said, and Vito looked at him in disbelief.

"Office?! What the hell are you talking about, dad? Since when he had an office here?!"

"That's the reason why I called for everyone today." Mr. Larsen stood up, went to the front, and motioned for Cross to stand next to him. Chloe felt like her breath get trapped in her throat while her eyes were fixed on him.

She wanted to stand up and confront him right there and then, but she had to act professionally. Why wasn't he acting like she wasn't there? After what he did, he would act like this? How could he?!

"Ladies and gentlemen, just like I've told you before, I've been planning to step down as the CEO of this company after dedicating almost my entire life in it." Vito stood up abruptly upon hearing that. He looked utterly confused.

"You already made your decision, dad? Why didn't you tell me about this? I thought you were going to stay for at least 3 more years?"

"I changed my mind. I had to consider my health. I am already getting old, and my body can't handle stress and fatigue like it used to. Since starting this company, I've been working my a*s off nonstop and now, I found my successor. Vito, come here and join us." Vito's face got excited and looked at Cross with a smirk but the latter ignored him. They stood in front of everyone, with their father standing between them.

"Everyone who knows me and Larsen Corp. know that Vito here is my son but unbeknownst to the world, I have an older son and it is Cross." Everyone including the board were shocked. "It's not that I chose to hide about him to the world, but my son here doesn't like attention and prefers to live simply without the attention of the people.

"In fact, I thought, he would never have any interest in this company until he proved me wrong recently. While my younger son here has been helping me manage this company from the moment that he graduated University. I saw his dedication and effort and I'm so happy knowing that he has interest in managing Larsen Corp." Everyone could see how proud he was to his sons.

"Of course, dad. I knew that this company is very important to you and our family that's why I will do everything to protect it." Vito seemed happy and thrilled.

"That's good to hear, Vito, because your brother here will be needing your support." Vito went still.

"W-What do you mean by that, dad?"

"Because Cross here is the new President and CEO of this company and I hope, you will give your 100% support to him." Vito was stunned and couldn't react right away while Chloe's jaw dropped. 

°｡⋆★- - - - -☽───⛧ ༺♰༻ ⛧───☾ - - - -★⋆｡°✩♡

What do you think happened to Cross after the party last month?

Do you think Cross didn't want Chloe anymore that's why he left her without a word?

Did you expect Cross to be the successor of their father?

COMMENT, VOTE, SHARE & FOLLOW