Chloeâs face turned pale, and she instinctively took a step back.
âItâs not like thatâ¦â
Elsa crossed her arms arrogantly, looking at Chloe with disdain.
âNo? Hehe, guess why Simon agreed to marry you under his motherâs pressure. The Pierce family had plenty of options to choose from, yet they chose you? Itâs because youâre like meâ
âEven the Pierce family knew they needed to find a girl who looks like me to replace, because Simon will marry you, a girl who also looks like me, to keep me alive.â
Elsaâs words struck Chloe deeplyâ¦
Elsa gazed at Chloe with contempt, though deep down, she felt a mix of jealousy and injustice.
The position of being Lylaâs daughter-in-law should have been hers. It was just a simple argument with Simon that day, and yet Chloe had the audacity to interfere their relationship.
Elsa discovered that, ever since she became famous, she had been subjected to ridicule wherever she went. She had hoped to find another suitor to replace Simon, but the men she encountered were repulsive, treating her with lascivious gazes.
However⦠none of them would consider marrying into her family; they simply wanted to have some fun.
It was only then that Elsa realized how good Simon was. Only Simon truly loved and cared for herâ¦
Furthermore, she had also heard that after Chloe married into the family, Lyla transferred all the assets under Simonâs name to Chloeâs name.
If she had known this earlier, why did she make a fuss about buying a car?!
Everything should have been hers!
Now, they were all taken away by Chloe, who she considered to be a despicable person. When she learned that the Pierce family was in dire need, Chloe had eagerly presented herselfâit was truly shameless.
In short, Elsa felt deep regret. This time, she vowed to reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to herâ¦
âIf you have any sense left, youâll leave on your own and avoid a miserable fate,â Elsa said.
Chloeâs face twisted in anger, but she remained silentâ¦
It was not Elsaâs words that hurt her the most, but Simonâ¦
Since that night, Simonâs attitude had suddenly become ambiguous. Sometimes he was kind to her, but other times he distanced himself.
Chloe believed that she could continue like this with him, not needing to be clingy, as long as she silently stood by his side.
The fleeting moments of affection gave her the illusion that he might have feelings for her as well. But it turned outâ¦
If the entire world demanded that she step back, she would refuse!
However⦠if Simon said something, Chloe felt that she would not be able to hold on.
Lost in her thoughts, Chloe suddenly felt Elsa grab her hand and slap her across the face.
âAh⦠why did you hit me?â Elsaâs eyes widened.
Chloe was still caught up in her own emotions when she realized that Simon had walked out at some point.
Elsa did it intentionally.
Chloe was dumbfounded. It felt like she was trapped in a drama!
She expected Elsa to either fall to the ground or throw herself into Simonâs arms.
But instead, Elsa raised her hand again and slapped her hard!
âSlap!â
The sound was so loud that even Bellflower, who had been crawling forward, froze in place.
Tears welled up in Elsaâs eyes as she glared at Chloe with anger and defiance. Biting her lip, she said unwillingly, âIf you hit me, Iâll hit you back!â
Chloe was too shocked to react to this unexpected turn of events.
What made matters worse was that she had received a solid slap, yet it was Simon who angrily exclaimed, âWhat are you doing!â
Chloe stood there, her mouth agape in disbelief. âShe hit meâ¦â
Simon, filled with anger, instinctively rushed towards Elsa to check on her. He looked at Chloe with disappointment and said, âI know she hit you, I saw it. But why did she hit you?â
âIf you didnât hit her, would she have hit you?â
Simon knew Elsa too well. She was not the type to cry and whimper. He could even see through her act of pretending to be pitiful earlier.
If someone attacked her, she would hit back. That was the real Elsa.
Simon simply liked Elsaâs genuine natureâ¦
And Elsa knew that Simon understood her. That was why she had done it intentionally.
But what could others do to her? Elsa looked at Chloe contemptuously.
Chloe felt her fingers grow cold and tried to explain again, âI didnât hit her, she hit herselfâ¦â
Unexpectedly, Simon looked at her with even greater disappointment and a trace of disgust.
âChloe, youâve disappointed me so much. I thought you were a reasonable girl.â
Elsaâs heart sank into an icy abyss. She tried to explain herself, but Simonâs words cut her off. The dog head floated toward her.
This brought back memories of Simonâs kindness and his despair when he lost Elsa. She had experienced it herselfâ¦
If not explaining would make him feel better, why would she bother herself?
Chloe was depressedâ¦
Josh, who had been observing them through binoculars, had long forgotten what he was supposed to do. The drama unfolding before his eyes was too captivating. Simon was angry, Elsa was angry, and Chloe was trying to defend herself.
âCrack!â
âBellflower, damn it!â Josh exclaimed indignantly. âCatch that clingy dog!â
Zachary raised an eyebrow and taunted, âOh? You finally saw the clingy dog?â
Josh was frustrated.
He had not paid attention to the dogâs presence earlier. But now, with its big head resting on Chloe and licking her, how could he overlook it?