âItâs too serious to say that. After all, she is Alan Hoyleâs mother, my mother-in-law.â
Chloe Malan snorted, âShe doesnât acknowledge you as her daughter-in-law, why do you want to treat her as mother-in-law?â
âShe can not to acknowledge me, but I canât be unreasonable. As for me, Iâm ready to use softness to conquer strength and to use strength to conquer softness. Then, I donât expect to be an ally with her.
But at least we could be friend.â It was even more impossible to have a mother-daughter relationship.
She didnât expect it.
âHow?â Chloe Malan was somewhat curious.
Olive Steele patted her head, âLetâs talk about this after youâre done thinking about you and Aoba Hoyle.â
The topic was back to her again. Chloe Malan screamed with pain.
Knowing that Aoba Hoyle had returned, Annie rushed upstairs after returned from school. She played there until dinner time, but there was only her alone.
Mr. Steele weirdly asked, âWhereâs your uncle? Why donât you call him come down for dinner together?â
âHe said heâs not hungry now,â Annie answered.
Mrs. Steele said, âThat kid couldnât be keeping distance from us, right?â
After his mother caused trouble, there was still some barriers.
Olive Steele glanced at Chloe Malan. The woman was lowering her head and picking her rice, pretending not to hear. That kid wasnât keeping distance from us, but he was forced by a certain woman until he didnât dare to come downstairs to meet them. He was being pitiful alone. She slightly curled her lips, she said to her mother, âMom, keep some food. Let Annie send them to upstairs.â
âSure. People canât function properly on an empty stomach. You will panic if youâre hungry and not eating. Eating something not normal when youâre young will cause a lot of problems when youâre old.
All of you have to pay attention too. Donât just be busy with work and even forget to eat. Olive Steele, your stomach just recovered with difficulty, so donât fall sick because of overworking,â Mrs. Steele grumbled but there was deep concern between her words.
After dinner, Annie went upstairs to find Aoba Hoyle.
Aoba Hoyle took the warm meal with a warmth in his heart.
The Steele family was warm. No wonder his elder brother was reluctant to leave. Unlike the Hoyle family, there was only one big empty house. Although there were servants, it was still flooded with loneliness everywhere.
Yes. Loneliness. That feeling of death silence was depressing.
Annie was scribbling on his drawing paper. She entered his bedroom while he was eating. She curiously tore open the white cloth on the easel by the bed.
âWow. You really have a crush on Chloe Mommy. You drew her a portrait. So beautiful.â
Aoba Hoyle squeezed the childâs nose amusedly, âLittle girl know what a crush means?â
âIt means like. You like that person, but donât let that person know. But, Uncle, everybody knows you like Chloe Malan. So itâs not a crush, itâs a clear crush.â
The little kid was right. Aoba Hoyle couldnât help thinking was this kid really only five years old? When he was five, he could only curiously pull little girlsâ braids. But looked at his little niece, he was simply a villain.
âThen does Annie think Chloe mommy likes uncle too?â
Annie thought for a while, then said, âI donât know. Chloe mom never said that. So, youâre very pitiful, uncle. You have unrequited love.â
Hearing the little kid made Aoba Hoyle super depressed. Even a five-year-old kid felt pitiful for him. But that woman couldnât even feel it.
Seven days a week. He had only been though for one day, and he couldnât stand wanting to go downstairs and meet her. But he still needed to hold it even if he couldnât. If he provoked that woman, things would be in chaos again and it would be hard to calm it.
Annie had fallen asleep on a pile of comic books which he bought for her. The little kid read it with great interest. Sometimes she would take his drawing paper and pasted on it to trace the comic characters.
He suddenly thought what a funny thing it would be to have a child as smart as Annie with the woman downstairs. He was just 23 years old, but he suddenly had a feeling wanting to be a father.
It might be Annieâs existence had infected him. The little kid was smart, well-behaved, smart, and a little bit naughty. She often made people laugh, adding a lot of fun to adultsâ lives.
Suddenly he felt that he was alone. How lonely.
He called his elder brother, âAnnie has fallen asleep at my place. Let her stay here tonight to accompany this lonely old man.â
This was exactly what Alan Hoyle couldnât ask for. Tonight, the bed would only belong to him and his little wife. He could hug his wife, kiss her, and make love on this newly brought bed without any worries.
At this moment, Chloe Malan, who was in waittingbar, suddenly received a call from home.
The Malan. Not the Steele.
That family had already become a stranger to her.
It was just that the number stored in her phone reminded her that the people over there had to have called for asking money as she couldnât name other things.
The phone had rung several times but she didnât want to answer it.
She hated and mad at that family. In the end, she couldnât find the slightest love. She couldnât find the reason to love them. That family had hurt her heart too badly.
âSister Chloe, you phone has rung several times. Why donât you pick it up?â Edgar woke her up.
âItâs a nuisance call,â Chloe Malan said lazily, lying on the bar stage.
âSister Chloe, I think youâd better pick it up. I see this nuisance call is persistent. I guess it wonât stop until it breaks your phone,â Greg gave an ambiguous smile. He was a certain pursuer.
This bunch of brats knew how to make her happy every day.
The phone went quiet then rang again. It was seriously persistent. She hoped that the one who called her at this moment was Aoba Hoyle, at least he would talk to her, make jokes, and tease her, dispelling the gloom inside her heart.
In the end, under their curious stares, she took her phone and went outside the bar. She coldly said, âWhat?â
âChloe, itâs been a long time youâve come home. Come home this weekend.â It was her irresponsible mother who gave birth to her.
Chloe Malan wanted to laugh. Who drove her out of the house last time? Who told her to never enter the Malanâs house anymore? Had they forgotten?
âGet to the point. What do you want from me this time?â
Mrs. Malan laughed dryly, âMalan, weâre family. Why do you say such things? This weekend happens to be you dadâs birthday. He misses you a little, so come back and see him. You donât need to buy anything, just yourself. Mom has thought about this too, we were selfish back then. We didnât think about you. Now we know that itâs not easy for you to earn money outside. You save it yourself. Come back and see us when you have the time.â
Would there be a red rain pour from the sky? She actually could come home empty-handed. Had all the people in that family changed?
She was afraid that it was just another hole, waiting for her to jump in.
She was already afraid of that family. They were their parents, but they never regarded herself as their daughter. She was fed up with the feeling of being their source of money.
Chloe Malan didnât speak for a long time. Mrs. Malan was a little anxious on the other side, âChloe, Chloe⦠It was mom and dadâs fault back then. Come home this weekend and we will apologize to you.â
âNo need. I donât have time,â she icily replied. She didnât believe they could change their hideous faces in such a short time.
âThen pick a time, weâll visit you. You have lived in the Steele for such a long time. Logically, we should visit and thank them. Then we will prepare some small giftsâ¦â Mrs. Malan talked to herself.
Chloe Malan frowned and interrupted her, âNo, they donât need it.â
She was seriously afraid of causing troubles to her godparents. Even though she spoke something nice now, the shadow they had left on her for a long time made her unable to trust them.
âWhat do you mean no need? This is a courtesy, kid. You eat and live at theirs. We should go and thank them. Or, weâll visit next week.â
âNo, Iâll go back on weekend.â Chloe Malan felt the pressure step by step. She had to say that. She wanted to see what another evil thing they had thought of.