Chapter 4 See You at City Hall

When Karen reached Chloe, she patted her daughter’s back and consoled her, "Don't be angry, Coco. I've already scolded Ava.

“You're her younger sister. Of course, she only wants the best for you.”

"I'm sorry, Coco. I'll call off the engagement tomorrow," Ava said, her lovely eyes shimmering with tears. She looked like she was a victim of Chloe's unreasonable claims.

"Although we can't force someone to love us and since you like him, as your older sister, I shouldn't have gotten too close to him..."

Getting dumped by Jake had hurt, but Ava's words felt like salt in a wound. Chloe was enraged as she hissed, "Too close? You mean sleep with him?"

"That's enough!" Benjamin could not take it anymore and shouted in anger. "The engagement will proceed as planned. The invitations have already been sent out. I can't afford to become the laughingstock of the city like you!"

"But I'm only telling the truth!"

Chloe's eyes turned red as she pointed at Karen, emphasizing every word that spilled out of her mouth, "Ava and she are the kind of people who like to steal other people's husbands. Why do you believe everything they say?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Benjamin raised his hand and slapped Chloe with all his might, throwing her head to the side and causing her ears to ring.

A trace of satisfaction crossed Karen's eyes. However, she feigned panic and stepped up to stop Benjamin. "What are you doing, Ben? How could you slap Coco?"

"She's spoiled rotten, and you still want to take her side? Stay in this house if you can, and if you can't, get lost. You're just like your mother who died early, bringing bad luck wherever you go." Benjamin was infuriated and stared at Chloe in disgust.

The way he looked at her was not like that of a father. Instead, it felt like he was looking at an enemy.

"It's normal for kids of her age to have a temper. You have to wake up early tomorrow. Let's go to bed," Karen said before gesturing at Ava. "You stay here and keep Coco company."

"You work so hard every day. I’m sorry for making you worried, Dad," Ava added empathetically.

*

Chloe froze after being slapped by her father, her body tense with emotion.

It was Karen who had inserted herself into Chloe's family. After Chloe's mother passed away due to illness, Karen came in and took her place. She even brought Ava with her, who was one year older than Chloe.

And now, it was Chloe who was being pushed out.

Nonetheless, all of that became inconsequential when Benjamin hit her. At that moment, Chloe finally understood his true character. He had never valued her or her mother, no matter how much they tried to please him.

As Benjamin and Karen disappeared into the bedroom, Chloe saw Ava's gentle expression transform into a scornful smirk. She approached Chloe and started insulting her in a hushed voice, audible only to the two of them, "I thought Jake would be a tough nut to crack, but with a mere beckon of my finger, he was ready to swear his loyalty to me and break up with you. It was barely a challenge. He even confessed that he was tired of you."

Chloe looked at Ava expressionlessly and said, "That's because he's a dog that likes to eat sh*t."

Ava choked and glared back angrily. "Watch your mouth!"

Chloe turned around and went to her room. Sitting on the side of her bed, she took out the business card from her purse. It only had a name and phone number printed on it. She whispered softly, "Joseph Whitman…"

'Wait,' she thought, ‘Doesn’t Jake's mother have a different surname?'

But in the next second, Chloe felt that it did not matter. She, after all, had always thought of Jake’s mother as a Cooper. She was probably just misremembering things.

Putting such trivial matters to the back of her head, Chloe pulled out her phone and dialed the number on the card.

"Mr. Joseph, I've made up my mind. Let's meet at City Hall tomorrow afternoon."