A Billionaire in Disguise #3 ： The Wrong Side of Midnight(29)

"Matthew, what am I supposed to do?"

"You did this to her, Sylvia, you and your husband. All you can do is wait for her. After all, she waited for you for over two decades. The ball's in your court, and personally, I can't blame Chloe for her reaction." Matthew closed the door.

Chloe drove down the freeway, getting as far away from her mother as she could. When she could no longer see well enough to drive, she pulled over on the shoulder of the road and picked up her cell phone.

"Becky! Come get me! Please … "

"Oh God, sweetie, give me a location and I'll be on my way. Just sit where you are."

When Becky got to Chloe on the shoulder of the interstate she found her slumped over the wheel, bawling her eyes out. Her voice was hoarse from the gut-wrenching noises and broken sentences that came out of her mouth. She opened the passenger side, reached over and turned the flashers on, unbuckled her friend, and shut the Jeep off. All she could do after that was hold her. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but had an idea it had something to do with Matthew visiting Sylvia and Earl.

Twenty minutes later, Chloe lay fast asleep on Becky's shoulder. She quietly sent a text to Matthew. "I'm with her. Don't text or call right now." She picked up Chloe's phone from the cup holder and shut it off. Another hour passed, and Chloe finally lifted her head. She looked around at her surroundings, then at Becky.

"I'm sorry for making you come out here. Sylvia showed up at my apartment asking for forgiveness … told me she wants to start over. All she's doing is setting me up. I'll get hopeful and begin to trust her, and she'll leave again. She's doing this for herself, not me."

"I don't blame you for being ticked off and not trusting her, and I'm not going to tell you to give her a chance. Personally, I want to kick her butt, but that wouldn't solve anything. You need to allow yourself to feel everything you need to feel. If that means being pissed off, that's what it means. You have a right to feel that way."

"She told me she was sorry."

"Do you believe her?"

"I'm afraid to."

"You wanna stay at my place for a while?"

"I wrote my parents a letter that was supposed to stay private. Matthew gave it to them."

"He loves you so much, sweetie, he risked everything to make you better. Even if it meant you'd hate him, he was helping you, the same way you helped him. Don't fault him for that."

"The letter was for my eyes only, Becky."

"So was his account information. Come here."

Becky held her close, but Chloe had no more tears inside her. She was angry and exhausted.

"I think you have two options, love. You can cut your mother out of your life, or you can accept that she screwed up and that maybe you're worth a chance."

"Me? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Maybe you're worth risking some pain at a chance to have a real mother. Are you worth the risk? For all you know, there might not be any pain at all. It might be one of the best things you've ever had happen to you."

Chloe sat in silence for a long while.

"I need to tell her some rules and not allow her to be close enough to hurt me again."

"You do this on your terms, Chloe. She's the one who has stuff to prove, not you, and I'll be with you every step of the way. If you want to go out with your mom, I can go with you. If she gets out of line, I can beat her up." Becky flexed her muscle.


 

 

 

Chloe laughed for the first time. "I think I should go to the house and talk to her. Maybe she'll let me in."

"You want me to drive?"

"Yeah, my mind's a million miles away right now."

Becky walked around the Jeep while Chloe climbed over the counsel. The girls didn't talk until they reached the gates. The guard waved and let them through.

"That was easy," mumbled Becky.

They parked in front of the mansion, and before they could step a foot on the ground, the front doors opened. It was Earl.

"You wanna leave?" asked Becky.

"No, we might as well get this over with."

Chloe approached Earl with a scowl on her face. Part of her wanted to run to him when she saw his eyes water, the other part wanted to take off.

When she walked onto the porch, Earl quickly grabbed her up in his arms. Chloe began to squirm and tried to him push away. The more she tried to resist, the more firm his embrace became.

"I'll be in the Jeep, Chloe. Take as much time as you need, but remember to ask yourself if you're worth it." Becky climbed in and closed the door.

"Come in so we can talk," whispered Earl.

"You want to talk? The only person I can talk to is this!" Chloe took off running upstairs to her room. She came back down a minute later. "Here, this is what I can talk to. This is where you and my mother have lived!" Chloe threw a scrapbook at him. Inside was every article she'd cut out of the newspaper.

Earl turned it over to face the cover and saw all the hearts his daughter had drawn on the cover. He sat down in a chair and began to slowly turn the pages. Each page was a picture of him or Sylvia. "Happy Father's Day, Dad," was written at the top with a photograph of him smiling for the cameras in Africa. "Happy Birthday, Chloe" was on another page with pictures of gifts she wanted and cut outs of families having birthday celebrations or parties with their children.

When Earl's sobbing became loud, Chloe turned and walked out to Becky. "Let's go."

They stayed silent for a few minutes while Chloe calmed herself down. She had to yell and cry to do so."Slow down, Becky, I need to think before I get home. I'm still really angry and I don't want to take it out on Matthew."

" … Do you remember your dad?"

"Not in person. His voice is even foreign to me. Why didn't they just give me up for adoption if they didn't want me or have time to raise a child?"

"There's nothing I can say to make what they did any better. But there is someone I'm going to take you to go see. Someone who's never lied to you, and who you don't have to explain anything to about why you feel the way you do." 

Chapter 16

Becky pulled up in front of Lois' small house and knocked on the door. "Come on, Chloe, get out."

Chloe slowly got out of the Jeep, not knowing why she was brought to this house. When she was halfway up to the front steps, the door opened. She took off in a solid run, throwing herself at the strong woman who'd raised her.

"Lois!"

"Come in, girls, I've been waiting for this day." Lois smiled and closed the door behind them.

"Why aren't you at the mansion?"

"Honey, the only reason I was working there was for you. After you left, there wasn't a need for me."

"Oh my God, I feel so horrible. I never called you after I left, or asked how you were doing when I was in the hospital. I'm so sorry!"

"I knew you were living in Detroit, and when I saw you walking hand in hand with Matthew and that smile was stretched across your face, I knew you were happy."

"You followed me?"

"Actually, I followed Becky. But yes, I needed to check on you. After all those years at the house with you, Chloe, you became like my daughter. Just because you left, didn't mean my job was done."

"I need to talk to you, Lois. I'm so messed up right now, and I have questions only you can answer for me."

Lois took her by the hand and led her into a small, pretty living room. Becky followed behind, but gave the women their space. After the girls were seated, Lois put on a pot of water for tea and set up a tray with cookies she'd made.

Chloe's eyes roamed the room. The walls were painted a soft rose color, and the furniture was old but clean. There weren't any statues or expensive paintings, but adorning a wall were framed photographs of Chloe throughout her childhood. Sitting on a shelf were the dozens of projects she'd made for Lois over the years.

She returned with the tray of tea and cookies. "Here you go, drink some of this," she said as she poured the hot liquid in the cups.

"You kept this stuff … "

"Of course I did. They're my treasures. Do you remember the mess we made when you made those bowls and vases out of pottery clay?"

"Lois, I love you." Chloe got up and held the woman. The sobbing began and she couldn't make it stop. The older woman just stood there and let her cry as long as she needed to. Becky quietly wiped at her own eyes.

When Chloe sat down, she dried her face and took a deep breath. "I don't know where to begin … "

"How about I start then? I know your parents like the back of my hand, and of course, I know you. Everyone acts the way they do for a reason, Chloe, whether it's good or bad. Your parents come with a story of their own. It'll take me a bit, but I'd like for you to listen. I think you're upset and angry out of fear, and all fear comes from a lack of knowledge. I've taught you things all your life, and this is perhaps the greatest lesson."

Chloe sat facing Lois, and from time to time, the old cook would reach over and wipe away a tear off the young woman's face or squeeze her hand.

The story began on the day Lois was hired by the Burlington's, and how she fell in love with Sylvia's baby from the very start. Chloe listened intently and chuckled at some of her stories. They talked for over two hours, and when Lois was finished, Chloe found herself feeling pain in her heart for her mother.