Chapter 48 Ambiguity
That evening, as usual, Chloe went to sleep in the neighboring bedroom. Donovan did not invite Chloe back to his bedroom.
On Saturday, Chloe woke up around ten in the morning.
Rubbing her eyes, she walked down the stairs and saw Donovan chatting with Samuel at the dining table.
She had no idea what time they had eaten or how long they had been talking.
Chloe's stomach grumbled with hunger.
Donovan glanced at her before continuing his conversation with Samuel.
"Chloe, are you planning to have breakfast or lunch?" Maya teased Chloe as she saw her come down.
"Um, just whip up something quick for me, please, Maya," said Chloe. Probably because she was used to fending for herself from a young age, she didn't easily adjust to having things handed to her. She often felt guilty for troubling others, expressing a lot of gratitude in her speech.
"Okay, I've made you Pumpkin Pie. It'll be ready in no time."
"Chloe, what are your plans for today?" Samuel asked Chloe.
Samuel's tone when talking to Chloe shifted, which was different from how he spoke to Donovan.
Chloe's gaze moved to Donovan. "I visit my mom every Saturday, and I want to go this week too. Are you okay with that?"
The last time Jacob came to threaten Donovan, it made Donovan aware of everything happening at home. Chloe figured she might as well be open about it, saving the trouble of making excuses every time she wanted to see her mom.
"Go ahead," Donovan said.
"Is Chloe's mother ill? Aren't you going as her son-in-law?" Samuel seemed somewhat surprised. "This isn't the way of the Blake family."
Chloe was astonished—she was content with Donovan agreeing to her visit. As for him going, she never really hoped for it, or rather, deep down, she always knew that her relationship with Donovan was a sham. She never truly entertained the idea of him visiting her mother.
"Alright," Donovan agreed readily.
Chloe's emotions were all over the place, but she couldn't even pinpoint where the unease stemmed from. It definitely wasn't jubilation.
Maya brought the pie and boiled eggs to the table, bringing Chloe back from her reverie. Chloe noticed the eggs on the plate.
Chloe had always been allergic to egg yolks. They made her nauseous since childhood.
Eggs were typically a breakfast food, but she usually had breakfast with Donovan and Samuel, so if she didn't take any eggs, no one would notice. She never mentioned her allergy to Maya because she didn't want to come off as fussy and be disliked. Chloe and Maya were both working people, and she didn't want to seem too picky or make Maya feel unappreciated.
Chloe started her meal. Only the egg remained. Chloe planned to discreetly dispose of the egg while washing the dishes. Although she knew wasting food was a bad habit, the thought of eating it made her feel sick.
"Aren't you going to eat the egg yolk? Give it to me," came Donovan's voice.
"Hm?" Chloe looked up as if she had seen a savior, momentarily speechless.
"You don't eat egg yolks, right? Eat the white and give me the yolk," Donovan restated emotionlessly.
Chloe thought long and hard before she realized it was Andrew Price's diary that had betrayed her.
In one of his entries, Andrew wrote about the time Chloe ate an egg and accidentally consumed the yolk, too, causing her to be sick for a while, with Andrew tending to her.
It seemed that he had read about Andrew wanting his computer looked at, as well as this little detail.
Chloe couldn't decipher Donovan's expression. She couldn't tell whether he truly cared for her or just wanted to tease her.
"Where should I put this?" Chloe asked.
He had already finished his breakfast, and there were no dishes in front of him.
"Just hand it to me," he said naturally.
Chloe's hand hesitated, it was familiar in bed, but this kind of intimacy had never occurred before.
Chloe carefully held an egg yolk with one hand and carefully caught it with the other, afraid it would fall and fed it to Donovan.
Then, she bowed her head and continued to eat, her heart pounding. She heard Donovan say, "Grandfather, go on."
Whatever they were talking about, Chloe automatically excluded it. Instead, her mind was swirling with the intimacy she had just shared with Donovan.
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