Chloe turned her head when she heard the sound of dropped spoon coming from Tommy's table, and their eyes met.
Chloe's heartbeat skipped for a second once she saw how angry Tommy looked as he glared at her. She gulped nervously and then tried to act normal by giving her attention to Mackie.
"Dear, are you okay?"
"Yes, Mommy…" Mackie got up from the floor, and Chloe checked Mackie's body in case she got a bruise or something. After making sure Mackie wasn't hurt, Chloe stood up and held her daughter's hand.
"Mommy will pay first, then we can get your ice cream, okay?"
"Okay!" Mackie nodded happily, not realizing that her Mommy had cold sweat all over her forehead and palm. Chloe called for the waiter and paid with Vernon's black card.
After she was done paying and tipping, she quickly picked up her bag and picked her daughter up.
Chloe intentionally carried Mackie even if she struggled with her daughter's weight. She didn't want Mackie to notice her Uncle Tommy sitting with another woman, or all hell would break loose.
"Dear, don't look around and rest your head on my shoulder, okay? If you're obedient, Mommy will give you an extra scoop of ice cream later."
"Okay!" Mackie didn't really understand her Mommy's strange behavior. But an extra scoop of ice cream was always great!
Chloe walked past Tommy and tried to check on him by giving him a side glance.
From the edge of her sight, she saw Tommy's head following her movement with no smile at all. His look was fierce as if he was ready to kill Chloe the next second.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtChloe hastened her step and left the restaurant. She was relieved when she was finally out of his sight. She put Mackie on the floor and grabbed her hand, "Let's have an ice cream before the movie, dear."
"Okay, Mommy!" Mackie nodded. She noticed that her Mommy was much more relaxed after leaving the restaurant. "Mommy, why are you so strange in the restaurant?"
"S—Strange?" Chloe knew that her daughter was an observant kid. But she just didn't expect her to confront Chloe like this. "Mommy is fine, dear…."
"Mommy is not fine!" Mackie insisted. "Mommy forbade Mackie to turn around, and Mommy actually ate your food! That's very strange!"
Chloe tried to ignore Mackie's hard evidence and pointed at the ice cream shop beside the restaurant, "Let's get ice cream now. Mommy will give you an extra scoop for being obedient."
"Yay!"
Fortunately, Mackie had a short attention span, making it easy to deviate her attention towards something she liked so she'd stop questioning.
**
Tommy and Dahlia continued eating in the Japanese restaurant. Dahlia relished it because she rarely ate outside in a restaurant. After all, she was just a university student.
Dahlia noticed that Tommy's mood worsened after he saw that beautiful but thin woman with her daughter. She frowned and asked, "Tommy, is everything alright?"
"Hmm… yeah," Tommy replied, but he suddenly got up from the chair and added, "I'll go to the restroom first."
"Mhm, sure," Dahlia said. She was suspicious of Tommy's strange behavior.
'Should I follow him?' Dahlia considered. She was scared that Tommy might be interested in that woman. After all, Dahlia knew that Tommy had a wife and planned to divorce her for Dahlia after he got enough money. So she was scared that he might be tempted by another beauty.
But from his expression, Tommy didn't seem fond of that woman, so Dahlia could relax a little.
Tommy walked out of the restaurant and headed to the empty corridor leading to the restroom.
He stood in silence for a while and then texted Chloe.
**
Chloe was eating ice cream with her daughter when her phone vibrated.
She checked the text, thinking it came from Vernon or Diamond. However, much to her surprise, it was Tommy.
Chloe gulped nervously. She didn't know if opening the text would be the right thing to do. But curiosity got the better of her, so she clicked the message;
—
Tommy Davis:
Meet me in the corridor leading to the restroom right beside the restaurant.
—
Chloe curled her lips out of anxiety. She wanted to ignore this text and acted as if nothing was wrong and didn't see anything in the restaurant.
But the next text from Tommy basically cemented her fate;
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm—
Tommy Davis:
I will make you regret it if you dare to avoid this text.
—
Chloe didn't know what he'd do, but she didn't want to make the situation even worse than before. She was scared right now. Even her legs were trembling.
'But I have to face him….'
Chloe checked on her daughter, who was happily eating her ice cream. She checked the corridor that Tommy referred to. It was a corridor placed right in-between the Japanese restaurant and the ice cream shop. So she wouldn't have to leave Mackie for too long, and Tommy wouldn't be able to do anything because she could just scream if it was necessary.
Chloe got up and patted Mackie's head, "Dear, Mommy's going to the restroom beside the shop. You should eat here for a while, ignore anyone who wants to talk to you, and if there's anyone wanting to touch you, just scream, okay?"
"Okay, Mommy! Stranger danger, Mackie knows!" Mackie said and continued enjoying her sweet dessert.
Chloe got up and walked out of the shop, heading to the corridor beside the shop.
She saw Tommy leaning at the end of the empty corridor leading to the restroom. There was nobody around, which heightened Chloe's anxiety.
She clenched her fist and summoned courage, 'It's okay, Chloe. He won't be able to do anything here. Just face him, and let's see what will happen.'
Chloe approached Tommy, who glared at her, an expression that Tommy never had shown anyone when there was a family gathering.
Chloe stood quite far from Tommy, or so she assumed, just in case Tommy wanted to attack him, "W—What do you want to talk about?"