Chapter 5

Chloe sat in a daze inside the taxi. She kept thinking about Vincent and her daughter. She was trying to form the right plan in her head, so Mackenzie wouldn't be too shocked once she realized that her parents would be separated. 

Because in Chloe's mind, Mackenzie was the true victim here. In every separation, the one who would suffer the most was the children. Chloe understood the pain really well because her parents were also divorced when she was just a kid. 

'Vincent was my safe haven when my parents divorced.' Chloe thought. 'I found solace in him, and I was at peace, but now-'

"Ma'am, this is the nearest motel. Quite far from your expensive gated neighborhood if I have to be honest. '' The taxi driver said hesitantly as he took a left turn to stop right in front of the motel lobby. "Are you sure this is the place?"

"Ah, thank you, yes it is," Chloe paid the taxi driver and grabbed her bag. She stood for a while, looking at the shabby motel in front of her. No, she wasn't scared of what awaited her in the motel. She was never the kind of person who sought after luxury. As long as she had a comfortable life and a complete family, she would be more than happy. 

She was just worried about her daughter. Since Mackenzie was used to living in their luxurious home, living in such a shabby motel might stress her out. 

…

"'I'll have to let her stay at Mom's for a while, at least until I can find a permanent residence for us," Chloe said to herself, then she walked inside the motel lobby.

She checked in for a week and hoped to land a job right after three days, whatever that was, cause she didn't have enough savings for herself. Chloe unlocked her motel door and sat on the bed for a while, gazing at the wall. She turned to her left and saw her reflection in a tall mirror inches away. 

She stood up and pressed her oversized shirt to accentuate her waist as she continued checking on herself in the mirror. 

She wasn't fat— well, she used to be 4 years ago, after she got pregnant. It was mostly because of pregnancy and the difficulty of controlling her weight after giving birth. Taking care of baby Mackenzie wasn't an easy task as well. Combined with Vincent's disgust upon seeing her body, she lost all her will to lose weight.

However, as Mackenzie grew up and her marriage was on the brink of destruction, three years of depression drained Chloe of her weight. 

She couldn't eat because she remembered how Vincent ridiculed her for being a sack of fat shit the moment she ate something. She developed an eating disorder, and ate very little, even to this day. 

It wasn't a healthy way to lose weight, but she did return to her original shape. In fact, she got even thinner as time went by. Her depression and eating disorder worked together to eat her up from within. She regained her old figure, but her insides, her heart, were empty. 

Chloe chuckled mirthlessly, "What's the point of returning to my original shape when Vincent still refused to touch me? He didn't even want to look at me before."

It had been a while since Chloe paid attention to herself in the mirror. Before, Vincent continuously degraded her as a filthy woman (perhaps worse than filthy), undeserving of being his wife. So, she dared not look at her reflection further, afraid she would hate her appearance even more. 

She walked closer to the mirror.

She looked at her face and noticed the trace of sadness in her eyes, she also had eye bags, and a somewhat downturned face. She tried to perk her lips up, hoping it would lighten her face a bit.

"It's been a while since I saw myself smiling without Mackenzie…." Chloe mumbled. She might not be the most beautiful woman on Earth, but she wasn't bad-looking at all. She was just burdened with a lot of sadness in her life, which made her look unkempt. 

"I think I can wear make-up to cover the dark spots and those tired eyes, maybe I should ask Chelsea about good skincare products if I save enough money later. And hopefully, that's enough to land me a good job, plus my university degree, of course."

Chloe sighed as she wondered and worried about her future. As much as she hated it, Vincent was right. 

She was just a housewife for 10 years straight, and without him and his money, nothing would come her way.

She could have easily gotten a job when she was 24 and freshly graduated from university. But Vincent proposed to her right after she graduated with him, "And I stupidly say yes. That's tragic, Chloe. You could've worked on your dream job as a teacher."

…

"Anyway, I can't stay like this for too long. I need to quickly get a job for me and Mackenzie's future. Hopefully that bastard signed the papers so I can just move on. Since I won't take a single dime from him, I guess the court process will be faster," Chloe said, trying to give herself a pep talk. 

"Right, time to check on Mackie."

She fished out her phone from her handbag and called her mom. It was the latest model, a pricey one at that, more than she could ever afford. The phone beeped twice before her mom picked up the call:

"Chloe?"

"Hi Mom. Is Mackie still in your house?"

"Slow down, dear. You sound worried. Is there something wrong?" Judith— Chloe's mom asked. 

Chloe paused for a moment, thinking how best to break the shocking news to her mother because it might affect her declining health..

"Nothing's wrong mom, I just…need a breather that's all"

"I see."

"Mom, Mackie is still with you, right? Can you let her stay for a sleepover? I can't take her home. I have a little trouble right now," Chloe said. 

"Ah, Vincent picked her up about 10 minutes ago," Judith replied. "I thought you were the one who asked Vincent to pick her up! He said they were going to the mall to buy Mackie a birthday gift."