# 40
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“By the way, I haven't seen Chloe much. Do you know why?”
"Good."
The Duchess fell into thought after a short answer. She seemed to have an idea.
Eric encouraged her.
"Chloe is sick every now and then. No, she's sick every day. I thought she didn't go out because she was sick, but I heard that wasn't the case. So I was wondering why. As her husband, it's normal for me to comfort her, but I can't understand it."
“Yes, I understand. Because Chloe is a child who always hides her feelings from others.”
The Duchess began by asking him if he was really worried about Chloe.
Eric began to feel a little confident in the idea that he might be able to find out why Chloe wouldn't leave her room, and if his assumption—that Chloe and the Duchess had quarreled—was correct, then he too could mediate the situation.
Oh my God, is there a better husband than him? He was doing his best for her!
“You seem to be avoiding talking, but please feel comfortable with me, ma'am. I will do anything if it concerns my wife.”
“Yes, that's true too.”
The Duchess nodded her head in agreement with his words. She was silent for a moment, and finally opened her mouth slowly.
This may seem like an exaggeration, but I'm going to tell you because I think it's necessary. Because it's something you should definitely take into consideration. Chloe is a very cunning child.
Without pausing to catch her breath, the Duchess continued to utter scathing words, saying: "Don't believe everything Chloe says. She's used to lying, and most of the time she lies to herf. There's not a single truth in everything she says. It's all a lie!"
Eric was surprised. There was no other appropriate reaction he could make.
Because he couldn't believe that a woman who claimed to be a mother - one who should be in a position to love her daughter more than anything in the world - would criticize her daughter to such an extent!
He quietly assumed that Chloe and the Duchess's relationship was probably much worse than he had expected.
The Duchess opened her mouth again. She started talking non-stop, as if a flood had exploded.
It was always full of lies. She never revealed her true feelings. She always says things like “I'm fine, I'm fine” to anything. When in reality, it never was! No one knows what's on her mind. She's so evil. And cunning too. Oh, my God! To have given birth to a child like this...! I can't believe it. Really, I can't believe it!
The Duchess expressed her sorrow as if confessing her sins, and buried her face in her hands.
Although Eric was extremely confused, he sincerely consoled the Duchess while trying not to reveal it.
At the same time, he began to think. He was considering the possibility that maybe Chloe wasn't as love-spoiled and overprotective as he thought, and maybe she wasn't even treated well within the family.
With her isolation and high f-pride, it could never be seen that she was not raised with love within the family, which meant that she was truly something special if that was her nature.
However, nothing can be said with certainty at the moment.
With that thought, he forced himf to remain silent, because he didn't know which side he was on – whether Chloe was born this way or if she received attention from a loving father.
"That's why I opposed my marriage to you from the beginning! Because I knew you would get through this ordeal! And what was the result? You completely came true to my expectations...! You were hurt and affected by Chloe's reckless talk about divorce, weren't you?"
The Duchess spoke firmly, as if she had absolute confidence in everything she said.
In fact, even Eric knew that the reason she was against the marriage was because of their different social status, but he didn't want to anger her by disagreeing with her. She is Chloe's mother after all, and he is part of her family.
He finally said yes, and the Duchess immediately began to get agitated and scream.
“What an evil girl! Her not leaving the room also stems from her evil mentality of ignoring me! As if I would be affected? No! I will never bow!”
The Duchess spoke, forgetting—no, pretending to forget—the fact that she had slapped Chloe.
As for Eric, he had no idea what had happened, and could only trust her word, which was that there had been an argument between Chloe and the Duchess, and that Chloe was not leaving her room out of defiance towards her mother.
If that was true, then Chloe was wrong.
Eric decided he had to get Chloe out of the room. He felt it was right to reconcile the two people with each other in the kindest way possible.
“I'll try to talk to Chloe.”
"Yes! But you won't get much use out of it! Chloe was always like this when she was a kid!"
Eventually, Eric left the room after repeating that he would do his best to talk to her. Seeing that the Duchess was still angry, he concluded that she was more severe in her temper than he had at first thought.
So, he didn't believe everything she said.
Chloe is a liar? Ridiculous!
There was in his heart a kind of defiance towards the Duchess. However, because he was human, a feeling of suspicion grew in his heart from what he heard, and it was not easy to eradicate.
* * *
Eric knocked on Chloe's door.
Can I come in?
Soon after, he received the answer that he could. Eric opened the door slowly.
Chloe was standing near the window with her back to the door, and appeared to be looking out the window as she sipped her tea. When he sat down opposite the chair he assumed she was sitting on, she didn't even move her head.
He started talking while staring at her back.
“I have just met the Duchess.”
Chloe's shoulders trembled slightly.
From her response, it was clear that they had already quarreled. However, how could she leave her mother alone for days over something as trivial as a fight?!
At that moment, he thought Chloe wasn't a tolerant or understanding person. If it had been Eric who had not known his parents, that is, if they had existed, he would never have acted like this.
He himf did not realize that his inferiority complex regarding his birth was being expressed as anger towards Chloe.
...And that's why he could talk to Chloe like that—
“It is your mother who gave birth to you.”
Eric gave more force to his words as he spoke.
“I think it shouldn't be exploited to that extent.”
“…They walked everywhere?”
Only then did Chloe turn her head half a turn. Her face appeared slightly puffy, and Eric assumed it was due to exhaustion.
He nodded.
“I heard things about you that were not good. It seems that the Duchess was quite angry because she is not the type of person who usually says such things to me...”
“My mom said bad things about me?”
I was completely speechless. It wasn't enough just to speak badly in front of her, she had to go and slander her husband as well!
Chloe bit her lip and thought her mother wasn't fully conscious. She could somewhat guess what her mother might have said, because what her mother was saying to herf had not changed and was in a similar vein.
"She must have said I was a liar, that I was a hypocrite. That's how my mother looks at me all the time."
Eric confirmed her words with silence. Chloe pressed her hands to her forehead and cupped her still-throbbing cheek.
He opened his mouth again.
“Didn't you do that at least once?”
Chloe frowned.
“What does that mean...?”
“I mean, if you don't lie to the Duchess even once. I don't see how the Duchess could be so angry otherwise.”
“Are you saying you believe what my mother told you?”
she shouted, interrupting him.
"If that's the case, then I'm very disappointed in you! How can you condemn me just by believing everything she said? I've never lied to you, and I've never been hypocritical! This talk ignores all the facts I've been explaining to you all along!"
Eric was surprised because he didn't expect Chloe to lose her temper like this.
At the same time, he also felt angry. This was due to the aforementioned absence of his parents, along with his conviction that he would not have behaved this way towards his parents if he were in their place - jealousy of Chloe because she has two parents and is still rebelling against them.
Hence, he couldn't understand Chloe at all.
"I don't know what kind of argument you had with the Duchess. But after she told me that, and after seeing your reaction, I think you bear some responsibility in this matter. Isn't it because you treated the Duchess this way that she also behaved rudely to you?"
“How, how can you say that? When you don’t know anything!”