Chapter 6
As soon as Evelyn pulled into the complex,
she heard the commotion and rushed over
with security.
I carefully held Ashley, who was starting to
freak out, and whispered, “It’s okay, you’re
safe.”
She calmed down a little as I spoke to her.
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Everyone else scattered, leaving Jess’s
mother–in–law sitting on the ground with her
face all swollen.
She was a completely different person around
all those intimidating security guys, all meek
and quiet, not at all like the loudmouth hag
from before.
The family doctor came over for a quick
check–up. My ankle was just twisted, no
bones broken, and the scrapes on my arm
weren’t bad either.
I immediately apologized to Evelyn.
“It’s my fault. I just wanted to take Ashley
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out, since the weather was nice and she
seemed to be doing better.”
“I never expected to run into that old bat.
Aside from my worry about Ashley, I was
blaming myself for everything.
Evelyn had trusted me, and because of my
mistake, Ashley almost got hurt. I couldn’t
imagine living with myself if anything had
happened.
I was ready to be fired.
Evelyn just stared at me for a while, then she
patted my shoulder.
Before she could say anything, we heard Ashley’s voice: “No, I won’t let you fire her,
Evelyn.”
Ashley had come out of the house. She
seemed calm, which was a huge relief.
She went over to me, grabbed my arm, and
pouted at Evelyn: “Evelyn, I finally got used to
having Chloe around. Can you please not fire
her?”
“It wasn’t her fault. She was protecting me
when that woman came at me.”
“And…” She looked down, her voice sad.
“Ever since I had the baby, I’ve just been
going through the motions, sometimes I don’t
even want to live.”
“But today, when that woman tried to hurt
me, Chloe stood in front of me. She kept
telling me everything was okay, and I don’t
have to be scared. It’s like I finally woke up.
“I couldn’t help but wonder, if someone had
been there to protect me when my ex was
hurting me, maybe I wouldn’t have had to
endure all of that.”
Tears were running down her face.
The more she spoke, the more guilty I felt.
<
Evelyn chuckled, “Why the waterworks? I never said I was going to fire her.”
“You guys think I’m that quick to judge?”
“Oh, really?” Ashley’s eyes widened, a tear hanging precariously on her cheek.
“Of course,” Evelyn said, with a playful smirk.
“I’ve been eyeing Chloe for a while now. It took a lot to get her here, you think I’d just let
her go that easily?”
She wiped Ashley’s tears, then turned to me: “Just stay put and take care of my sister. As for your cousin and her mother–in–law, don’t
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worry, I’ll handle it.”
I knew Evelyn was capable, she was on a completely different level. When she said she’d help, I finally felt relieved.
