Do I love him?

Chloe woke up feeling tired and drowsy. She spent the entire weekend wondering why Steven had not been answering her calls. Chloe knew that he did it a few times in the past, but it only lasted for a day or two. However, Steven has been avoiding her calls from Friday till now. Nevertheless, she was not planning to call it quits and give in to defeat.

Chloe rose from her bed, went into her bathroom, stood before the face basin, and glanced into the mirror. She applied cleansing oil to her facial skin to clear makeup, excess grease, and soften it. Next, Chloe rubbed on a non-oily cleanser to deep clean her face and clear off any remaining debris and dirt. She took enough toner and dab it over her face evenly and let it get absorbed into her skin, removing any remaining bits of oil and filth left behind by a cleanser.

Chloe then took a few blobs of the serum and warmed it up by rubbing it in between her palms. Later, she applies the serum to her skin, starting from the nose, and works her way outwards. Then she left the serum on for 2-3 minutes to absorb into her skin. Chloe gets a few blobs of moisturizer and smoothly pats it over her face and neck. Then she massaged it into her skin until it absorbed the moisturizer.

Next, Chloe applied eye cream to moisturize her eye area. As her facial morning routine got complete, Chloe drew herself a hot bath and took her shower. She got out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She picks out a red Deep V Neck Velvet Sexy Dress. Next, Chloe selected black ankle cross lace-up sandals, a black Clutch Bag, and some matching jewelry. She wore her preferred things, stared at herself in the mirror, and admired her appearance.

After a few minutes of self-admiration, Chloe sat in front of her dresser and began with her makeup. She sported Classic Smokey Eye makeup, and her grey eyes looked particularly desirable in dusky red and plum smokey shades with a Power Bullet Matte Lipstick glaring on her lip. Chloe styled her hair into a wispy bang as she completed her look. "The operation to get my man back is a go." She said to herself in the mirror with a smile and confidence.

Mr. and Mrs. Wanton were having breakfast at the table with Fefe. They have not spoken to Chloe since she started her defiance. Mrs. Wanton avoided having conversations with her daughter to ease her husband's suspicion that she was encouraging Chloe to behave in this approach. Mr. Wanton did not speak to Julie because he was purely mad at his daughter. Fefe did not care what her sister was doing because she was busy with schoolwork. Plus, they have never had a sisterly bond.

Chloe entered the dining room, and all eyes were on her. Fefe drops the spoon she was about to put in her mouth back into the bowl. Mr. Wanton stopped his glass at the tip of his lip. Mrs. Wanton choked on the water she had been drinking. "Cough!" Mrs. Wanton started coughing into a napkin on the table. "Are you okay, Flora? Breathe slowly and as deeply as you can!" Her husband said. Everyone was worried, but Mrs. Wanton was all right a few seconds later. "Mom, are you okay?" Chloe asked her mother with concern in her eyes. Flora nodded her head and sat up straight.

"What are you wearing? And where are you going in that trash? Do you want to kill your mother? Go upstairs and change now!" Mr. Wanton exploded in rage. But Chloe did not react to her father's commands. Fefe glances at her sister from her hair to her shoe. "You look like a slut." She said, taking a mouthful of her cereal. "Don't talk to your sister in that manner. I ground you for a week for using such language. Now give me your phone." Mrs. Wanton told Fefe.

"Mom! Chloe's the one dressing like she's from a strip club. Why am I being grounded?" She said, angrily putting the phone in her mother's hand. "Two weeks!" Flora said. Fefe pushed her chair back. "You are such a killjoy!" She screamed in Chloe's face and walked past her. "Three weeks! You'll remain grounded for three weeks!." Mrs. Wanton replied. Fefe turned around with teary eyes. "I don't care. When it comes to me, I can't seem to do anything right. Am I correct, Mom?" She cried and went upstairs.

"I lost my appetite." Mr. Wanton said, then stood up and left the table without glancing at his daughter. Chloe sat down and ate her toast. "Is he that important? Do you love him this much?" Flora asked. Chloe took her eyes off her food and stared at her mother. However, she did not answer. Chloe wanted to respond, but she could not find the words to these simple questions. "Well, I hope and pray that you do. If you don't, and you are mistaking craving to be love. Then I am sorry for you because you wrecked this family's happiness for nothing." Her mother said and walked out.

They left Chloe sitting at the table alone. She looked into the mirror hanging on the wall and wiped the tears drops from her face. Then she took out her makeup kit and applied some powder to cover the spots. Her gray eyes gaze at its image in the tiny mirror in the wooded makeup box. "You love Steven. You are not lusting after him or clinging onto past emotions, right? Right?" Chloe asked herself, but that uncomplicated yes or no question seemed complex in her heart.

As Chloe closed the box, her eyes caught a glance at her father and mother's wedding photo and how unhappy her mother looked in that picture. "I am not like you, mother! I wouldn't sacrifice my love to please my family." Chloe told herself and continued with her breakfast. When Chloe finished, she got up and marched out of the house with determination and didn't look back.