Chapter 81: Treating Chloe York as Her Daughter
Hearing Sophia Quinn’s words, Jordan Walton waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no, she’s not my child. Her name is Brooke York. She’s the York family’s real daughter."
Jordan Walton seemed terrified that if he were a second too slow, Sophia Quinn would think Brooke York was his child. His own son would never have such a terrible character.
"So that’s the real daughter the York family brought back. Setting aside everything else, her character alone is just awful. It doesn’t even feel like something she developed; it seems she was born that way. No different from Alice Cole."
Sophia Quinn never had a high opinion of Alice Cole, finding her petty, small-minded, calculating, and quick to anger.
If it weren’t for the marriage arranged by the old masters of the Prescott and York families, and the fact that she genuinely adored Chloe York, she would never have wanted to be in-laws with a woman like Alice Cole.
But now, after hearing about Brooke York, she finally understood. She had always wondered why she despised Alice Cole but adored her daughter. It turned out Chloe wasn’t her biological child at all, and her actual daughter was just as detestable as Alice.
Not expecting to overhear this, Jordan Walton wished he could just vanish on the spot.
This was all drama between the wealthy families. If word got out one day because of something they said, they might end up getting blamed for spreading the rumors.
"Principal Walton, sorry to have bothered you today. We’ll be heading back now," Arthur Prescott said, standing up and addressing Jordan Walton.
Jordan Walton nodded and bowed obsequiously as he saw Arthur Prescott and Sophia Quinn out. "No bother at all, no bother at all! Mr. Prescott, Mrs. Prescott, take care!"
"No need to see us out!" Arthur Prescott gestured for Jordan Walton to stay. Jordan Walton escorted them to the office door and stopped, watching the two leave.
"See? I told you Chloe and Alice are nothing alike. How could someone as warm-hearted and kind as Chloe be the child of a woman like that?" Sophia Quinn began to speak once they were some distance away.
"Yes, that’s true. Chloe might have been spoiled and willful before, but her fundamental nature isn’t bad. I just wonder why she helped us today but then pretended not to know us," Arthur Prescott said, puzzled.
"I think it’s because she doesn’t consider herself the Yorks’ real daughter anymore. She’s probably afraid we’ll look down on her, so she’s pretending not to know us," Sophia Quinn offered her guess.
"Perhaps."
Sophia Quinn pulled out her phone and called Chloe York directly.
Chloe York was in the classroom doing practice problems when she got the call from Sophia Quinn. At first, she didn’t recognize the contact name, but after two seconds, it hit her: this was Ethan Prescott’s mother. The original owner of her body had saved the contact as "Miss Prescott."
She didn’t want to answer, but remembering how well the woman had treated the original Chloe, she picked up the phone.
"Miss Quinn!"
"Chloe, darling, I’m at your school. Could you come to the main gate?"
"I... I’m studying. I’m afraid I don’t have time to come over."
"Oh, is that so? Well, I’ll wait for you. Just come find me when you have time. After all, I just got off the plane. It was only a few hours on the plane, then a half-hour car ride. Really, I’m not tired at all. I can wait here for Chloe." The more Sophia Quinn spoke, the more aggrieved she sounded, as if Chloe would be heartless and ungrateful if she didn’t come.
Chloe could tell the woman was determined to see her. If she didn’t go now, Sophia would wait indefinitely, no matter how tired she was.
Chloe sighed internally before replying, "Okay, I’ll come over now. I’ll study when I get back!"
"Oh, wonderful! Wonderful!" Sophia Quinn’s voice immediately brightened.
"What did Chloe say?" Arthur Prescott asked as Sophia hung up the phone.
"With me on the case, of course Chloe would agree to meet me. After all, she dotes on me the most. If it weren’t for Alice Cole, I could have been Chloe’s mother. The little dresses she wore, the first time she had her hair tied up—I was the one who bought them for her and did her hair."
Once Sophia Quinn started talking, she couldn’t stop, her voice filled with pride. In her heart, she had always treated Chloe York as her own daughter. With Ethan Prescott, it was like she had a perfect pair: a son and a daughter.
That’s why, when she found out Chloe wasn’t the real York family daughter, she decided that if Ethan didn’t want her as a wife, she would just make Chloe her daughter.
Seeing Sophia like this, Arthur Prescott didn’t interrupt. He knew how much she loved Chloe and wanted a daughter just like her. To be honest, he felt the same way. Daughters were so much more caring than sons.
Their son, Ethan Prescott, had never been as affectionate with them as Chloe was.
Soon, Chloe York arrived. The moment she saw the Prescott couple, she slowed her pace and walked toward them.
"Chloe, it was you who guided your uncle and me, wasn’t it?" Sophia Quinn asked directly.
’So they figured it out,’ Chloe thought. She didn’t deny it and simply nodded.
"I had a feeling it was you. You’ve gotten prettier, and you were wearing a mask, so I honestly didn’t recognize you at first."
Chloe York gave an awkward laugh. ’Sophia Quinn noticed even such a small change. She really is one of the few people who was genuinely good to the original Chloe.’
Sophia Quinn grabbed Chloe’s hand. "Chloe, don’t you worry. I like you the most. If you don’t become the Prescott family’s daughter-in-law, then you’ll be the Prescott family’s eldest daughter. I’ll always be your mom!"
The words were blunt, but incredibly heartwarming.
Chloe genuinely wanted to thank Sophia Quinn, both for herself and on behalf of the original Chloe. "Thank you, Miss Quinn!"
"What’s this ’Miss Quinn’? Call me Mom!" Sophia Quinn blurted out.
It was too late for Arthur Prescott to stop her. Chloe was also taken aback for a moment. ’Something feels off about this.’
Sophia Quinn caught herself. "Sorry, that just slipped out."
"Honey."
Arthur Prescott reacted instantly, pulling a gift-wrapped box from a bag and handing it to Sophia.
"Here, Chloe. This is a gift your uncle and I brought back for you from our trip abroad."
"Oh no, Miss Quinn, I can’t accept this." Chloe refused, trying to push the gift back.
"Chloe, don’t be such a stranger! Don’t I always bring you a gift when I come back from a business trip? If you don’t accept it, does that mean you don’t like me anymore?" As she spoke, Sophia started to look aggrieved and play the victim again.
Seeing Sophia like this, Chloe didn’t refuse any longer and accepted the gift. "Thank you, Miss Quinn!"
When Chloe accepted the gift, Sophia beamed, her aggrieved expression vanishing. "That’s more like it! Well, your uncle and I won’t keep you from your studies any longer. You should head back, and we’ll be on our way too."
"Okay!" Chloe turned and headed back to her classroom, while Sophia Quinn and Arthur Prescott also left.
Just as they stepped off campus, a black sedan pulled up in front of them. The driver got out of his seat and opened the door for them.
"Chloe has changed a lot. She’s become too sensible," Arthur Prescott commented. When Sophia didn’t reply, he turned and saw that her eyes were red.
"What’s wrong?"
"You think I didn’t notice how much Chloe has changed? She used to be such a lively girl, always chattering away whenever she saw me. But now, she barely says a word and doesn’t cling to me affectionately anymore."
"It seems that finding out she isn’t the Yorks’ biological daughter was a huge blow to her. Her whole personality has changed."