Chapter 6 A Nuisance?
And who exactly is Chloe? Luna said it casually enough, but her gaze drifted slowly toward the girl in the haute couture dress standing off to the side.
It was the first time she'd really looked at Chloe — sixteen, maybe seventeen years old.
In her previous life, she'd only known that Leo had a girl he liked.
She hadn't thought much of it at the time.
Not until the Harringtons lost everything and she'd hit rock bottom did she actually meet Chloe face-to-face.
Chloe had just turned twenty-one. She was strapped for cash and had begged Leo to buy her a designer bag so she could show it off at school.
After that...
At sixteen, Chloe was strikingly fresh-faced — a little self-conscious, but exactly the kind of girl who'd play the beautiful straight-A student in a movie.
The kind of girl boys fell for. Easy to see why.
"Me." Chloe caught her lower lip between her teeth.
"Then let me ask you — is Leo's pursuit a burden to you?" Luna's expression was cool, unbothered.
Chloe lowered her head and refused to answer.
Luna scoffed. "You can't even answer something that simple?"
"I..."
Chloe had accepted quite a few gifts from Leo — she obviously wasn't going to admit in front of him that it was a burden.
But if she said it wasn't a burden in front of everyone, that would contradict what she'd said earlier.
Chloe sniffled. "I'm sorry. I don't want to answer that."
Her eyes glistened, like she might burst into tears at any second.
She shot Leo that exact look — the teary-eyed one.
She'd been around Leo a year. She knew exactly what that look did to him.
She'd expected Leo to step up and defend her.
Instead, Leo glanced at her — then his gaze shifted back to Luna.
Two seconds later, he looked away. Did nothing.
"..."
Chloe's eyes went wide with disbelief.
Just then, Chloe's parents finished their talk with the homeroom teacher and stepped out of the private room. The three of them froze at the scene before them.
Mrs. Sinclair: "Chloe, what happened?"
Chloe lifted a hand to wipe her eyes, looking wronged. "Mom."
That was all it took — Mrs. Sinclair's heart melted. She pulled Chloe into her arms immediately. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Did someone bully you?"
Mia chimed in right away: "Mrs. Sinclair, Chloe and I were just laughing and talking. The second she stepped out and saw Leo and this girl, she got bullied into tears."
Luna almost laughed out of pure rage.
Mrs. Sinclair's face darkened as she turned to Leo. "I've seen you around. You're always hovering over Chloe."
"I wasn't hovering."
She was an elder — Leo forced his temper down. "I was walking her home."
"That won't be necessary." Mrs. Sinclair's voice went cold. "Our Chloe has zero interest in a delinquent like you. Your obsession only brings her trouble."
"Leo." The homeroom teacher adjusted his glasses. "I know at your age, feelings are new and hard to control. But if you don't study hard now, you won't be able to afford the things girls want later in life."
Leo drew a slow breath. His pride — and something deeper — had been crushed to dust.
He wasn't expecting Luna to defend him, either.
"I didn't..."
Then someone grabbed his wrist.
He frowned in surprise, looking at Luna.
Luna flashed him a small smile, then turned to fix her gaze on Chloe. She spoke evenly — not too loud, not too soft — but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
"Did you buy that dress yourself?"
Chloe, eyes still brimming: "Yes."
"When did you buy it?"
"Why... why are you asking?"
"Can't I be curious?" Luna said. "You can't answer a question that simple?"
Chloe clenched her hands. "Last week."
She said it vaguely — no specifics.
"That's odd." A hint of amusement played at the corner of Luna's mouth. "This dress sold out the week before last. Every store in New York was out of stock. So how exactly did you manage to buy it?"
"I... I had it transferred from another city." Chloe tried to sound composed, but the faint tremor in her voice gave away her panic.
Mrs. Sinclair didn't follow. She glared at Luna. "What's it to you?"
Luna ignored her. She let go of Leo's wrist and walked up to Chloe.
She bent slightly, hands resting on her knees, and said: "Tell everyone — who bought you this dress? Is Leo's pursuit a burden to you or not?"
"You're making things up." Chloe reflexively shot back. "I bought this dress myself."
Luna held her gaze. "I'm giving you one chance."
Under that stare, Chloe went cold all over.
She was just a girl — the same age as her.
"Mom..." Chloe's lip trembled as she threw herself into Mrs. Sinclair's arms.
Mrs. Sinclair flared up. "You're a pretty girl — why are you being so aggressive?"
"How is that aggressive?" Leo finally found his voice. "That's just how she talks. Nobody's ever had a problem with it before. How come when she opens her mouth, suddenly she's being aggressive?"
Luna shot him an approving look.
Good kid. Still knew how to stand up for his sister.
Not a lost cause after all.
"Leo, this is my mother. Show her some respect." Chloe snapped, at the end of her rope.
Leo took a breath. "I'm sorry."
Chloe burrowed into her mother's arms and let out a sob.
Mia had been listening for a while and couldn't hold back anymore. "So who actually bought the dress?"
That was what she wanted to know.
She and Chloe had been in the same class freshman year — not close, but classmates all the same.
And she'd never gotten the impression Chloe was some rich heiress.
So how had one summer gone by and suddenly she was wearing a dress worth five figures?
"I bought it myself," Chloe insisted, all wounded innocence.
Luna held up a finger to her lips — a soft "shh." "Sweetheart, nobody's buying that. Just tell me which store, and I'll give them a call. That's the fairest way, don't you think?"
Chloe's hands were shaking.
"Who even are you?"
"I'm Leo's sister." Luna smiled faintly.
She looked around the room, then said in a voice clear enough for everyone: "That dress? You need to be a VIP member to have it transferred from another city — and membership requires a minimum annual spend of over a million dollars. I don't think you or your family are at that level."
"A million?" Mia's eyes went wide. "Like, a million dollars?"
"Yes." Luna nodded.
Ethan glanced involuntarily at Chloe.
Chloe's face had gone deathly pale. Her lips trembled for a long moment, but no words came out.
Ethan said: "Chloe, say something."
The other students murmured among themselves.
Chloe looked like she might collapse. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced the words out through gritted teeth: "Fine! Leo gave it to me. But I already told him — I'll pay him back."
Nobody was listening to the second half. All attention was on the first.
So Leo was the one with money?