Chapter 234: Preparing to Go Abroad

In the rented apartment, Chloe York was in the process of decluttering. Even though she had only lived here for a short two months, she had accumulated quite a lot of things, especially valuables.

Because of all the designer goods Adrian Kane and Willow Kane had sent over, to be honest, these luxury items were the hardest to deal with right now. Selling them was out of the question. Not only was she not strapped for cash, but it was also in poor taste to sell gifts from others. But if she didn’t sell them and tried to pack them all away, she would need several large suitcases. Taking them to the airport and checking them in would be a massive hassle.

Just as she was at her wits’ end, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw it was Ethan Prescott calling.

After a moment of thought, Chloe answered the call. “What do you want?”

A moment passed in silence on the other end. Just as Chloe was about to hang up, Ethan’s voice came through. “Chloe, I just wanted to say… I wish you the best.”

“Mhm.”

“I was truly wrong in the past. I know I have no right to beg for your forgiveness, and I promise I won’t bother you as much anymore,” Ethan said, his tone sincere.

Truth be told, Chloe was sick of hearing these words. Ethan seemed to repeat the same lines over and over; even if he wasn’t tired of saying them, she was certainly tired of hearing them.

“Mhm,” Chloe replied, her voice still cold.

“Chloe, no matter what, I can still be considered your brother now. If anything happens while you’re abroad, you can call me. I’ll definitely help you sort it out.”

As if sensing Chloe’s coldness, Ethan was smart enough to immediately pivot to speaking to her in the capacity of an older brother.

Surprisingly, his words struck a chord with Chloe. Although she would have Stella Winters abroad, and her family would definitely send people to protect her over there… you could never be entirely sure when you might need an extra hand in life.

This was exactly what she had been waiting to hear from Ethan. After all, the original owner of this body had shamelessly chased after him for so long; this was what he owed her. Since she had taken over the original owner’s identity and was living her life here, Ethan ought to make amends for how he had treated her predecessor. Since the original owner was no longer around to receive that compensation, receiving it on her behalf was the same thing. She had replaced the original owner, so what difference was there between the two of them?

“Alright then. I’ll come to you if I run into any problems. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Like I said, I’m practically your brother.”

The joy in Ethan’s voice was palpable. Chloe had been treating him with absolute indifference lately, so hearing her agree to accept his help and reach out if she had problems meant she was finally treating him like a brother. Even if they couldn’t be together romantically, that was fine. As long as he could stay by Chloe’s side and do his best to make it up to her, it was enough.

“Okay, I won’t hold back. Whenever I need help, I’ll let you know.”

“Right, well… goodbye!” Sensing that Chloe had nothing else to say to him, Ethan took the initiative to end the conversation.

“Goodbye.” Chloe hung up the phone swiftly and went back to packing her luggage.

Listening to the dial tone, Ethan felt like he had just been dreaming. How could Chloe go from being so warmly agreeable one second to hanging up so mercilessly the next?

In truth, he could feel that she hadn’t forgiven him at all. She was only accepting his goodwill because he owed her. Aside from that, she would remain as cold to him as ever. But it didn’t matter. He was the one who had made mistakes, so she had every right to be cold. He just hoped that one day, she might warm up to him again. He didn’t dare to expect things to go back to how they used to be, but at the very least, he hoped she wouldn’t be this distant.

When her phone rang again, Chloe subconsciously frowned, assuming it was Ethan. It wasn’t until she picked it up that she saw the caller was Stella Winters.

She quickly answered, “Stella!”

“Chloe, you’re coming over tomorrow, right?” Stella’s voice was brimming with obvious excitement and thrill. Who wouldn’t be? She was absolutely ecstatic, wishing she could see Chloe that very instant. Her overwhelming excitement was the exact reason she had impulsively called her again.

“Yep!”

“What time is your flight?”

“Nine o’clock. I should land a little after two!”

“I’ll pick you up then.”

“Sounds good.”

“Oh my gosh, just thinking about you coming over and us finally reuniting makes me so happy! No, I need to contain myself. I’m scared I’m going to pass out from excitement.”

“Do you have to be so dramatic?”

“I’m not being dramatic, I’m serious! You have no idea how lonely I’ve been here all by myself. It’s been forever since we hung out and had fun together.”

“Alright, alright, you’re serious. Don’t worry, by this time tomorrow, we’ll already be together.”

“True. So, what are you doing right now?”

“I’m packing my luggage!” Chloe plopped down onto the floor. Looking at the massive pile of things she still hadn’t sorted through despite packing for ages, she felt a headache coming on.

“Hey, why bother packing it all up? Just throw some dust covers over everything. You can hire a reliable cleaner to come by every six months or so to tidy up the place. We’re going to move back eventually anyway, and you might even end up staying there when we first get back.”

“Oh, right! Why didn’t I think of that?” Stella’s words instantly cleared the fog in Chloe’s mind.

Truth be told, she actually really liked this rented apartment. Whenever she opened the window, she was greeted by a lush expanse of green trees. It was quiet, the security was excellent, and living here gave her a profound sense of safety. If she gave up the lease and moved all her things out, she would effectively be homeless when she returned. It wasn’t guaranteed she would find another place this good or to her liking. Besides, she might even be able to buy this apartment when she came back.

“Oh man, Stella, thank you so much! You just solved a huge problem for me. I was agonizing over what to do with all this stuff. Packing it all up and checking it in at the airport would be such a nightmare with all those bags.”

“Of course! Who do you think you’re talking to? Alright, hurry up and finish organizing. If it comes down to it, I can just have our family’s housekeeper go over to clean it regularly. You can definitely trust her.”

“Absolutely. Okay, we’ll talk more when we meet tomorrow. I’m going to hurry up and finish sorting and organizing my things now.”

“Sounds good.”

Thanks to Stella’s advice, Chloe only needed to stack away what needed stacking and tidy up the rest. She quickly finished organizing, ending up with just a single bag to take with her abroad.