Chapter 60 Chloe and Mason's Negotiation
Mason hoisted his heavy backpack over his shoulder and strode out the double doors, his voice dripping with teenage hostility. "Who invited you to my school?"
Chloe felt immediately awkward under his biting attitude; her bright smile froze on her face. "My marketing company was contracted to film a commercial on your campus today. I just saw that classes were letting out, so I stopped by your room to walk you out."
Mason shot her a lethal, entirely unimpressed glare, adjusted his backpack strap, and walked straight past her without breaking his stride.
Chloe didn't get angry. She quickly jogged to follow behind him down the hall. "Do you have any extracurricular sports or clubs tonight? I can drive you there."
"No need."
"How about we grab an early dinner together? My treat."
"Absolutely no need," Mason rejected her again, his voice dropping to a rigid monotone.
"Oh, come on, kid! Don't be so cold," Chloe laughed, reaching out to playfully grab the top loop of his backpack to slow him down. "Don't play the untouchable cool guy with me. Come on, let's go get burgers."
"I don’t want to eat with you! Seeing you practically glued to my dad at home every single day is annoying enough. Now you're literally stalking me to my school?" Mason ripped his backpack out of her grip, glaring at her furiously. "Listen to me. If you want to sleep with my dad, I couldn't care less. If you manage to make him genuinely happy, I might tolerate your existence. But do not get any grand ideas. Do you honestly think you can ever act like my stepmom?"
With that brutal dismissal, he ignored Chloe completely, walked out to the bike racks, swung his leg over his mountain bike, and started to pedal away.
But Chloe shot her hand out, aggressively grabbing his forearm in a vice grip.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Mason yanked his arm, his face flushing with defensive anger.
Chloe tightened her grip, her golden-brown eyes locking onto his with absolute, unyielding authority. "Mason, listen to me very carefully. I only want to be Nathan's wife. I have absolutely zero desire to play the role of your mother. You do not have to accept me. We can just stay completely out of each other's way. But, for your father's sake, it would be highly beneficial if we could at least maintain basic, polite diplomacy."
"Who needs to be polite to you?" Mason sneered, trying to pull away.
"You do," Chloe smiled, her expression dropping into a dangerously sweet, calculating mask. "I am extending a very genuine olive branch right now, and you would be incredibly wise to accept it. Because if you force me to play dirty, you will very quickly learn the terrifying power of pillow talk between partners. Countless biological children have learned the hard way that a manipulative stepmother can very easily turn a biological father into a distant stranger. I strongly suggest you don't test me on that."
Mason fumed, his knuckles turning white on the handlebars. "Are you seriously threatening me? Do you honestly think my dad loses his entire judgment over a few whispered words from a woman?"
Chloe chuckled softly, a deeply wicked sound. "You don't believe me? Then just wait and see, kid."
"You're ridiculous," Mason spat hatefully, finally ripping his arm free and pedaling furiously away down the street.
That evening, the absolute second Nathan walked through the front door of the mansion, he froze in the entryway.
Chloe and Mason were both sitting on opposite ends of the living room sofa. The moment the door clicked, both of their heads snapped toward him simultaneously, their eyes sparkling with aggressive, competitive intent, their expressions oddly synchronized.
"Dad! I'm completely stuck on these advanced geometry problems! Come to my room and help me right now!" Mason practically vaulted over the coffee table, rushing over first and aggressively tugging at Nathan's left arm.
Nathan blinked, setting his heavy briefcase down. "Sure. Just let me change out of my suit first."
Mason shot Chloe a highly triumphant, arrogant glare, clearly showing off his untouchable priority.
Chloe didn't flinch. She simply raised a challenging eyebrow. As Nathan walked down the hall to the master suite to change, Chloe slipped smoothly in right behind him like a sly little fox, and casually locked the heavy bedroom door behind them with a loud click.
Mason stood outside in the hallway for a full ten minutes. Nathan didn't come out.
Frustrated, the teenager started loudly pounding his fist against the wood. "Dad! Come out and help me with my homework!"
After another agonizing five minutes, the lock finally clicked. Nathan pulled the door open and stepped out into the hall. His hair was slightly messy, and he looked deeply flushed. He cleared his throat. "Mason, I actually think you should try solving the equations yourself first. Explore different analytical approaches. If you really can't figure it out after an hour, then come ask me."
"Exactly!" Chloe emerged from behind Nathan's broad back, her lips slightly swollen. She leaned heavily against his side, wrapping her arm around his waist with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Students desperately need to learn independent critical thinking and self-directed study habits! You can't just run to your father the second you hit a tiny snag. It builds weak character."
"Chloe is absolutely right," Nathan nodded in serious agreement, completely hypnotized.
Mason pointed a trembling finger at both of them in sheer, unfiltered indignation, his mouth opening and closing silently. Then, he spun around and stormed back into his room, violently slamming the door.
Later, at the dining table, Mason stared down at the completely vegetarian spread of light dishes. He looked up, entirely betrayed. "Dad! Didn't you explicitly promise yesterday that you were going to fry spicy chicken wings tonight?!"
"Chloe's stomach is still recovering from her medical tests, and she can't tolerate heavy grease or spice right now. We are just going to have something light tonight," Nathan said with an apologetic smile, setting down a massive platter of plain steamed broccoli.
"She can't eat it, but I can!" Mason protested aggressively.
"I promise I will make a special batch just for you in a few days," Nathan replied gently, his eyes silently pleading with his son to just be accommodating for one night.
Chloe smiled a wicked, victorious smile. She completely ignored the teenager, pointing lazily across the table at a bowl of sautéed mushrooms. "Nathan, I want that."
Nathan instantly picked up his fork, expertly spearheading a mushroom to place into her bowl. But Chloe deliberately didn't look at her plate. She just leaned forward, opening her mouth wide, explicitly signaling that she wanted him to hand-feed her.
Nathan’s ears flushed, but he smiled a deeply indulgent, utterly defeated smile, and gently fed the mushroom directly into her mouth.
As she chewed, Chloe made sure to shoot Mason a lethal, triumphant smirk.
Mason violently slammed his fork down onto his plate. He stood up, his chair screeching against the hardwood, and stormed out of the dining room without saying a word.
"Mason! Why aren't you eating?" Nathan called after him, immediate paternal concern breaking through his infatuation.
"Oh, just let him go. He probably bought junk food on his bike ride home from school. He's clearly not hungry," Chloe waved her hand dismissively, sipping her water.
"How many times have I explicitly told him not to ruin his appetite with sugar?" Nathan frowned, standing up to go after him.
Chloe reached out, grabbing his wrist. "Nathan, teenagers won't listen to gentle logic! If discipline is needed, then it absolutely must be enforced. If gentle words don't work, then you just have to let him starve for a night so he learns his lesson..."
Mason stood frozen just outside his bedroom door, listening to the absolute poison spewing from the dining room. He was so completely enraged he physically wanted to burst back in, violently shake his father awake by the shoulders, and demand he stop listening to this manipulative witch's nonsense!
But as the teenager peeked through the crack in the door frame, he stopped.
He saw Nathan sitting at the table. His father was looking at Chloe, a helpless, radiant, and entirely genuine smile illuminating his face.
Mason slowly lowered his hand from the doorknob. He forcefully swallowed the boiling rage threatening to erupt in his chest, and quietly retreated into his dark room.
His father rarely ever looked this genuinely happy when it was just the two of them. Usually, their dinners were rushed, silent affairs. Nathan rarely spoke, lost in his own grief, and their occasional conversations ended quickly. Never before had they shared a meal filled with actual laughter and teasing that stretched on for over an hour.
Late that night, Mason tossed and turned violently in his bed. He was absolutely starving, his stomach cramping so loudly he couldn't sleep.
Suddenly, a soft, rhythmic knock sounded at his bedroom door.
He stubbornly refused to answer it. But the knocking persisted, completely relentless.
Finally driven to absolute distraction, Mason aggressively yanked the door open, fully prepared to yell at his dad.
Instead, he found Chloe standing in the dark hallway, holding a massive, steaming plate of incredibly fragrant beef fried rice. She beamed at him. "I specifically snuck into the kitchen and made this for you. Want some?"
"Absolutely no way!" Mason tried to violently slam the door shut in her face.
However, Chloe deftly stuck her foot in the gap, easily sidestepping him and slipping directly into his room. "Alright, alright, don't be so mad! I was just aggressively messing with you earlier."
"You are a literal witch! All you do is cast manipulative spells to blind my dad!" Mason pointed at her, absolutely seething.
Chloe chuckled softly, setting the hot plate down on his desk. "Fine, I admit it, it was entirely my fault. I just wanted to explicitly demonstrate exactly how the 'evil stepmother' dynamic works in real life. I honestly didn't expect him to be quite so obvious about taking my side."
"My dad loves me the most!" Mason declared fiercely, his voice cracking slightly.
"Yes, he does," Chloe nodded seriously, dropping the teasing tone. "Your dad absolutely loves you the most. How about we agree that second place goes to me?"
"You are incredibly lucky to even get third place! My real mom will always be second!" Mason corrected her, glaring defensively.
Chloe clicked her tongue, a fond smile touching her lips. "Fine. Third place it is." She leaned against his desk. "So... since we've established the absolute hierarchy, can we finally call a truce and get along?"
"Only if you swear you are never allowed to deliberately compete with me for Dad's attention again," Mason emphasized, crossing his arms. "You better remember this forever: You are number three!"
"Got it, boss," Chloe laughed, pushing the plate of fried rice closer to him. "Can we please eat now? It's getting cold."
Mason's stomach chose that exact second to growl violently in the quiet room. Reluctantly, he pulled out his desk chair and grabbed the spoon. "I am only eating this because I don't want to waste my dad's groceries."
"Obviously," Chloe smiled, pulling up a second chair. She propped her chin on her hand, watching him practically inhale the food. Seeing how enthusiastically he was eating, she asked softly, "Is it actually good?"
"It's acceptable," Mason mumbled, his mouth full. "But it would honestly be better if you used more beef."
"I literally put an entire steak in there!" Chloe laughed. "You are exactly like my dad—he always complained that every single bite of his fried rice needed to be at least eighty percent pure beef."
Mason paused, swallowing his bite. "Your dad? Hey... do your parents actually know that you are seriously dating a guy this old who already has a teenage kid?"
The boy couldn't help but feel a sudden spike of anxiety. If he ever had a daughter, he would absolutely never approve of her dating a forty-two-year-old widower. What if her family aggressively opposed the relationship? Would she cave to the pressure and break up with Nathan? That would destroy his dad completely.
"They know," Chloe said softly, resting her chin on her crossed arms, her smile turning fragile and distant. "Last weekend, I drove up to Minnesota and took Nathan to finally meet my parents."
"They genuinely didn't object?" Mason asked, finding that completely hard to believe.
"No. They were actually incredibly pleased with him," Chloe replied, her eyes shining slightly in the dim light.
"That's good." Mason nodded, deeply relieved. He shoveled down a few more bites before a sudden, cynical thought hit him. He blurted out, "My dad must have given them a massive amount of cash to buy their approval, right?"
Chloe burst out laughing, completely unable to contain herself. "You nailed it, kid. Your dad literally bought me back from them with cold, hard cash."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Mason immediately snapped, his fierce loyalty flaring up. "What is fundamentally wrong with my dad besides his age?! He is brilliant and rich! Lots of women like him! Didn't you literally just admit this afternoon that you were the one who aggressively pursued him?!" Mason absolutely refused to tolerate anyone putting his father down, even the woman dating him.
"Fine, fine. You're entirely right," Chloe chuckled, holding her hands up in surrender. "I was the desperate one who stalked him."
Mason narrowed his eyes. "What are you smiling at?"
"I just think you're incredibly adorable when you defend him."
"Who asked for your stupid compliment?"
"Can't I tell the absolute truth in my own house?"
Standing completely still in the dark hallway outside the bedroom, Nathan leaned against the wall, listening to the muffled voices and genuine laughter drifting through the heavy wood. A profound, aching smile slowly spread across his face.
Earlier that afternoon, while he was reviewing clinical data at his office, his phone had buzzed with a text from Chloe:
"Your son is being an absolute terror. I need to aggressively discipline him tonight. When you get home, I need you to completely play along and take my side, no matter what. Trust me."
He had honestly been terrified. He knew exactly how violently stubborn and fiercely defensive Mason could be. He had genuinely feared a catastrophic explosion at the dinner table.
But it had worked perfectly.
Nathan closed his eyes, his heart feeling lighter than it had in two decades. Perhaps it was due to their shared, unspoken bloodline. Deep down, beneath all the teenage hostility, Mason genuinely liked Chloe. Which was exactly why, after being pushed to the brink and weighing his options, the boy had finally chosen to let her in.