Ch. 336..340: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 336-340

Chapter 336

"Diamond, I just realized that I know nothing about her, despite us living together for the past... six months or so," Vernon said. "That's why I want to start learning."

Diamond went silent, but her scrutinizing eyes observed her boss sitting on the driver's seat from head to toe.

She didn't have much information about what happened last night, and she only knew how sad Chloe looked when she had a fight with Vernon yesterday.

'But for him to ask those small things about Chloe, and wanting to know her more... I guess he met with someone else last night, right?' Diamond theorized.

She had a few names in suspicion, but the most suspicious was a psychologist named Shailene.

Because Mr. Phoenix Gray seemed engrossed with the idea of meeting Shailene.

'So... he might've met her last night....'

Diamond didn't know if it was a good idea because this was the first time Mr. Phoenix Gray talked to another woman after he reunited with Chloe, even taking the initiative to invite her to dinner.

'Did he fucked her? I mean, I know that he's in love with Chloe, but who knows... he was an animal before meeting Chloe after all...' Diamond remembered all the things happening between her boss and many women in that secret room in the office.

Diamond felt uncomfortable in her heart. She didn't want her homegirl to get hurt again, not by a man she trusted.

'Fuck, I'll take homegurl and run away if this bastard dares to cheat on her,' Diamond swore in her heart.

Vernon was driving when he noticed that Diamond was eyeing him hostilely.

He didn't know what was in Diamond's mind, but he knew it wasn't good.

So he went to explain a bit;

"I met with a psychologist last night, right after we finished our meeting," Vernon said. "And I asked for advice."

"Shailene?"

"Yeah, Shailene."

"... And what did you get from her, Sir?"

...

Vernon didn't want Diamond to know everything that bitch Shailene said to him.

He just found it distasteful for someone else to know how Shailene called Chloe a 'pedophile' and 'groomer.'

So he filtered most of the conversation and went straight to the point;

"She told me that my love is shallow," Vernon replied. "I don't know a thing about Chloe. I don't even know about trivial stuff, so I have no right to claim that I... am in love with her."

Diamond was relieved once she got the answer from Vernon.

She was already scared that the psychologist might've said something wrong to manipulate her boss.

'After all, I don't believe that an ex lover could be a psychologist...' Diamond thought. 'She would be biased no matter how much she claimed to be professional.'

Diamond hummed for a second, 'But this Shailene girl gives a good insight for my boss. Maybe she's not so bad.'

'I'll try to set up more meetings between them later. Shailene seems to be a good psychologist for Mr. Phoenix Gray,' Diamond thought.

Little did she know, Vernon wished that bitch to die in a fire for confusing him and his feelings towards his beloved woman.

Diamond cleared her throat as they continued, "So, Boss, you want to know about small things to know Chloe better?"

"Yes," Vernon nodded seriously. "Maybe I offended and hurt her heart because I know nothing about her. So I... I want to take small steps to get to know her better."

"Well, that's great, Sir!" Diamond said. "But you shouldn't ask me about it. You need to be the one observing Chloe, so you will know more about her."

...

"I guess so..." Vernon was a little disheartened that Diamond refused to help him.

But he got what she meant.

He wanted her to pay attention to Chloe, and he would naturally know a thing or two about her.

Diamond stared at her boss, who looked serious, and sighed.

"Her favorite color is Maroon, Sir," Diamond replied. "So if you want to give her something, find the right color for her."

**

Chloe waved at her daughter as she ran towards the school's main building and joined her friends.

Mackie was in high spirits these days because she was so excited about that wolf and three pigs drama play in the autumn festival.

"Ah, I should've asked Vernon about the play. Maybe he'll help Mackie to look more intimidating," Chloe murmured.

Chloe returned to her car and sat in the driver's seat for a while, "Okay, since Vernon forbids me to go to Citarella for whatever reason, I guess I have to find another grocery store."

Chloe turned on the engine and was ready to leave until someone suddenly knocked on her car window.

Chloe's heart jumped as she got scared, especially when she saw the wrinkly hand of the one who knocked.

She turned her head in the direction of the woman knocking, and her poor heart jumped twice.

Because she saw a familiar old lady standing menacingly outside of her car. She was wearing an office blazer, her face was strict and flat as always.

She crossed her wrinkly arms for a few seconds, tapped her heels on the ground, and knocked on the car window again.

Chloe seriously didn't want to meet this old woman, because she was directly related with Vincent and Vaughn Gray.

Chloe was about to press the gas and acted as if that old hag didn't exist, but the old woman boldly walked around and stood right behind the car, giving Chloe the choice to stop the car or run over an old lady.

Thus, Chloe was forced to turn off her car engine and rolled her window down. She gulped, and greeted the woman politely, simply out of respect, as this woman was an experienced senior.

"G--Good morning, Secretary Maria."

"Good morning, Mrs. Gray," Vincent's old secretary-- Maria, greeted back at her. But the senior secretary didn't even care about putting a perfunctory smile at Chloe.

In fact, Maria looked so pissed that all her winkles became so prominent on her face.

"We need to talk, Mrs. Gray. I know about the problem between you and Mr. Gray," Maria said. "Would you mind coming to Mr. Gray's office? I think that's the safest place for us to have a long talk."

Chapter 337

"Would you mind coming to Mr. Gray's office? I think that's the safest place for us to have a long talk."

Chloe was stunned by the offer. She thought that Maria must've been kidding since she claimed she knew about the problem between Vincent and her.

'There is no way in hell I'm going to go to Vincent's office,' Chloe thought.

But she still had to approach the conversation carefully. Secretary Maria might be an old woman, but she was shrewd and full of dangerous surprises.

Thus, after mustering some courage, Chloe stated boldly, "If you actually know about the problem between Vincent and I, then there is no way you'd offer us to talk in Vincent's office."

"Oh, I know the problem really well, Mrs. Gray," Secretary Maria replied. She still had her arrogance and strict expression, as if she had deliberately calculated everything. "That's why I offered to talk in Mr. Vincent Gray's office, in case you want to admit your mistake."

"Admit my mistake?" Chloe's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, admit it, Mrs. Gray. You're the one at fault here," Maria sneered, intentionally fishing Chloe out of her safe zone. She had known this woman since she was still working with the late Mr. Vaughn Gray, and she knew that Chloe was cautious and timid.

One glare and Chloe would retreat like a turtle.

'And I know how to pull her head out of that shell,' Maria schemed. She gave Chloe that condescending gaze and added, "At least from what Mr. Gray said, you're the one who ran away because you want to have another man outside."

"What the-- he said that?!" Chloe got agitated as Maria started twisting the story to hook her into the web of lies.

"Yes, he told me that you've planned to run away because you want to cheat," Maria said. "I am a professional at work, and I refused to side with Mr. Gray if it's not the truth."

"Mr. Gray told me to spread this news about you cheating with another man outside the Gray family, but I want to know your side of the story first," Maria said.

Chloe gritted her teeth and snapped back, "Well, you can say whatever to the Gray family. I have no relation with them anymore!"

"Are you sure?" Maria put up a concerned face in front of Chloe. "You may leave and ignore this problem, and I can spread this misinformation to the Gray family. But wouldn't that also ruin your daughter's relationship with her family?"

"Do you want to cut your daughter off from her Gray family? That's so selfish," Maria taunted.

...

Chloe clenched the steering wheel as her blood started boiling.

She knew she shouldn't get triggered by this old hag's words.

But when the topic was about Vincent and his family, she couldn't help but struggle and fight. Now that Mackie was involved, Chloe couldn't help but to struggle even harder.

Maria knew that Chloe was in her hand, "I am very objective, Mrs. Gray. If you want to clarify a few things to me, then this is the right time."

...

"Who knows, I might be able to help you," Maria continued her persuasion. "After all, we never had any kind of problem before, right? I'm just doing my job."

....

"Still, I refuse to go to Vincent's office for a talk," Chloe stated firmly.

"Fair, we can talk somewhere else. There is a coffee shop not far from the school, so if you don't mind, we can talk there," Maria said.

...

Chloe disliked being put in this kind of situation. She felt like Maria was deliberately making her upset until she agreed to have a talk.

'But we never had any kind of problem before. Mostly because she said she's working professionally as a secretary, unlike Priscilla and the other secretaries before her,' Chloe pondered.

'But she often straight up ignored my fight with Vincent, even if it happened in front of her,' Chloe started recalling many of the fights she had with Vincent at his office and remembered how Maria was nonchalant about literally everything, even when Vincent was fucking a woman in front of her.

Chloe gave Maria a scrutinizing gaze for a while, 'Is she even trustworthy? Why did she come to Mackie's school? Is it all just because she wants to meet me? I find that unbelievable....'

Amidst her doubt, Maria provoked Chloe with her biggest weaknesses, "I can tell you a thing or two about Mr. Gray's current condition after you left him."

"I--" Chloe soon found herself to be tongue-tied. She wanted to say that she wasn't interested to know about that asshole's life after she left.

But that would be a big lie.

She wanted to know if her departure left a hole in his heart or if he was having fun with different women each day...

"If you agree, please follow my car, Mrs. Gray. I'll lead you to the coffee shop."

"... Alright," Chloe nodded. "I'll tail your car."

"Good," Maria returned to her car and drove out of the school parking lot first.

Chloe stared at Maria's car for a while and then reversed the car before tailing her from behind.

Chloe had a lot of doubts in her head, and she was afraid that Maria might be into something.

​ "Maybe Vincent is the one behind this. Maybe he asked Maria to persuade me, and he'll meet me in that coffee shop...." Chloe suspected.

"Then, what should I do if I meet Vincent there?" Chloe wondered. She got nervous whenever the idea of meeting Vincent popped into her head.

She kept telling herself not to be afraid and to stand on her feet while facing him.

But, she couldn't lie that she got nervous-- even scared to some extent. But she knew she would eventually meet him again once they settled their divorce in court.

'If I really meet him today, I want him to sign that divorce paper in front of me, so we can process it as soon as possible.'

Chapter 338

Maria drove into the coffee shop parking lot after a twenty-minute drive from the school gate.

Chloe tailed and parked her car right beside the old hag. Unlike Maria, who exited her car without a second thought, Chloe's eyes scanned the area from her windshield. She wanted to see if there was anything suspicious around the coffee shop, especially if there was someone else present around her.

But there didn't seem to be anything suspicious.

It was a regular coffee shop, and no other car was parked. So, Chloe knew that she and Maria were the only customers this morning.

"This place is so… quiet…." Chloe murmured. "Is it really okay for me to come in?"

She was scared that something had been planned to trap her. After all, she knew how crazy Vincent could be.

But she didn't have time to rethink her decision, because Maria knocked on the window a few times until Chloe slid the window down.

"Let's go in, Mrs. Gray," Maria said.

Chloe quickly glanced at the coffee shop building and pointed at one table on the coffee shop's patio, "I think we can have a coffee outside. The air is nice this morning."

The old Maria went silent, but Chloe noticed a glint of hostility in her eyes as if she had prepared something had Chloe agreed to enter the coffee shop building.

"Alright, Mrs. Gray, we will sit there and have a little chat."

Maria walked first and sat at the table that Chloe pointed to. She crossed her arms and tapped the ground with her heels impatiently as she waited for Chloe to join in.

She seemed to be more pissed off than before, which was a sign that Chloe had made the right decision not to enter the building.

Chloe sat on the opposite chair, directly facing the old hag. She tried to act natural, but both of them knew that Chloe was on full guard in front of Maria.

They stared at each other silently until the old hag got up and said, "We need to order something first, Mrs. Gray. Let me order the coffee for you. What do you want?"

Chloe wanted to say she didn't want a drink because who knew that Maria might've planned to spike her drink with something.

But she had to play along, so she replied, "A hot americano. Please make it boiling hot, the air is a bit chilly today."

"… Understood, Mrs. Gray."

Chloe sat alone, waiting for Maria to return with her coffee.

Her eyes continuously observed her surroundings, afraid she might get caught from behind and kidnapped by Vincent and his cronies.

She knew it was mostly her exaggerated imagination, but Vincent had done so much crazy stuff in the past that anything became possible in his hand at this point.

But the more she observed, the more she realized that she was just being paranoid.

Because she was still the only customer in this coffee shop, and there was no sign of anything suspicious around her.

'Am I just being too paranoid right now?' Chloe pondered. 'My mind's telling me that I shouldn't be too paranoid of that old hag. But my instinct told me otherwise….'

Since her instinct told her meeting Maria was a big mistake, Chloe's feet got antsy, and paranoia started eating her up. She wanted to get up and leave the fuck away, making sure to distance herself from that wretched old hag.

But before she could leave, Maria opened the door with two glasses of coffee in her hands.

"Here's your boiling hot coffee, Mrs. Gray," Maria said.

Chloe stared at the hot coffee on the table. The fumes were visible with naked eyes, and the strong aroma of coffee wafted right under Chloe's nose.

Maria sat on her seat again. She sipped her coffee casually and said, "You should drink your coffee, Mrs. Gray."

"No thanks, it's still boiling hot. I'll wait," Chloe refused with a perfect reason.

Again, Maria's expression tightened when Chloe refused. The old hag tried to make it as subtle as possible, but Chloe was in full guard right now, she observed Maria's movement, and when she noticed the change of expression, she realized that her drink wasn't just a regular coffee.

'Did she spike it with a drug? I don't know what this old hag is planning. But I still have to be very careful,' Chloe thought.

After getting the coffee problem solved. Chloe got slightly more relaxed and went straight to the point, "Now, can we start discussing Vincent's slander towards me?"

…

Maria nodded in response. She leaned forward and opened the conversation, "First, I'd like you to tell me why you ran away from home with your daughter. Mrs. Gray. What you've done is very rash and irrational, you know that?"

"Rash and irrational? I think both of us know that Vincent is the most irrational man ever," Chloe replied coldly. Her heart was burning whenever she had to talk about Vincent.

But she had to defend herself, especially when Vincent tried to slander her even though they both knew who the fuck was, a cheating bastard in their relationship!

"He constantly cheats, and he even slept with a random woman right in front of your eyes, Secretary Maria, and he did it even before Mackie was born!"

…

Of course, Maria knew that Vincent Gray was a serial cheater.

In fact, she knew well that Vincent would eventually cheat after he got married. It was in his blood.

Mr. Vaughn Gray also cheated, and their pattern was very similar. They cheated early, and it became a bad habit that the late Vaughn Gray couldn't stop.

Thus, instead of fighting his urge, he embraced it and fucked all kinds of women in his life.

But that wasn't important in Maria's eyes.

All she wanted to do was persevere in the company she had dedicated her life into for the past decades, so she had to do everything she could, including setting up a trap for this poor woman sitting in front of her.

Chapter 339

"Now, do you actually believe that man's word, or is it just because you're working with him, that's why you're taking his side?" Chloe asked suddenly.

She got triggered when the old secretary called her rash and irrational. Now, she wanted to see if this old hag was at her side or at least neutral about this whole problem between her and Vincent.

Or was she just one of Vincent's mindless subordinates?

Maria sighed, full of woe, acting as if she was fighting her inner demon, "I don't know, Mrs. Gray. I want to believe you. But Mr. Gray constantly said that you're the one who cheats on him."

"And you believed him?!"

"Why wouldn't I? You're the one who ran away, so it's really easy for him to claim that you're the one running away with a man, leaving him because he doesn't give you enough attention," Maria said.

What she said was all lies, of course. Mr. Vincent Gray simply told her that he didn't understand why Chloe left him because he was doing his job as a good husband by not marrying another woman or producing an illegitimate heir.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But she needed to lie to bait Chloe until she ran over her mouth.

Chloe got even more triggered than before. She raised her voice without thinking twice, "I do not run away, I simply leave because I can't endure the abuse anymore!"

"Well, he said that you're cheating on him…."

"I didn't! I never had any idea of cheating when I was with him!" Chloe insisted. She viewed marriage as a sacred plea and would never cheat just because Vincent cheated first.

"Well, you always have the chance to cheat on him, Mrs. Gray. After all, my boss rarely comes home because he's always so busy with work. You can find any man outside, and that's exactly what you're doing behind his back," Maria kept spouting lies that continued triggering Chloe to the point that she was about to turn the table upside down.

"This is the last time I'm going to repeat myself, Secretary Maria, since you obviously side with him because he's your boss. I never cheat on him, not even once I do have the idea about it. But even if I did, he has no right to call me out, because he fucked Priscilla in our marital bed!"

Chloe got up and stormed off the table, leaving Maria stunned by her sudden departure.

"Where are you going, Mrs. Gray?" Maria asked as she tried to catch up to Chloe, who stomped her feet away from her.

"I'm leaving. There is no use talking to you. I don't want to waste my energy trying to convince one of Vincent's cronies!" Chloe yelled. She fished the car key out of her bag and unlocked her car door.

Chloe entered the car, and Maria yelled as she had difficulty catching up to the younger woman, "Mrs. Gray, don't you want to know your husband's condition after you left?!"

Chloe was about to close the car door, but she stopped when Maria asked that question.

'Do I want to know about Vincent's condition? I do, of course, I do…' Chloe thought. 'But what's the point? I know I'll be disappointed. That asshole will never learn about regret….'

Thus, Chloe replied, "No need, I already know that he doesn't change at all, even after I left. He can rot in hell with all of his whores for all I care!"

SLAM!

Chloe slammed the car door, and she quickly drove away from Maria.

The old secretary's chest was rising up and down. She was short of breath after trying to catch up.

She stood in the parking lot, her eyes turned cold when Chloe's car kept getting further and further.

"I should've put a tracker in her car," Maria murmured. "But I think I don't need to do that. I don't want to overstep my boundaries and anger Vincent."

The old Maria knew Vincent must've had the idea of tracking Chloe's whereabouts.

In fact, she knew well that Vincent could catch and drag Chloe back to the mansion in less than a day if he wanted to.

'But he prolong it so much, just because of that stupid man pride, thinking he could play with Chloe until that woman desperately returns to him,' Maria thought.

She fished the phone out of her pocket and turned off the voice recording.

She returned to the patio and took a hidden camera between two potted plants.

The hidden camera had been set by the coffee shop owner— who happened to be one of Maria's children before their meeting.

Maria had planned everything and could do more had it not because of the limitation she put herself.

"Of all things I could do, I could only record her face and voice, what a waste of chance," Maria said.

She glanced at the hot coffee left untouched on the table and scoffed, full of ridicule, "Turns out she's not that dumb. She's afraid that I might've put something in her drink. That's why she ordered the boiling hot coffee so she could find a reason not to drink it."

Maria had to give Chloe an applause for being watchful, but she was still gullible enough to run over her mouth and give Maria the recording she needed.

"Well, all I can do is to show these recordings to Mr. Gray, and see if he wants more of her. Maybe he will eventually stop playing around and catch that stupid bitch and throw her back to his mansion," Maria said.

"And then, he can focus on work again…."

Maria disliked the current situation in her office because Vincent continued playing with fire.

He cut off Gregory Maxwell and said that it was because of the corruption case.

But Maria knew her boss was just trying to cover the real fact:

He cut off Gregory Maxwell because he wants to start an all-out hunt for Chloe.

Chapter 340

"He needs to stop playing around, or the company will go downhill just because of one woman," Maria said. "I also have to watch over that little brother, Vernon Phoenix Gray."

Maria knew that Vincent loved his little brother so much he was even willing to lose some money just for Vernon's small project.

But Maria was an old player and knew that Vernon wasn't a simple man.

In fact, she thought that guy was very ambitious and got the vibe of the young Mr. Vaughn Gray; Dangerous, ambitious, and reckless.

Maria didn't have anything against Vernon, "But I dedicated my work and my life to the Gray company. So I am obliged to help Vincent-- the real Master of Gray family, not a second son that's unfavored by everyone."

Maria was about to leave when the coffee shop door opened.

Her son came out of the coffee shop and asked leisurely, "That woman is Mr. Gray's wife, right, Mom?"

"Yes, she is," Maria said. Despite Chloe running away and refusing to return, she was still Vincent's legally wedded wife. "Why do you ask?"

"I see..." Maria's son, who was in his early thirties, smirked as he stared at the coffee on the table. "I was just a little curious. I saw her and was amazed by her beauty. She's so thin but still has that sweet face."

"Mom, I heard from the conversations between you two, that she is running away from Mr. Gray, right?" Maria's son asked. "I wonder if she's free to... you know~."

"Don't," Maria warned. "Mr. Gray might be a playboy outside. But he is extremely possessive of her. He will do anything to ruin your life. So better not play with fire."

**

"That is all for the meeting today, and I expect this project can be executed perfectly," Vernon said in front of the executives for the project between him and his Big brother.

Everyone clapped for him after he finished the meeting. They were amazed by Mr. Phoenix Gray's charisma, careful preparation, and execution.

He was able to develop a project from Mr. Vincent Gray without a flaw, even getting praise from him.

Vincent had always been well known to be a perfectionist and ruthless, so for Vernon to get praise meant he was doing an amazing job.

The executives left the meeting room until only Vernon, Diamond, and Vincent were inside.

Vernon signaled Diamond to leave for the sake of her safety, thus leaving the two brothers.

Vincent approached his little brother first and patted his shoulder, "You did great, Vernon. This project will be a big success."

The confident Vernon turned sheepish in front of his Big brother, "Thank you, Big bro. I just don't want to disappoint you...."

"Hahaha! What are you saying? You're my pride!" Vincent proclaimed. He was truly proud of his little brother.

Vernon grew up as a very charismatic and clever young man worthy of the Gray surname.

"You're just like me when I was young," Vincent said. "Keep working hard, and you'll be on my level eventually."

"Thank you, Big brother, but I dare not wish for too much. You're much better than me...." Vernon continued acting reluctantly, and his meek attitude brought Vincent even more joy.

"Well, that's true, I am much better than you. But don't worry about it. You have me-- your Big brother. I will always help you in case you need something,"

They continued talking about the project when Vincent got a sudden call.

Vincent checked the caller and frowned, "Secretary Maria? Is there something wrong in the office?"

Vincent picked up the call in front of his little brother. He thought that Vernon was his little bro anyway, so there was no need to be careful with him.

--

"What is it?" Vincent asked straight to the point, feeling annoyed that his time got interrupted by this old hag.

"Sir, I have something for you to see, it's a voice and video recording," Maria said on the call.

"A video recording? Of what?"

"Of Mrs. Chloe Gray, Sir. I met her today," Maria added. "I have her recording in the office, you're free to see it."

"What?!" Vincent's eyes widened. "What kind of recording? Where did you meet her? I never told you to meet her, you fucking old hag!"

Vernon was surprised by his Big bro's sudden hostility. He watched his Big bro's expression intently, trying to make sense of the conversation on his phone.

Too bad it wasn't on loudspeaker, so he couldn't eavesdrop.

"I have my own reason, Sir. You're free to check the recording first, then you might scold or even punish me later," Maria said calmly. Though she knew that Vincent wouldn't do it.

As much as they disliked each other, Maria was still Gray's company's most competent senior secretary. Vincent was stuck with her for a long time until he could find a replacement that wasn't only using her pussy to work under Vincent.

"Didn't I tell you not to meddle with my private matter? I have my fucking reason, you dying old witch!" Vincent continued yelling. But Maria was still nonchalant about it. It wasn't the first time Mr. Gray was abusive to her and his staff anyway.

"It has happened, Sir. I will be waiting in the office."

"Grrh!"

Beep.

Vincent hung up the call. He clenched his phone as he tried to curb some of his anger.

He hated it when someone meddled with his private business, especially when it involved Chloe.

Chloe was his property. Nobody should be able to touch or even talk to her without his permission.

Vernon was curious about what the call was all about since it instantly ruined the good mood that his Big brother had.

Thus, he asked lightly, "What's wrong, Big bro? You seem angry about something."

Vincent darted his eyes at his little brother and replied, "My old secretary met with Chloe this morning. I don't know what she did, but I will strangle the fuck out of her life if she dared to cross the line."