Ch. 426..430: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 426-430

Chapter 426

"It's fine...." Chloe replied. "But it's better if we don't talk about it, Vernon. I don't want to make it awkward."

Vernon's heartbeat skipped for a second. He almost couldn't hide his shock and sadness in response to Chloe's reply. But he tried to toughen himself up and nodded, "Yeah, it's better for us not to talk about it."

Now it was Chloe whose heartbeat skipped, and she quickly looked away as she didn't want Vernon to see a trace of sadness in her eyes, "Yeah, you're right...."

Vernon clasped his knees for a moment before he got up, "You should get properly dressed. We're going out to eat in a restaurant today."

Chloe turned her head slowly and asked, "Eating outside? With you? And Mackie?" she paused for a moment, waiting for Vernon to refute her, just in case she misheard his statement. But he didn't, he really meant it, and he had planned it since this morning with the help of Diamond.

"Vernon, that's- dangerous. What if one of Vincent's people saw us together. They will discover your identity!" Chloe voiced her vehement disagreement. She only had one priority in life right now, and that was to protect Vernon and Mackie. "Is it because you're too tired to cook dinner? I'm fine with takeouts or Ubereats, really. I can also cook light dinner if you want, though it might take a while," Chloe looked at her right hand depressedly.

"No, I've planned everything with Diamond today. The restaurant owner is my close friend that can be trusted, and he is willing to empty his restaurant for the whole night only for the three of us."

Chloe wasn't surprised that Vernon could book an entire restaurant all for themselves and had many close confidants around him. But she was surprised that he'd do so much just for them to be eating out together.

It would be rude for her to reject his effort, so she slowly nodded, "But I don't think I look good in dress and um... this-" Chloe raised her cast covered with Mackie's colorful doodles.

"Hahah! Why'd you need to wear a dress? It's just going out to eat, remember?" Vernon said. "Besides, it's cold outside. I don't want you to catch a cold just because you want to look sexy."

"I--I'm not trying to look sexy!" Chloe's cheeks reddened as if she had just told a lie. She got up and rushed downstairs.

"Don't forget to tell Mackie!" Vernon yelled, making sure that everyone was ready in about an hour.

He couldn't help but smile when he imagined Chloe wearing variations of sexy low-cut dresses.

Black dress? Oh, she'd be stunning.

Red dress? He'd love to run his finger on the red straps.

White dress? That would give him the wildest imagination! The white dress reminded him of a wedding--

Vernon shook his head. He quickly dispelled the idea, or else he might get caught in the moment again and say things he shouldn't-- not until he kicked that bastard Vincent out of Chloe's life, at least.

**

Chloe told Mackie to change her pajama with jeans and a jacket because they were eating at a restaurant.

Chloe could hear her daughter's excited squeal as she rummaged through her wardrobe to find good clothes. She wanted to use some party dresses she owned, but Chloe reminded her there was no party.

So Mackie grabbed what her mother told her, though she demanded to use the purple sweater Granny bought her.

Chloe was also a little conflicted about what to wear.

There was a red dress she had wanted to wear for a long time, though she never had the chance because Vincent never took her to a fancy party before.

'I don't think I look good wearing that too...' Chloe thought.

Thus, she grabbed something similar to her daughter's; Jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and a padded jacket.

She couldn't wear any makeup with one hand, so she only applied concealer under her eyes to cover some of her blemishes before brushing her long wavy hair.

After she was done, she grabbed Mackie's hand and went upstairs.

"Ready?" Vernon asked. He stood near the kitchen. He was wearing jeans and the same tucked shirt and trousers he used for work today but replaced the suit with a black bomber jacket because it was cold and windy outside.

Chloe couldn't help but feel a little envious of Vernon. She kept on worrying that she'd look ugly in any clothes, while Vernon could wear a random bomber jacket, and now he looked even more handsome and dashing, even if his hair was a little messy.

'Oh to be so good looking,' Chloe commented in her heart.

"Ready!" Mackie chirped. She released her mother's hand and rushed towards her Uncle, "Let's go, Uncle, I'm sooo hungry!"

Vernon smiled at Mackie, "I'll allow you to eat two desserts tonight."

**

Chloe walked behind Vernon, holding Mackie's hand while they walked from the parking lot to the restaurant door.

As Vernon said, they were the only guests tonight, and to keep it secret, most of the lights outside were turned off, and there was no valet.

Not that it mattered for Chloe, but she was already so grateful for Vernon to be invited with her daughter.

Vernon chose the fancy restaurant that Chloe often passed on her way to the grocery store but never visited because it needed a reservation. Chloe would never be able to afford it under Vincent's watch anyway.

Mackie kept telling random stories that a seven-year-old kid liked to tell, from her school, friends, toys, and random imagination.

Vincent never liked hearing Mackie's childish stories. Sometimes he even told her to keep quiet if she didn't have anything important to say.

But Vernon listened to all of her stories, even responding by answering her questions or asking a question in return to get Mackie's childish answers.

He chuckled and couldn't help but pat Mackie's head a few times, finding her too cute to handle.

Those two seemed inside their small bubble, harmoniously walking together like a father-daughter duo.

Chapter 427

Chloe never took a picture of Vincent and Mackie together because he always refused for some reason. So this was a chance for Chloe to secretly immortalize the moment of Mackie spending a fun time with a father figure, even if Vernon wasn't her biological father.

She fished her phone out of her bag. She halted her step, standing still as she aimed the camera at them, waiting for the right moment when they smiled together.

And…

Blitz! Snap!

"Oh damn—" Chloe panicked. She forgot to turn off the auto flash. Now it wasn't a secret picture anymore.

"Huh?"

"Wah?!"

Vernon and Mackie looked over their shoulders at the same time. The flash from Chloe's camera caught them off guard;

"What did you do, Chloe?" Vernon asked.

"Um, Mommy, that surprises me so much!"

"Ah, I—" Chloe sighed defeatedly. She really wanted to treasure this moment for herself. So she'd always be reminded that Mackie had a moment of happiness with a father figure. "I took a pic of you two," she admitted.

"Really? May I see?" Vernon turned around and opened his palm, waiting for Chloe to hand her phone.

Chloe put her phone on her chest, scared that Vernon might delete the precious picture she treasured.

But Vernon smiled at her and muttered, "Don't worry."

Chloe hesitated for a few more seconds before she handed the phone. Vernon checked the picture, and in that picture, he saw Mackie and him looking at each other with wide smiles.

'We really do look like a father and daughter,' Vernon thought. 'Would be nice if I could be her actual father.'

Vernon glanced down at Mackie, who asked, "Uncle! Uncle, let me see!"

'Well, I guess if we did get married in the end, I wouldn't mind being her father. I'd be happy in fact,' Vernon thought. 'I've always wanted to have a daughter as my firstborn.'

He never thought that he'd think of himself as a family man. In fact, he had never thought about marriage before.

Because all he wanted to do was to ruin Vincent and Chloe's life, and after that, he'd just sleep from one woman to another to numb his pain for the rest of his life.

Now that he was living with Chloe and Mackie, he started to grow that feeling of wanting to settle down.

To have a family of himself because he never had one all his life.

The Gray family was not his family. They were merely the people who birthed him, but he never felt any kind of bond with them.

The only person he had a connection with was Chloe, and that also shattered when Chloe talked shit about him in front of his late father.

'I'd love to have a family of my own, with Chloe, Mackie, and our next children later….'

Vernon started fantasizing for a moment, imagining the ideal life of a man with his family. He would be called Daddy or Papa, and Chloe would call him Husband or Honey.

Shit, that felt so fucking good in his head.

"Uncle, Uncle!"

"Huh?" Vernon snapped out of his daze when Mackie kept on calling him. "What?"

"Let me see, I want to see if I'm smiling or not in the photo!" Mackie demanded.

Vernon grinned and shook his head, "Can't do, this picture is only viewable by your Mommy and I."

"Whaaa, that's unfair!" Mackie pouted. "I also want to see my picture."

"Your picture?" Vernon fished his phone out of his pocket and took a quick snap of Mackie pouting while looking up at him. He chuckled and showed the picture to Mackie, "There's your picture. Happy now?"

"Whaa! No! Mackie wants to smile in every picture! Like… cheeze smileee!" Mackie demonstrated by smiling as wide as she could, showing her rows of white teeth with one baby tooth missing at the corner. "Delete that one, Uncle. Take another photo of me!"

"Fine, say cheese!"

"Cheezeeee!"

Snap!

Vernon showed the new picture he had taken, and Mackie cheered quickly, "I love that one, Uncle! I'm smiling wide there!"

"Heheh, I'll keep both anyway."

"Nooo!"

Chloe stood silently as she watched the two bickerings. Her heart was filled with warmth that she might actually cry right now.

After he finished bickering with Mackie, Vernon looked back at Chloe and smiled, "It's a good pic, you should send it to me later."

"I—I will!" Chloe took her phone back and wiped the corner of her eyes so she wouldn't cry at this. She knew it was so small and unimportant for many to have a man bickering freely with their child.

But Chloe was the only one who raised and cared for Mackie, and she couldn't even bicker with her because she felt awkward.

She was hiding a lot of things from her daughter. Whenever her daughter asked this and that about her father, Chloe could only stay silent or try to make up a quick lie that didn't really make sense if one thought about it for a second.

"Well, let's go inside. You two must be hungry," Vernon said. He carefully grabbed Chloe's left wrist and grabbed Mackie's wrist with his other hand. He led them both inside the restaurant.

The restaurant owner and a few waiters were already waiting inside, they opened the door for them, and the owner greeted them, "Good evening, Mr. Phoenix Gray and-" the owner scanned Chloe and Mackie and almost couldn't hold his smile. "-Two gorgeous ladies. I've been expecting you. Please follow me to your seat."

Vernon peered suspiciously at Carlos, the owner of the restaurant. They were friends in university and stayed in contact even after Carlos moved first to New York before Vernon followed a year later.

Vernon always used this restaurant whenever he dated a new woman, and that meant he visited this place a lot. Carlos basically knew his dating history at this point.

And he definitely didn't want Carlos to bring that up in front of Chloe and Mackie. He wanted to put up a good image in front of them.

Chapter 428

Carlos led them to a seat in the middle of the restaurant. It was supposed to be only for two, but since there was a little girl here, he told the waiter to put another seat and padded it with an extra pillow as extra padding, so Mackie could eat comfortably.

They sat on their respective seats and waited for the appetizer to come. Vernon gave Carlos a side glance full of threat, and the latter sighed.

He clapped his hand once, calling the violinist so he could play a song for them.

But Vernon stopped the violinist and said, "Just play from the background, we want to have a family time together."

"Yes, Sir," the violinist returned to his original spot before he got called and started playing gentle music to fill the air.

Carlos was a little surprised when Vernon mentioned 'family.'

There was no way in hell Vernon suddenly married someone, judging from his history as a player.

And it was even more unbelievable that he would take an older woman with a little girl.

But he couldn't ask Vernon those questions right now, so he excused himself before his curiosity bit him, "Please excuse me, I'll be busy in the kitchen for a moment."

Carlos paused for a moment before he shifted all his attention to the beautiful but somewhat frail lady, "Please let me know if you need anything, Milady. I'd love to give you a complimentary snack if you don't mind. It's a treat from me for a beautiful lady."

"Ah, I--I'm fine, thank you...." Chloe lowered her head. She was a little embarrassed to be called a beautiful lady. She just thought it was too frivolous.

"Carlos," Vernon got more hostile with each second Carlos stared at his woman. "Leave now."

"Alright, alright, no need to be so hostile. It's not like she'll be the last."

"Carlos!"

Carlos shrugged it off and walked away, leaving Vernon, who got irritated at his friend. He didn't know that Chloe wasn't just a date he would ditch in a week at best.

She was the woman he had wanted all his life!

Vernon was about to get up and punch that bastard for ruining his night with Chloe and Mackie, but Chloe chuckled as a response instead, "Relax, Vernon, it's fine."

"But-"

"I know that you must've set up many dates here, right?" Chloe teased.

Vernon was embarrassed and also ashamed of himself. He should've set up the date elsewhere, but he couldn't trust anyone but Carlos because Chloe and Mackie's safety was always a priority.

"It was in the past, don't think too much about it," Vernon said, trying to defend himself.

He expected Chloe to get a little jealous of his colorful dating life before reuniting with her, but Chloe didn't seem to be burdened. She just smiled and teased, "I know they're the past, but we don't know who will be in the future, hm?"

"That'd be--" Vernon zipped his mouth instantly. He almost blurted out 'you' as an answer. He felt genuinely uncomfortable talking about his dating life with Chloe.

He was the worst kind of player. He dated a woman, fucked them, and ditched them in a week or so.

There was never any emotional connection because he was just trying to fulfill his carnal pleasure to numb the constant pain and torment in his head.

Even if Chloe didn't seem to mind, he just wanted to move on from the topic.

While watching Uncle and Mommy's banter, Mackie got a few questions added inside her mind, but the most obvious one was...

"Mommy, what's a date?"

"Ah-" Chloe forgot that Mackie was around and shouldn't talk about something like that. She was flustered and tried to cover up, "A date is uh... spending time with the people you like."

"Oh! If I like spending time with Mommy, does that mean I'm having a date with Mommy?"

"Y--Yeah, that's right," Chloe confirmed.

"Hmm..." Mackie pondered for a while and asked innocently, "Does that mean Uncle and Mommy always have a date inside Uncle's room?"

Chloe's eyes widened. She hurriedly covered Mackie's mouth and shook her head, "Don't ask that here, okay?"

Mackie tilted her head, not knowing it was a sensitive topic, but she nodded so Mommy would stop covering her mouth.

Meanwhile, Vernon said nothing but had a smug expression while looking at Mackie.

'Huh? Why did Uncle and Mommy have a different reaction?' She continued wondering.

Luckily, the awkward situation was dispelled once the appetizer was served. They were busy with their food, especially Chloe, who ate slowly since she could only use one hand.

​ "Do you want me to spoon feed you?" Vernon offered, but Chloe refused instantly;

"Don't, it's in the public. It's too embarrassing."

"There are only the three of us here anyway, what's there to be ashamed about?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and nudged her head at the waiters lining near the kitchen, pointing out that they weren't truly alone.

Vernon didn't see that as a problem. After all, they were paid to do their job and shut up. But in the end, he stopped trying and let Chloe eat peacefully.

He intentionally slowed down munching and chewing and took a smaller portion in each bite. He didn't want Chloe to feel awkward eating alone when he and Mackie finished theirs. He didn't care if it'd take them an hour to eat one dish as long as Chloe finished her plate.

**

It took them a while until they finished the courses. They rested for a while and then got up after about half an hour, "Let's go. We still have somewhere else to visit," Vernon said.

"We do?" Mackie asked. "Do we get ice cream?"

"Mackie, you had a cake and ice cream cake as dessert. You don't need another ice cream," Chloe reprimanded her daughter. "You'll get sick if you eat too much."

Mackie pouted as she got a little upset, but Mommy was right. She often sneaked to the fridge and ate cookies and ice cream in the middle of the night, only to get a stomachache in the morning.

"Hahah! No, we won't get another ice cream. But I have a gift for you, Mackie."

Chapter 429

"A gift?!" Mackie's eyes glimmered with both hope and excitement. She never had a gift prepared for her before.

Of course, she always got an occasional gift from Mommy and sometimes, Daddy. However, Daddy never put it as a surprise.

Daddy would usually bring her to a toy store and then allow her to pick one thing before they returned home. That only happened a handful of times in Mackie's seven years of age.

Daddy was always busy, and Mommy always told her not to disturb Daddy because he was working.

"What gift, Uncle? Tell me!" Mackie demanded.

"That won't be a surprise if I tell you now," Vernon smiled. He got from the chair and helped Chloe to get up before looking at Mackie, "Let's go, we're going to get your gift."

"Yayy!"

Mackie jumped from the chair and followed Uncle and Mommy to leave the restaurant. They were stopped by Carlos on their way out, and Carlos bowed his head respectfully at Chloe, "Enjoying your meal, Miss?"

"Ah— Uhm… yes, they are all tasty…" Chloe replied bashfully. She wasn't used to being flirted with by a man like this, especially when that man was obviously younger than her.

Vernon got territorial in an instant. He stood right between Carlos and Chloe, then looked down at his friend, who was bowing respectfully at his woman.

Vernon crossed his arms, "This is the last warning, Carlos," his voice was magnanimous but contained a threat in it, "I will not honor our friendship if you dare to covet my woman once more."

'His woman?' Carlos and Chloe had the same question popped into their minds. Carlos never saw his friend be this territorial over a woman. They shared plenty of women when they were in Uni, and Vernon usually didn't mind if Carlos flirted with his date.

After all, he would only date that woman for one week at most, then Carlos could have her next.

But this one was different, Vernon was serious with his threat, and he was serious about breaking their friendship over this woman.

'If he is serious about a woman, that means this woman is…' Carlos remembered when they were drinking back in Uni. Vernon muttered a name of a woman over and over, and they had a conversation before;

-

'I can only love one woman in my life, and she is my sister-in-law. She even had a daughter the last time I heard about her,' Vernon said. His face was red, and he hiccuped a few times, yet still chugging the alcohol like there was no tomorrow.

'Well, you should forget about her, Man. She's taken, ain't no way you can stoop that low, right?' Carlos responded. He didn't drink as much as Vernon, so he could still recall their conversation in detail.

Vernon shook his head, 'And yet, I still love her, Carlos.'

'… You're so fucked up, man.'

'I know, I'm so fucked…' Vernon threw his bottle on the carpet and started his drunken wail. 'Chloe, why can't you give me a chance? Why can't you wait?!'

-

Carlos thought it was just Vernon's drunken ramble. But seeing him bringing an older lady with a daughter and how protective he was with them…

'Did he— goddamn, what a bastard,' Carlos thought. He gripped Vernon's shoulder and leaned until he could whisper in Vernon's ear, "Is she… that woman?"

Vernon replied with a nod.

"Goddamn, you son of a bitch," Carlos muttered. "Fine, I'll support you nonetheless. But don't come at me if you're screwed."

"Don't worry, I will never allow myself to screw up," Vernon assured Carlos.

"Goodluck, buddy," Carlos patted Vernon's shoulder and gave them a way to leave his restaurant.

Carlos and Chloe's gazes met for the last time, and Carlos bowed respectfully.

They returned to the car, and Chloe couldn't help but get curious about the conversation between Carlos and Vernon on their way out.

Those men whispered to each other, as if they were protecting a secret, so she asked, "What did you guys talk about?"

"Huh?"

"You know, when you and Carlos whispered about something just now…."

"Oh," Vernon shrugged it off, thinking it was no big deal. "I told him not to try to do something stupid, like trying to flirt with you, or I will make him pay."

…

Chloe was surprised at how Vernon could say that so lightly. It also reminded her how easily Vernon could claim her as 'his woman.'

Chloe had never been claimed by a man before, and she thought it was just nonsensical sweet words told by two teenagers in love to profess their love.

It was just a word that usually came straight out of a dime novel to give you the thrill of love.

Now that she was being claimed by Vernon, she realized that even nonsensical sweet words could feel impactful when professed by the right person at the right time.

Chloe lowered her head, trying to hide her reddish cheeks. Her heartbeat accelerated, but she tried to maintain her cool, acting as if Vernon's words didn't impact her as much. She didn't want Vernon to know how easy it was to make her happy.

Just a few sweet words and she felt she could explode with joy right now.

Vernon didn't seem to notice anything wrong because he was busy driving and entertaining Mackie, who was chirping happily in the back seat, continuously asking her Uncle where they would go and what kind of gift she would receive.

She was just too excited, and her excitement was contagious.

"Uncle, do you have cake for me to eat? You said you will give me cake after I play after Big bad wolf! Uncle, my drama teacher said that I'm the best wolf they ever have!"

"Hahah, yeah, I watched it from your Mom's phone. You are pretty awesome on the stage," Vernon praised. "I see that you terrify the three pigs, I bet you can make them cry if you howl even harder!"

Chapter 430

"Yes, I can eat them too if I want!" Mackie claimed, then she started howling like a wolf in the car. It was chaotic, but they had fun bickering.

Chloe was the only one who got quiet, much to Vernon's worry, "Chloe, are you alright?"

"Ah-- I--I'm alright," Chloe lowered her head even deeper, afraid that Vernon would discover how red her face was. Luckily, the street light wasn't enough to expose her.

Vernon got a little worried but ignored it until they arrived at the destination.

**

Vernon parked his car in front of a cinema. The cinema was closed, but just like in the restaurant, a few staff were waiting at the door expecting their arrival.

They identified Mr. Phoenix Gray and immediately opened the door for him. Mackie held her Mommy's hand because she was scared of how dark the place was.

The staff led them to one studio, and the moment they entered, the cinema lights were turned on. Chloe gasped when she saw a giant cinema screen and rows of comfortable beds that had replaced the usual cinema seats.

"This way, Sir," the staff led them to the middle bed. Vernon told Chloe and Mackie to lie on the bed before he joined in. Now the three of them were squeezed into that big bed facing the cinema screen.

"You may take your own Popcorn and Soda from that place," the staff pointed at the corner, where a fully refilled popcorn and soda machine was placed. "Just tell us if you want to watch any movie, Sir. But the first movie we will play is what you requested."

The staff left them alone, and Vernon poked at Mackie's cheek with his finger, "Go take a bucket of popcorn for us before we watch the movie."

"Okay!" Mackie jumped from the bed and ran happily towards the popcorn machine. She was so excited when the popcorn filled her bucket. She intentionally filled it until it overflowed before returning with a bucket of caramel popcorn.

She put the popcorn bucket on Uncle's lap and said, "Wait, I will bring the soda too!"

Chloe and Vernon watched the energetic little girl going back and forth, bringing a plastic glass full of soda for each of them. They chuckled at Mackie's cuteness and looked at each other simultaneously.

Chloe's breath stiffened when Vernon caught her stealing glances at him. She tried to dodge his eyes, but Vernon continued staring at her shamelessly, not even allowing her to escape the corner of his eyes.

"Is this simple enough for you?" Vernon asked. "You told me that I shouldn't give her an extravagant celebration. I was thinking about emptying a mall the night before. But you said that's not a good way to teach her."

"But I don't want to just buy her a toy and call it a day. She deserves much more. Chloe, you have a jewel in your hand, you need to treasure her."

"So I decided to just empty a restaurant and a local cinema for one night. This is the VIP cinema studio, that's why the seats are replaced with beds," Vernon explained.

He was waiting for Chloe's response. If he could, he wanted to go with his original plan to empty a mall for Mackie.

But he didn't want to upset Chloe, so he had to take the middle ground.

"Well... I think it's still too much for her," Chloe answered honestly. "But that's maybe because Vincent never celebrates anything with Mackie. He's always busy with-- you know. He even forgot many of her birthdays, so I had to remind him over and over."

"Usually he'd just buy Mackie a toy and call it a day," Chloe said. "Maybe my standard is just too low, Vernon. I'm sorry for that."

Chloe looked around the big VIP cinema studio and muttered, "But I think Mackie deserves this, more than this if I have the money to spoil her."

Vernon didn't take his eyes off her as Chloe kept muttering everything about her experience with Vincent and Mackie.

He was glad Chloe started to open up more about Mackie and herself. But he was also sad when he learned what Chloe had suffered for the past ten years.

His hand crawled on the bed and slowly held Chloe's left hand. He caressed Chloe's hand with his thumb and muttered, "Then let's spoil her together. I'd love to celebrate her eighth birthday with something more spectacular."

Chloe got stiff instantly. She felt how gently Vernon held her wounded hand. The warmth from his thumb spread all around her body. Even a simple thing like holding hands felt so special for Chloe when she did it with the right person.

'Crap, I know I'm way too easy,' Chloe cursed herself for catching up feeling way too early.

But she was so deprived of love that when a good man crawled his way into her heart, she would melt like an ice cream in a hot summer.

Vernon might not be the 'good man' that she expected, but he was damn good at acting like the one she wanted.

"Mommy! Uncle! I brought your soda!" Mackie's loud voice broke the romantic atmosphere between them. They separated their hands quickly and smiled at Mackie at the same time.

Mackie put the two cups of soda on the table next to the bed and jumped to sit right between Mommy and Uncle.

"What are we watching, Uncle?"

"Hehe, I have a special movie for you," Vernon clapped his hand as a signal to start the requested movie.

The light went off one by one until the whole studio was dark except for the giant screen in front of them.

The screen went blank for a few seconds, and the video recording was played.

Mackie's eyes glimmered when she realized what was on the giant screen.

It was her-- in the wolf costume!

"Uncle, that's me! Mommy, that's me!" Mackie looked at her Uncle and then at Mommy, and they both giggled at her reaction.

"I don't want to watch your performance from a small screen like a phone. Let's rewatch your stage play on the big screen, shall we?"