Ch. 471..475: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 471-475

Chapter 471

Dorothea pressed the bell in front of Shailene's apartment. She always came here whenever she needed someone to talk to. After all, nobody in this world would listen to an old woman rambling about her trauma other than a psychiatrist who had been paid handsomely.

To be honest, she didn't like to rely on Shailene. But Dorothea kept returning to her because she felt like her depression and trauma were getting worse each day. She felt that she was floating in this world, unsure of what to do other than mindlessly spending her late husband's money because that was the only thing she believed she had an advantage over her late husband.

To extravagantly spend his money was an act of revenge for her because she couldn't get any satisfaction even after his death.

She wished Vincent would be a bit more caring towards his aging mother. She wanted her son to treat her more gently.

But all that hope vanished once she realized that Vincent was just as bad as Vaughn. He was a monster who abused his own wife just for fun.

She didn't know where or when it went wrong, but she was sure she was all alone now.

Nobody would be sad if she died, and she didn't want that to happen.

'I would be happy even if there is only one person who cares for me, just one person is enough,' Dorothea thought.

Shailene opened the door soon after Dorothea pressed the bell for the third time. Shailene smiled at Dorothea and greeted her, "Good evening, Mrs. Gray, please come in."

Dorothea walked into the familiar apartment she had visited twice a week since a year ago. She wasn't proud of it, but Shailene's office felt like a safe space for her right now.

Dorothea followed Shailene into her home office.

Shailene patted the chaise lounge, signaling her client to lie there as she picked up her note on the table.

Dorothea sat without any question. It had become more like a routine for her to lay on the same chaise lounge twice or more every week, staring at the same ceiling. Sometimes she'd look to her left to stare at the aquarium behind Shailene's seat or to her right to stare at the scenery of New York from that wide glass pane.

However, no matter how beautiful her surroundings were, Dorothea kept wondering if her nightmare would ever end.

Shailene sat on the seat next to Dorothea with a notepad and a pen in her hand. She gave her main client the sweetest smile and asked, "Mrs. Gray, this visit is not within your usual schedule. Did something happen these days? You should talk to me, so I can help you."

Dorothea glanced at Shailene and sighed. She felt that Shailene didn't really help her. All she did was listen to Dorothea's trauma talking.

But maybe that was a band-aid that she needed…

"It's about my son… and daughter-in-law," Dorothea said straight to the point, which surprised Shailene.

"You mean, Vincent and Chloe?" Shailene asked to make it clear.

"Yes, them," Dorothea nodded. "I've witnessed a video of my son abusing my daughter-in-law. He beat her to pulp, choked her, even slammed her to the floor like she's just a rag doll."

Dorothea closed her eyes, biting her lower lip as she tried to endure the discomfort in her heart.

"My son— my beloved son turns out to be no different than his father," Dorothea mumbled. Her voice started shaking, and she grabbed the hem of her shirt. "He enjoys videotaping the moment where he abused his wife and stored it in his phone. He watched all of those horrible videos with relish, as if what he did is the most enjoyable thing he has done for so long."

"I don't know what went wrong. I always thought that I raised him well. I give him the best school, best tutor, best maid, best in everything. I give him all he wants, and I always praise him for all the achievements in his life."

"I thought he'd grow up to be a perfect man who would make me proud and happy. But he's just like his father. He's a horrible, abusive, perverted bastard who enjoys looking down and hurting women!" Dorothea's emotions started getting out of control. This felt like a neverending nightmare she had to live through for the rest of her life.

Tears started streaming down from the corner of her eyes. She still closed her eyes, unwilling to face the truth that she wasn't dreaming.

"I don't want to live in this nightmare. I don't know if there is still a way to make it right for Vincent," Dorothea murmured. "But judging from my late husband, I think there is no turning back for him anymore. He has developed all the fetish that Vaughn has. It will only get worse from now on."

…

"And how about your daughter-in-law, Chloe?" Shailene brushed the topic as that was the thing she had more interest in. "Where is she right now?"

"I don't know," Dorothea replied. "She ran away with my granddaughter. Before I knew about Vincent abusing her, I thought Chloe was just an ungrateful woman who cannot tolerate Vincent getting too busy with work and cheated once or twice."

"I thought that Chloe is just way too spoiled," Dorothea said. "So I ignored all of her complaints towards Vincent back then. Because in my mind, Vincent is my son that will never do anything wrong."

"I never expected him to devolve into such degeneracy. What have I done wrong?" Dorothea looked at Shailene. "Can you tell me, Shailene? What have I done wrong to turn my son into such a monster?"

Shailene was annoyed that Dorothea kept on talking about Vincent. There was no helping in that bastard because it's probably genetic at this point.

But she had to keep her professionalism and help her client, "It's not your fault, Dorothea. It's probably the combination of a stressful job and annoying wife that makes him that way."

Chapter 472

"It's not your fault, Dorothea. It's probably the combination of a stressful job and annoying wife that makes him that way."

"Not my fault?" Dorothea frowned. She thought that statement from Shailene was very strange. "So it's Chloe's fault instead?"

"Perhaps," Shailene nodded as she tried to convince Dorothea. Although Shailene was still holding this secret as a weapon against Vernon later, she knew where Chloe was hiding right now.

She was with Vernon, trying to manipulate the love of her heart because Chloe was a horrible groomer. She was a pedophile who preyed on the vulnerable mind of young Vernon and made him her slave.

Though it wasn't her responsibility to wake Vernon up. She still wanted to wake him up and also wake Dorothea up.

They needed to know that Chloe was the monster all along.

"We don't know what's on her mind and what was happening inside the married life between your son and daughter-in-law, right?" Shailene said. "It could be that Chloe was the one who drove your son insane. She seems to be that kind of woman who looks sweet from the outside, but vicious on the inside."

"You've never even seen her, why would you say that?" Dorothea asked.

"Just a gut feeling," Shailene said.

It was true that she hadn't seen Chloe's face yet. But judging how she could marry the Big brother while also seducing the Little brother, she concluded that Chloe was a sweet-looking woman with a vicious heart.

"You don't need to blame yourself over your son's behavior, Dorothea," Shailene said. "It's probably Chloe's fault, and the only thing you can do right now is trying to separate your son from her. Women who have been beaten by their husbands might have taunted their men until they lost control and resort to physical violence, it is not uncommon and quite deserving to some extent. I believe your son-- Vincent will return to normal after he has forgotten about Chloe completely."

...

...

Dorothea paused for a long time but kept staring at Shailene until the latter got a little uncomfortable.

"Mind sharing what you think right now, Dorothea?" Shailene asked as she tried to fill up the uncomfortable silence.

"What the fuck did you just say, Shailene?" Dorothea said. Her voice was sharp, unlike her usual whiny voice of an old woman.

Shailene's body stiffened instantly. She gave Dorothea a side glance to check what she said wrong and almost jumped in fright when she saw Dorothea glaring at her as if she had done a terrible offense.

Shailene mustered her courage and tried to be professional. She acted as if she wrote something in her note and then asked, "I see that you have a strong reaction to my statement. Did I say something that offends you?"

"Offend? You make this whole thing pointless!" Dorothea yelled. All the vulnerability she showed just now suddenly disappeared, leaving a trace of hostility that confused Shailene. "You stated that women who got beaten by their husbands might've taunted their men and deserved the treatment they got."

"Do you even understand your own job? I paid you so much because you're supposed to heal me from my trauma, because I have been abused, cheated, and traumatized by my late husband!" Dorothea's yell started getting louder as she got angry. "Now you want to tell me that I deserve to get beaten by my late husband?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Shailene was astonished by this old woman's sudden rampage. She was so ingrained with the topic of Chloe-- that manipulative bitch-- that she had forgotten she wasn't talking with a friend.

She was talking to her most important client, the main reason why she still had bits of connection with Vernon despite their bad breakup back then.

Dorothea saw how stunned Shailene was. She didn't even try to explain herself, confirming that all the accusations were right.

Shailene was indeed shocked by the sudden outburst. But she was more shocked at how similar Dorothea was to her second son, Vernon when they were angry.

The way they cursed, yelled and glared, they were truly a mother-son pair.

Dorothea clicked her tongue. She grabbed her bag and got up from the chaise lounge.

She wore her heels and walked towards the door.

"W--Where are you going, Mrs. Gray? The therapy session is not over yet!" Shailene finally reacted when she saw Dorothea had already grabbed the door handle.

Dorothea stopped and looked over her shoulder, "Therapy session? You just told me that I deserved to be beaten by my late husband. Do you think I will continue therapy with an unprofessional and useless psychologist like you? Oh, fuck no!"

SLAM!

Dorothea slammed the door as she exited the home office.

Shailene panicked. She didn't lack money, but Shailene was her only way to connect with Vernon, and once Shailene was gone, she would have no more reason to stay in New York.

Shailene believed that everything would eventually work out in her favor, especially knowing how much of a manipulative, problematic woman Chloe was.

'No, I can't lose her! She's my only chance!' Shailene got up and rushed to catch up to Dorothea. She opened the door in a hurry and saw Dorothe was already walking towards the direction of the front door.

"Dorothea, wait!" Shailene ran towards the old lady once she realized that Dorothea had intentionally ignored her. So Shailene rushed towards her and caught Dorothea's wrist. "Dorothea! I'm sorry for what I said just now. I didn't mean it! I was just not thinking straight right now!" Shailene tried to explain desperately.

But the more desperate she was, the angrier Dorothea got. Because all her desperation just showed that all that she said was the truth coming from her heart.

Dorothea thought she had finally found a friend in Shailene who would listen to her worry, but it seemed that she had been secretly laughed at by her own 'friend' the whole time because she was also an abuse victim.

Chapter 473

Dorothea tried to pull her hand, but the more she pulled, the tighter Shailene gripped her wrist. It was such a desperate move that Dorothea started wondering why she wasted so much time trying to console Shailene.

Clearly, this woman was not a professional. She never gave Dorothea any closure of what to do to make her heart feel at ease.

"Let go, Shailene!" Dorothea snapped.

Shailene shook her head vehemently, "You need to listen to me first! Chloe is a manipulative woman! She might look sweet or timid, but she's actually the most vicious woman you'll ever encounter in your life!"

Dorothea stopped struggling when Shailene said that. She couldn't believe the audacity of this unprofessional bitch, judging an abused woman even though she had never met Chloe in her life.

Although Dorothea wasn't close to Chloe— not yet, at least. But after realizing what Chloe had suffered, Dorothea could instantly relate to her, and her gut feeling told her that Chloe was not manipulative.

The worst assumption that Dorothea had for Chloe was ungratefulness and being spoiled.

But never manipulative or vicious.

"You're unbelievable," Dorothea said. "Though I'm not close to Chloe, she is FAR from vicious! She's also an abuse survivor just like me! With that kind of mindset you have, do you judge us as two ungrateful, spoiled whores?!"

Shailene's tongue was tied. She couldn't believe she had no more chance to keep Dorothea by her side. She wanted to know more about Vernon's family, so she could use it to show Vernon that she was far more accommodating and understanding than Chloe.

Shailene had to admit that the love she buried deep inside her heart bloomed once more. She was finally reunited with Vernon and refused to back down without a fight!

"Let me go, Shailene!" Dorothea snapped.

Shailene gulped and finally let out her trump card, "No, you and Chloe are different. You both might be abuse victims. But you're not as vile as her, because you don't go for your brother-in-law after your marriage failed."

…

Dorothea paused for a while, trying to process what Shailene had just said. She thought this was another bullshit that she spouted just to keep Dorothea here.

But when Dorothea noticed the seriousness in her eyes, she started hesitating and stopped struggling.

"What do you mean?" Dorothea asked.

Shailene was relieved that Dorothea finally started listening to her, though with the cost of Shailene's trump card, which was unfortunate.

But after weighing the cost and benefit, Shailene thought it was worth revealing Chloe's crime early as long as Dorothea was by her side again.

It'd be very beneficial once Vernon realized that Shailene was the one who wanted to make things right between him and his family.

​ "L—Let's sit first and let me tell you what I know about Chloe. Mind you, I've been keeping this secret because I don't know if you can take it. But I have a good intention, I want you to realize that you shouldn't sympathize or try to relate yourself with Chloe."

"She is bad news, Dorothea," Shailene stated.

Dorothea started hesitating.

She wanted to deny everything that Shailene was about to say, but the belief in her eyes convinced Dorothea to at least listen to what Shailene was about to say before deciding whether she would believe her or not.

Thus, Shailene successfully convinced Dorothea to sit on the sofa. Dorothea crossed her legs, silently staring at Shailene, waiting for her to speak.

Shailene took a deep breath before she opened her mouth;

"The truth is, I know Chloe way more than what you told me," Shailene claimed. "I know that she ran away from home with her daughter, and I know the man who took her in."

"Who is he?" Dorothea interrupted. She was both curious and anxious about the identity of this man. Since Chloe ran away in an attempt to escape Vincent's clutch, Dorothea doubted that Chloe had found the right man when she was desperate.

She knew that desperate women often made the wrong choice. After all, Dorothea was the prime example of a woman who made many wrong choices.

Shailene paused for a moment. She had a moment of hesitation, wondering if telling Dorothea about it would benefit Shailene or not.

"Shailene?"

'Ugh, I really don't like to be in this position,' Shailene complained in her heart. "The man who takes her in right now is someone you know very well."

"A man I know?" Dorothea murmured. She tried to remember all the men she knew and came up with a few suspects. Vincent told her once that Chloe must've been hiding under an old millionaire's wing, probably as a pet.

After all, Chloe wasn't the young, ravishing beauty she once was, and she had a child too, so that man must've made her a mistress in exchange for protection and a place to hide.

"Is it someone from my family?" Dorothea asked. "I know some crooked old men," she added.

Shailene shook her head, "This man is not old. In fact, he is younger than you… or Vincent… or even Chloe herself. This man is in his mid twenties."

"Mid twenties?!" Dorothea's eyes almost popped out of their socket. She just couldn't believe what she had heard just now. "I don't believe you," Dorothea said. "I can't believe that you made up a stupid lie like that, Shailene. You're already unprofessional in my eyes, now you just made your image worse by lying to me."

Dorothea got up and grabbed her bag. She had depleted all of her patience for Shailene.

"I'm not lying!" Shailene exclaimed as she tried to stop Dorothea.

Dorothea shot a disgusted look at Shailene and yelled, "Who the fuck would believe that a man in his mid twenties would take Chloe! Unless he's a reckless idiot who wants to get his life ruined! Your lie doesn't even make sense!"

"He's not an idiot, but he has been manipulated!" Shailene stated. "Why? Because your sweet daughter-in-law, Chloe Gray, groomed him since he was seven years old!"

Chapter 474 Shailene knew there was no turning back anymore. The cat was out of the bag this time. "Chloe is a pedophile!"

"W--What?!" Dorothea was too shocked to react. That accusation was so out of the blue that she couldn't even process what Shailene had just said.

"Y--You heard it right!" Shailene's voice started wavering, hesitating and scared that she might have made the worst mistake in her life. But she had to be convincing or else she'd lose her golden ticket to obtain Vernon back to her life.

"Do you know the young man's identity that Chloe has groomed ever since he was seven years old? I'm pretty sure you clearly know who that man is."

Dorothea still couldn't believe Shailene's words. But she still tried to find the identity of a man ten years younger than Chloe and who had been close to her ever since she was young.

But Dorothea couldn't find any, because as much as she knew, Chloe was only close to her son, Vincent, because they had dated since high school and Chloe visited the Gray mansion a lot, either checking on Vincent, cooking for him, and taking care of Little Ver--

!!!

Dorothea gasped. Her eyes were unfocused as she felt lightheaded instantly.

She lost her footing and quickly grabbed the edge of the sofa so she wouldn't fall and faint.

"That can't be--" Dorothea muttered. She shook her head repeatedly, and each time her head moved, she continued denying it as if it was the worst news she had ever heard. "No way."

Dorothea looked at Shailene, who was just as agitated as she was, but probably for a different reason.

"How did you know this?" she asked impatiently. "I swear to god if you lied, Shailene. I will hunt you to hell and back!"

"You can trust me in this one," Shailene claimed. "Because the man that had been groomed by Chloe came to me twice. He asked about relationship advice between him and Chloe, because apparently Chloe has a lot of trauma-- or at least so he claimed. Who knows it might be just Chloe trying to influence his poor mind?"

"But-- but how could he go against his own Big brother?!" Dorothea yelled out of desperation and confusion. This came as such a shock to her that her brain short-circuited. "Our relationship has been damaged beyond fixing, but he seems kind and loyal to Vincent. How could he--"

"Isn't it obvious? Because Chloe influenced his mind! It's so easy for her to do that because his mind has been ruined by Chloe since he was a kid. Who knows what kind of perverted thing Chloe did to him when he was just a child? She's fucking pedophile!" Shailene claimed. "She must've used her charm to manipulate that poor man until he goes insane and plan to betray his own Big brother. That's why I told you that she's the most vicious woman you will ever find in your life!"

Dorothea shook her head again. She took a step back as she tried to deny the harsh truth, "I don't believe you, Shailene. I won't believe you!"

Shailene thought this was the right chance to make everything finally work in her favor, "You don't believe me? Then let me show you something!" Shailene fished her phone from her pocket and scrolled through her gallery. After finding the needed proof, she flipped the phone so Dorothea could see the photo on the screen.

Dorothea gasped again because this was the damning evidence she clearly didn't want to see.

It was her second son, sleeping on the same chaise lounge where Dorothea often laid twice weekly.

Now, this felt like a nightmare that she couldn't live through. Her first son turned out to be an abusive, perverted monster who was no different than his late father.

And now her estranged second son, whose relationship with her was beyond repair, tried to fight his own Big brother for the sake of Chloe. Either he was a total idiot or a reckless bastard who didn't know that his struggle would only lead to the destruction of the Gray family.

At this point, her family could not be saved anymore. Everyone and everything was already fucked up, and everything would eventually crumble.

She had nowhere to go, not even to Chloe.

She tried not to frame Chloe for being a groomer or a pedophile, but the way Shailene framed her effectively made it impossible for Dorothea not to suspect Chloe.

"You see it now, right?" Shailene muttered. "Chloe is the reason why your family is in ruin. That's why I said that Chloe must be the one triggering and manipulating Vincent in some way, so he reached the boiling point and finally started abusing her."

"But--" Dorothea tried to deny that, but her tongue was tied. Even she was unsure whether Chloe was innocent or not.

"See? You can't even deny it anymore," Shailene said. "If she's vicious enough to groom a seven-year-old child and manipulate him into adulthood, do you think she can't do the same to her own husband?"

"No, I--"

"Dorothea, I'm just trying to help you and your family. I care about you, you're more than just a client to me. You're my friend!" Shailene continued pressing her without giving Dorothea a time to think.

Dorothea finally shot another glare at Shailene but said nothing.

"I--I need to gather my thoughts," Dorothea said. She turned and walked towards the main door. She wobbled on her way out but tried to lean on the wall as she kept walking and opened the door.

This time, Shailene didn't try to stop her anymore. She had revealed her trump card and believed there was no way for Dorothea to deny this fact.

"Dorothea, I know that you need time. But you should know your friend and foe. I am your friend, your only friend in fact," Shailene claimed confidently. "I'm not a manipulative bitch like Chloe. I'm not going to use your depression and sadness to make you stand by my side. I'm doing this solely because I want you to get better!"

Chapter 475

"I know that you're a vulnerable old woman who made many wrong choices in your life, but please… don't make the wrong choice for this one!" Shailene started imploring, but she believed that her plan worked because Dorothea didn't try to argue with her anymore.

Instead, Dorothea kept silent. Her hand was still holding the door handle, and her shoulder drooped. She looked like a vulnerable old woman in her late 50s, something that she tried hard to never show.

Shailene couldn't see the old woman's face right now, but she believed that Dorothea must've been shaken to the core.

"Dorothea, being sad is alright. But you cannot let your sadness influence your decision. Chloe— that manipulative bitch will try to guilt trip you, and you should not give in!"

"Enough, Shailene!" Dorothea yelled. "I heard you enough. You don't need to keep trying."

"T—Then, what's your decision? You shouldn't try to connect or relate to Chloe. She is not the same as you. You're so much better than her," Shailene said. "Believe me, Dorothea. My heart aches for you. Instead of connecting with Chloe, you should keep talking to me instead. You don't even need to pay, I just want to help you."

"It's not about money," Dorothea said. "If I can use money to pay for my happiness, I'd give all the money I have." Dorothea looked over her shoulder to check on Shailene before nodding, "Thank you for your help. I hope I made the right decision this time. Good night."

Dorothea finally walked out of Shailene's apartment.

Shailene stared at the door for a while until she took a deep breath. She went to the kitchen to drink a glass of water to calm herself down and wiped the sweat on her forehead.

"Damn, that was intense," she murmured. "I didn't expect to be put in such a tough situation.

Shailene started reflecting on everything she had said to Dorothea, including revealing the big secret she had been holding the whole time.

And she thought…

It was all justified and correct.

"I want her to know that we're on the same team," Shailene murmured. "We can work together, so she can make things right for her family, especially Vernon. She needs to know that Vincent is unsalvageable, but she can connect to Vernon instead."

"He could be an ass sometimes, but he still had that kindness in him," Shailene said. "And after all this has been resolved, I hope Dorothea can see that Vernon and I are meant to be together. At least they should know that I'm fighting for what's right and what's the best for all of us."

"Unlike Chloe, that woman…." Shailene shook her head. "What a vicious bitch, ruining two brothers at the same time, even went as far as manipulating an old, vulnerable woman like Dorothea."

"I have to save Vernon from her clutch."

**

Dorothea walked slowly through the corridor. Her steps faltered many times, and she had to lean on the wall to keep moving forward.

Her shoulder drooped, unlike the usual Dorothea, who had her chest puffed out in pride. Now she really looked like her age.

A woman in her late 50s was depressed, lonely, and feeling that the world was unfair to her.

Dorothea entered the elevator and stood still until her tears broke like a dam, streaming down her cheeks and falling to the floor.

Her body trembled as she still couldn't believe the cold hard truth.

That her family was ruined, and there was no way to fix it.

Vaughn and Vincent were the same monsters. They were the worst kind of man that always plagued Dorothea's mind. They always came into her dreams and turned any kind of dream she had into a nightmare.

Vernon— she was way too estranged from her second son, and she knew that it was her fault.

She abused him as a child because she wasn't as obedient and good as his Big brother. She didn't know if it was the effect of heroin and alcohol, she took it back then, or maybe she was just a horrible human in the first place.

But all the abuse she did to Vernon made her feel way too guilty. She didn't even try to smile at Vernon since she knew that Vernon despised her.

So she masked her sadness and guilt by despising him back.

She was depressed, and nothing could heal her broken heart. No matter how much money she had from her bastard's late husband, she still couldn't be happy.

"I thought I could finally find someone I can connect with…." Dorothea murmured. "But Chloe, why? Why did you find Vernon? Was it really just a coincidence, or you've been targeting him the whole time so you can ruin his life and Vincent's too?"

"Is this your way to avenge all your grudges on me? Is this the punishment that I deserved?" Dorothea continued running with her own conclusion. "I know I'm a terrible person. But I'm trying to get better, so please, don't hurt me like this. I might die…."

Dorothea walked out of the apartment and entered her car. The driver said nothing as he noticed Madam Gray was crying.

The driver often witnessed Madam Dorothea Gray crying or staring emptily at the rows of New York high rise buildings. She said nothing, but she had a deep sadness in her.

Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to comfort the old lady, he felt it wasn't his place to do that.

The driver waited until Madam Gray stopped crying and asked carefully, "Where do you want to go, Madam?"

Dorothea wiped the tears that kept falling and muttered with a hoarse voice, "To Phoenix Tower, get me a room if there is an empty apartment for rent. If there's no apartment for rent, go to any hotel near that building."

The driver paused for a moment, "To Mr. Phoenix Gray's tower, Madam?" he asked, just in case he misheard it. As much as he remembered, Madam Gray never liked her second son, so to rent an apartment owned by him felt strange for the driver.