Ch. 476..480: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 476-480
Chapter 476
"Yes," Dorothea confirmed. "Get me a room there. I want to meet my second son."
...
The driver didn't know what just happened and what would happen soon inside that Phoenix Tower, but he was here to work and would do his job without question.
"Understood, Madam."
The car drove through the night until they reached the Phoenix Tower, famously owned by the handsome, young CEO-- Vernon Phoenix Gray, who went viral for his dashingly handsome appearance and how young he was considering all of his success.
The car was parked in the basement, and the driver said, "We're here, Madam."
"Go up and rent the room for me," Dorothea said. "Put it under your name and never say that I am the one who's renting. I'm afraid that my son already puts restrictions on me. I know he will, considering how paranoid he can be."
...
"Understood, Madam."
The driver went up to rent an apartment room for Dorothea. She stared emptily at the dim light of the basement parking. She wasn't thinking straight right now, so all she did was use her heart to guide her.
As much as she wanted to start accusing Chloe of being the bitch that Shailene claimed she was, Dorothea still wanted to meet her.
Dorothea wanted to see if Chloe was truly the manipulative whore, or if it was all just in her head and Shailene's mouth.
She also wanted to know about Chloe's relationship with her second son, Vernon.
She knew she had no right to intervene in Vernon's relationship. After all, she hadn't done her duty as a mother since she gave birth to him.
But she wanted to know his true intention of returning to New York. Was it just for business or to destroy the Gray family?
To destroy her...
The driver returned to the car with a card key in his hand. He entered the car and twisted his body to face Madam Gray sitting at the back, "Madam, this is the card key. I have rented an apartment for a week under my name. But the room quality might not meet your standard, Madam. The best they have is the two-bedrooms with balcony, penthouse is not available. I'm sorry, Madam."
Dorothea smiled at her driver and accepted the card key, "You've done a great job, thank you, Jonathan."
The driver's eyes widened instantly, "M--Madam, you know my name?!"
"But of course," Dorothea said. "I was the mistress of the house before I hired someone else to manage the people inside the Gray mansion for me. Naturally, I know people around me. I know that you just had your first baby. Heard that from the rumors around the Gray mansion. Congratulations."
The driver went silent but nodded to confirm, "Yes, Madam. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure working with you for the past five years."
"And you will continue working with me," Dorothea said. "Jonathan, I want you to take a break-- at least for a month, don't worry, it will be paid leave. I will tell the head butler that I'll be busy having a trip to Greece, but you should not tell anyone about my presence here, understand?"
...
Jonathan knew that it wasn't his place to ask this. He kept reminding himself that he was just a driver.
But he couldn't help but get a little worried, "Madam... are you alright? Do you need me to bring a maid with you?"
"No, and also no," Dorothea replied firmly to make herself sound strong, but her bitter smile said otherwise. "I am not alright. But I can manage myself. You don't need to worry about me."
"Oh-- and, you should spend more time with your wife and newborn baby. I bet she will appreciate it so much," Dorothea advised.
"I will, Madam. They're always in my mind," Jonathan, the driver, answered firmly. "Thank you, Madam. You're so kind."
"Haha, I'm not kind," Dorothea said. She opened the door and gave Jonathan the last look before smiling again. "But I'm trying not to be a terrible person."
The door was shut, and Dorothea went to the elevator to go up to her floor.
She entered the room, putting her bag on the sofa before she sat next to it.
Her eyes wandered around the room, and Jonathan was right. This was just a regular two bedroom apartment with a balcony, though the balcony view was surely beautiful.
But that wasn't her main focus.
She was more focused on the fact that Vernon could buy an entire apartment building in the middle of New York with his own money.
Dorothea was actually terrified when she learned about this fact. Vernon said it loud and proud in front of her when she summoned him into her room during her birthday half a year ago.
He said he had already bought an apartment building a year before moving to New York. He already had everything set for him and was already working on branching out in many sectors to gain a footing in the US market.
Dorothea told him not to try fighting against Vincent in the market because he was the Gray family's true heir, but Vernon told her that he didn't care.
He told Dorothea that his Big brother could beat him in any business if he was better than him.
-
'And Vincent will not believe what I said to you just now, you dying hag,' Vernon said ruthlessly back then. He scoffed full of ridicule at Dorothea and added, 'You will see some shit about to happen with your family. Just wait and see.'
-
"I guess it does come true in such a short time. I feel like this is the end of my family. The end of me," Dorothea murmured. "But even if everything falls apart, I still want to know if Chloe has been doing this to ruin my life like what Shailene said, or if she's just stuck in a bad place and has no way to escape, like what happened when I married Vaughn back then."
Thus, Dorothea texted Chloe the last text before she closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly.
Chapter 477
Chloe woke up earlier than Vernon the next morning. She was sweating all over, even under the aircon, because Vernon kept on spooning her subconsciously while he was sleeping, not giving her a chance for Chloe to separate herself from him.
Chloe struggled a little, trying to break free since she had to check on Mackie and get going by making banana juices for them as well.
"Vernon, let go…." Chloe said while she was struggling.
"Hrhm…" Vernon snorted before snoring like an idiot again. He was like a big gorilla you couldn't break free of unless it was by his own will.
Knowing she might spend the whole morning stuck in this, she decided to use her mighty skill instead.
Chloe stopped struggling and leaned deeper inside Vernon's embrace, making the man very comfortable. She used her butt to start rubbing on Vernon's morning wood until his half-erect cock got fully erect in seconds.
Vernon had a thin smile as he also started grinding his dick against Chloe's soft butt. Thinking that Chloe wanted to do it, he opened his eyes, and his hand reached for her boobs from behind, "So eager in the morning, hm?"
Chloe smiled and looked over her shoulder. She saw from the corner of her eyes that the big guy was grinning perversely.
Which was unfortunate because she wasn't in the mood right now.
"Let me off, Vernon. I need to check on Mackie, and also make smoothie or juice for you two."
The perverted grin disappeared instantly. Vernon snorted annoyedly and released his embrace. He murmured 'Blue Balling' a few times before closing his eyes again.
Chloe thought it was cute, so she giggled as she left the bedroom.
She went down to check on Mackie and was relieved that Mackie was in a deep sleep, probably because she kept snacking cookies in the evening.
Chloe went to her room to check her phone. She expected Dorothea to blast her phone like before.
To her surprise, there was no phone call but a text from Dorothea.
"Just one?" Chloe wondered. "Did she finally give up? How about all her worries for me and Mackie? Was it all just a farce to trap me so I will meet her?"
Chloe couldn't help but get a little suspicious of the sudden change. She opened the text, and her heart skipped for a second.
She kept reading the short text over and over. She blinked a few times, trying to see if her eyes were tricking her.
But that short text was clear as day.
-
Dorothea:
I know everything, Chloe. Call me once you read this text.
I want to talk to you, even for the last time.
Please.
-
It was a short text, but Chloe felt the urgency in it. It didn't feel like a threat but more like a plea.
Dorothea was pleading with her, even if it was for the last time. She even used the word 'please,' something that Dorothea had never said before to her.
Chloe gulped. She tried to keep things logical, like what Vernon kept trying to remind her.
But right now, she felt the urgency of Dorothea's text meant that she was at her wit's end. She was exhausted from all things right now.
Chloe sat on the bed, staring at the text for a long time before she gripped her phone to make one decisive action, "Please don't hurt me, Dorothea. I don't think I can trust anyone outside of Vernon and Mackie if you turn out to be as evil as Vincent. I can't manage another betrayal…."
Thus, Chloe pressed Dorothea's contact and gave her a call.
Dorothea was sleeping on the sofa when she heard her phone ring on the table in front of her. She opened her eyes slowly. It wasn't difficult to wake up, though, since she had a long nightmare through the night.
She rubbed her eyes and checked on the caller, thinking it was just the head butler in the Gray mansion.
But her eyes widened when she saw the caller's ID. Her drowsiness disappeared instantly, and she immediately picked up the call.
-
…
…
"H—Hello?" Chloe opened the conversation first after the long silence. "Dorothea, are you there?"
Dorothea took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. Chloe's voice was gentle, just like what she expected.
In fact, Dorothea never saw her getting angry at anything, even at Mackie, who often threw tantrums when she was a kid. She was very patient, 'Unlike me, who beat my own son for being a child…' she thought as the self-blame continued in her mind.
"Dorothea?"
"I'm here," Dorothea said. "T—Thank you for calling me. I thought… we will never talk again."
"… What happened, Dorothea?" Chloe asked.
'Oh, a lot happened, dear. So many crazy things are happening in my life right now and I think I'm so close to just ending it all,' Dorothea said in her heart. Though she didn't want to come off as trauma-dumping or trying to hook her sympathy on the phone.
Dorothea still didn't know if Chloe was genuinely a good woman or if she was a manipulative bitch like what Shailene said.
Her instinct told her that Chloe was the former one, as she had never experienced getting harmed by Chloe in any way.
But she still didn't want to sound desperate until they met, at least.
Thus, Dorothea cut straight to the point;
"Chloe, I— I know everything already," she said.
"What do you mean?" Chloe went on full guard once they returned to the topic. As much as Chloe remembered, only her new small family and Diamond knew about the identity of Vernon as her benefactor.
Was there a mole the whole time?
"I know the identity of the man who has been hiding you and my granddaughter the whole time," Dorothea said. She wondered if this would be the right time to say it, but she had no chance to back down, knowing that Chloe might never call her again after this.
"I'm staying in his apartment right now."
Chapter 478
"I'm staying in his apartment right now."
That word came like a tidal wave that hit Chloe right in her core. The hand holding the phone started to tremble, and Chloe's face got paler as she had already assumed the worst might have happened.
Dorothea already knew the identity of Vernon as her benefactor, and there was definitely a mole around her.
But Chloe still tried to play it off, hoping that Dorothea was just bluffing to catch her off guard and accidentally spilled Vernon's identity by herself.
"W--What do you mean by apartment, D--Dorothea?" Chloe acted calmly, but she kept stuttering out of nervousness. "He-- um... I don't think he... has an apartment...."
"You're not really good at lying, Chloe," Dorothea said bluntly, and Chloe muttered 'sorry' out of reflex.
Chloe gasped when she realized what she had just said. It was inevitable for her to mutter that word because she was so used to apologizing for everything and taking the blame. It became a muscle memory for her.
Dorothea had a smile as she heard Chloe's reaction. She was glad that Chloe didn't seem to fake her reaction. Thus, at least Dorothea could assume that Chloe wasn't as manipulative as Shailene said.
Still, her nervousness didn't answer anything regarding her involvement with Vincent and Vernon.
"I don't want to beat around the bush, Chloe," Dorothea said. Her voice sounded very exhausted as if she was already devoid of her will to live. "I'm staying on floor 11, room 1112. I will be waiting for you. This might be the last time I meet you, Chloe. So please, come here and talk to me."
"Wait, Dorothea--"
Beep
--
Chloe's mouth gaped open as she had to swallow lots of her words back into her throat. She tried to give another call to Dorothea, but she stopped answering any of Chloe's calls.
All she did was send a text.
--
Dorothea:
1112, the door will be unlocked, and you can come in.
If you trust me as much as I want to trust you, please come and meet me. I need to talk to you.
Don't tell him that I'm here. I'm afraid he'll kick me out as soon as he knows...
--
"Oh, this is-- no way--" Chloe felt her legs getting weaker, and she dropped herself onto her bed. She tried to take many deep breaths as she felt herself suffocating out of fear.
"Is she really here? In the Phoenix Tower? On the eleventh floor?!"
"No, h--how could she know about this? What will happen to Vernon?!" Chloe's mind was plagued by fear right now. She was so scared that Dorothea might've told Vincent about this already, and Vernon would be done for.
"I--I can't let that happen, no," Chloe shook her head vehemently. Vernon's safety was her priority, and she would do everything to keep him safe.
Even if that meant she had to die under Vincent's hand.
Chloe gulped. She read the text again and finally made her decision.
It was a swift decision that wasn't very wise or smart, but she knew she had to do it.
She had to meet Dorothea and face her alone.
Chloe tried to muster the courage, "You should act normal, Chloe. Vernon will be getting ready for work soon, so you have to act normal."
Chloe knew that she could always hide under Vernon's arm. If she told him right now about Dorothea, he'd definitely kick her out.
But that was what scared Chloe the most.
What if Dorothea got so angry and vengeful after getting kicked and humiliated by her second son that she decided to tell Vincent everything, including Vernon's identity.
"Soi have to be careful. This is for his own wellbeing."
**
Chloe tried to act normal while watching Vernon and Mackie eating a simple pancake breakfast that Vernon had cooked just now. They were eating in silence, but Vernon checked on Mackie and Chloe a few times by glancing at them, ensuring that everything was alright and his food was good.
It was always a relief for him whenever he saw Chloe and Mackie smile because it showed harmony in their new small family. That was the blessing he had always wanted his whole life.
A happy family.
However, he started noticing something was off because Chloe seemed to gradually get more nervous each time Vernon glanced at her.
As if she had done something terrible and tried not to get discovered.
Vernon doubted that she was cheating on him. That'd be the last thing on his mind. But he wondered if Chloe continued contacting Dorothea after their fight yesterday.
His rage started building again. As always, Dorothea was like a thorn in his heart. As long as Dorothea was still around Chloe's life, he would never feel truly safe.
'That bitch needs to die, seriously,' Vernon thought. 'She must've influenced Chloe's weak mind again.'
Vernon was about to open his mouth and start interrogating- probably with some shouting along the way as well, but then he realized that Mackie was right by his side. So he had to hold it until he finished his work in the office.
"I'll have a few important meetings today, so I'll be home late," Vernon said as he put on his socks with Chloe standing by his side with his briefcase. "You're still recovering, don't go out for now, and don't do anything unnecessary, okay?"
"O--Okay," Chloe nodded obediently. "I--I will sit still and watch TV all day, is that good enough?"
"I'm serious, Chloe," Vernon sighed. "I'm doing this for you, for us. Please don't do anything stupid or risky. I don't want to lose you."
Vernon got up and grabbed the briefcase from Chloe's hand, "Bear with me for a while, Chloe. I might get a little overbearing for now, but you know why I did this," he said while glancing at Chloe's right hand that was wrapped in a cast. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"I know, "I promise not to do anything to hurt you, to hurt us, Vernon..." Chloe nodded, then lowered her head out of shame.
Chapter 479She was feeling guilty that she had to trick Vernon again.
Vernon had been nothing but good for her, and it was true. He was being so protective because Chloe had just got beaten to hell and back by Vincent.
But Dorothea's case was special, and Chloe had to meet or at least come to room 1112 to check if she was actually in Phoenix Tower. It'd be great if she was lying, trying to scare or threaten Chloe.
But if Dorothea's threat was true, that Dorothea already knew about Vernon's identity, then she might have to do the most extreme, whatever that was— as long as Vernon's identity would be safe.
"Good, I'm going to work now. See you later—" Vernon paused for a moment. His mouth was slightly open as there was a word he wanted to say but couldn't because the timing wasn't right.
And that word was 'Honey.'
Vernon exhaled helplessly and patted Chloe's head gently before he entered the elevator and left.
Chloe watched him until the elevator door was completely shut. She let out a relieved breath.
Chloe couldn't keep calm and continued lying through her teeth when Vernon was around. Because she kept remembering how hurt Vernon was when he found out that Chloe was talking to Dorothea on the phone yesterday.
"Well, maybe I'm going to hurt him even more for now. But I will do anything to prevent your downfall, Vernon," Chloe murmured. She was determined to face Dorothea, even if she already had a guess that Dorothea might blackmail her soon or the worst— Vincent was already here, hiding in Dorothea's room, ready to catch Chloe off guard and drag her back into that cage.
But that was just her paranoia talking.
Dorothea might be ignorant and arrogant back then, but she never tried to fiddle with Vincent's married life.
Which could be a positive or negative trait depending on the situation.
Of course, no woman wanted to have a nagging mother-in-law.
But no woman would ever wish to get beaten by her husband and ignored by her mother-in-law, even after all the reports she made about Vincent's crazy behavior.
Chloe returned to the penthouse and saw Mackie reading a storybook. She seemed so engrossed with the book that she didn't notice her Mommy walk past her, grab her access key, and sneak right out of the penthouse.
Chloe went down to the eleventh floor and walked to room 1112.
The door was slightly ajar as if the person inside this room had been expecting Chloe's arrival.
Chloe peeked from the gap and saw Dorothea's back as the old woman sat on a chair facing the open balcony.
Chloe's body tensed immediately. She covered her mouth so she wouldn't gasp out of reflex. She stepped back and leaned on the wall to prop herself because her legs felt weak.
'She's here. She knows about Vernon and me!' Chloe was screaming internally. She panicked, and the fear that Dorothea would use this information to ruin Vernon's life made her palpitate.
Her instinct told her to flee because that was all she could do most of the time: cower or flee so she wouldn't get hurt.
But when she checked Dorothea again. She sensed something that Dorothea never showed before, and that was… vulnerability.
Chloe could only see her back, but that was all she needed to realize that Dorothea looked weak.
Her shoulder drooped like the old woman that she should be. She placed her hands on the armrests, and Chloe noticed how her fingers were shaking from time to time as if she had been enduring extreme pain that she couldn't bear.
This wasn't the usually proud and condescending Dorothea. She looked like a regular old woman with so much mental exhaustion.
…
Chloe's fear slowly dissipated as she kept staring at Dorothea's back, and at some point, the fear had been replaced with pity.
She knew it was crazy for her to pity Dorothea just because she looked weak. After all, when Chloe was at her lowest, Dorothea never gave her an ounce of pity.
No matter how many times Chloe told Dorothea that Vincent was hurting her, Dorothea would turn blind eyes and then ignore Chloe's completely, saying that it wasn't her concern Chloe couldn't be a good wife to Vincent or that Chloe was simply overreacting.
Chloe felt that she should be vengeful to that old woman. She should laugh at Dorothea for looking so weak and vulnerable and also taunt her in the process so Dorothea will understand how much pain Chloe felt when living with Vincent for the past ten years. After all, karma is a bitch, right?
But Chloe was never a vengeful person. She never wanted to hurt others, a trait she sometimes despised because it made her weak and stupid, just like how Vincent described her.
Chloe was still thinking about whether she should just barge in and talk with Dorothea or leave, but before she finished thinking, her legs had already moved on their own when she heard a sob from Dorothea.
Chloe opened the door and closed it behind her. She walked in carefully and stood behind Dorothea.
From this angle, Chloe could see how frail Dorothea looked. She could see Dorothea's side profile and noticed the exhaustion on her face.
She had lost the glamorous beauty she had spent so much money on. Dorothea looked like she had been aging a lot faster since the last time Chloe saw her, and her eye was slightly droopy, watching the bustling morning of New York city from the balcony.
"I'm glad you came, Chloe," Dorothea said without looking at her daughter-in-law. She smiled thin as she continued, "I thought you'd chicken out as usual. Won't blame you if you do so, though."
Dorothea's snark was actually on point. Chloe was about to chicken out. But two reasons made her stay and confront Dorothea instead of running away.
First, she felt that Dorothea's vulnerability was very odd, and it concerned her to see the usually condescending woman become so weak.
Chapter 480
And second;
"Because you know about Vernon as my benefactor," Chloe uttered her reasoning. "I will do anything to prevent you from ruining his life," she added without fear.
It was also her main reason to come here and meet Dorothea anyway, so she would prefer to make things clear to lessen the burden on her shoulder.
Dorothea finally looked at Chloe from the corner of her eyes, and her lips trembled when she saw the cast covering Chloe's right hand.
Obviously, Dorothea knew that Chloe was in so much pain. Her bones might've cracked, dislocated, crushed, or all the above after getting beaten by Vincent.
'Yet, Vincent treats her wounds like it's some kind of trophy. As if beating his wife is some kind of prideful thing,' Dorothea despaired. 'Just like Vaughn.'
Although Dorothea sympathized greatly with Chloe's suffering, she tried hard not to jump at Chloe and hugged her daughter-in-law.
She had a lot on her mind, but the most important thing to do was to apologize.
She should apologize for being so condescending to Chloe, for ignoring her plea while she got abused by Vincent, and overall for being a terrible mother-in-law to Chloe.
Oh, one more thing, she wanted to apologize on behalf of Vincent because she felt it was her fault that he grew up to be a monster.
Unfortunately, she couldn't show her concern or sympathy, at least not until she made sure that Chloe wasn't the manipulative bitch like what Shailene said.
"Even if you'll put yourself in danger?" she asked.
"Yes," Chloe stated without hesitation.
If there was one thing in this world that she would bet her life on, that would be protecting her family. She did her best to protect Mackie from Vincent and all the disgusting shit happening in the Gray family.
She also tried her best (though not the wisest) to protect Mackie's innocence until she was old enough to understand.
Now she also saw Vernon as part of her family, which meant she would do anything to protect that big guy.
Dorothea continued observing Chloe from head to toe, trying to see if Chloe was just trying to fool her.
Shailene's words stuck around in her mind longer than she wanted. Shailene planted a seed of doubt in Dorothea's heart, making her unsure if Chloe was actually a good woman or a vile one that wanted to ruin her second son.
"You know that I can always tell Vincent about this information, right? He will ruin Vernon's life in an instant," Dorothea continued talking while her eyes studied every change Chloe made.
Chloe couldn't hide the horror in her eyes. Her chest started palpitating as she panicked.
But she realized that panicking wouldn't save Vernon's ass right now. She had to stay strong in front of Dorothea to show that she wasn't scared by her threats.
"Then I will give myself to Vincent," Chloe said determinedly despite the fear in her heart. "I will trade my life. He can do anything to me as long as he lets Vernon off."
"Even if that means he will beat the crap out of you? You know that Vincent is--" Dorothea paused for a moment. She swallowed her saliva as she was about to destroy all the stupid pride she had for her first son from now on. "--is a terrible man."
"I know he is a terrible man. I experienced getting abused by him for the past ten years," Chloe replied. The memories of Vincent's abuse flashed in her mind like a film reel, yet, she clenched her fist and continued talking, "But I'm not scared to face Vincent. That monster can take my life as long as he will let Vernon off. After all, my life is not as important as his."
Dorothea was taken aback by Chloe's answer, "Your life is not as important as his?"
"Yes. Vernon is a bright young man. He is very successful for his age, and he is a kind man-- just with an intimidating appearance. He has helped me way more than he needs to, and he deserves to have a happy life after--" Chloe hesitated to continue, but she felt that Dorothea must've known this fact already, even if she buried it deep in her heart. "--After he experienced a terrible childhood."
Dorothea went silent for a moment before giving the nod, basically confirming that she was one of the main reasons which caused Vernon to have a terrible childhood.
Chloe was assured. She didn't know what changed Dorothea, but her admittance of being a terrible mother gave Chloe more confidence to speak out.
"He is a talented man who deserves the world, while I'm just a... good-for-nothing woman. I'm not young anymore, and frankly... I don't have that much will to live anyway, haha...." Chloe added an awkward laugh at the end because she thought it sounded too depressing for someone else to hear, though it was the truth in her heart.
She was very happy to live with Vernon and Mackie. All moments with them were the happiest moments Chloe ever had.
But at the same time, she felt that Vernon and Mackie could still push through and forget her in the future if she disappeared because of Vincent's doing.
Just like this moment.
If Dorothea had already told Vincent about her relationship with Vernon, she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice her own life.
Dorothea pursed her lips. She continued staring at Chloe's determined face until she released an exasperated breath, "Forget it. I know that you're not evil, Chloe. If you were, you would knock me out from behind and kill me the moment you saw me."
Dorothea slowly got up from her chair as she also felt weak.
She stood in front of Chloe, bewildered by her action, and then opened her arms before circling them around Chloe's shoulder.
Dorothea hugged her daughter-in-law, who turned stiff. This was the first time Dorothea hugged her daughter-in-law, and she realized one thing.
'Chloe feels very... safe,' Dorothea thought. 'She feels like home.'