Ch. 496..500: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 496-500
Chapter 496
Vernon accepted the tumbler. He stared at it for a while and then looked at Chloe, who was smiling at him.
His hand trembled as he tried his best to keep it together. He had to be strong. He didn't want to be seen as a weak man who could easily be coaxed even though his spouse was cheating on him.
"You... you don't need to do this. I don't need it," Vernon said as it was his last attempt to show Chloe that he wasn't the one she could coax.
"Eh? Why?" Chloe tilted her head. "You always love banana-apple combo in a smoothie or juice. Did you change your taste now? Tell me what you like, so I can make it for you."
"Tsk!" Vernon couldn't do this. He couldn't handle Chloe's sweetness when he was supposed to be angry.
Whenever she smiled and stared at him with her sweet doe eyes, Vernon felt he could give up on anything as long as Chloe wanted to stay with him.
It was pathetic. Even Vernon called himself pathetic in his head while he rushed out of the penthouse.
"Good luck at work!" Chloe said, and Vernon jolted a bit before he shut the door behind him.
"Fuck, you're so pathetic, Vernon," he said while he went down to the basement parking lot with the elevator.
He stared at the tumbler in his hand. His hand trembled again, and he quickly wiped the tears pooling at the corner of his eyes, "This is so stupid. Why did I become so weak just because she made me a smoothie? She's lying to me! She's cheating!" Vernon yelled. "Am I this easy to please? You're a fucking loser!"
Vernon arrived at his office around six thirty. He was still holding the tumbler as he went up to the top floor.
He entered his office and put the tumbler on his desk while he sat on his executive chair. He was staring emptily to the front, trying to let his mind settle before he started his work today.
But he could not.
He kept on stealing glances at the tumbler as he got the urge to taste the smoothie that Chloe had made. He knew it'd taste good and would improve his mood immediately.
But he had to refrain from doing so to prove his firmness. So he just tapped the desk with his fingers impatiently until he couldn't wait anymore.
"Fuck this. I need to know with whom she's cheating!" Vernon finally grabbed his phone and called the head of the security department of his apartment building.
The phone was answered quickly as the security department was supposed to be always on the call 24/7. Now that their boss was calling, they didn't even dare to miss just a second of it.
--
"Good morning, Mr. Phoenix Gray," The security guard greeted me on the phone.
Two people were working as the head of the security guard, and they were brothers working on shift, Luis and Jose.
"Hm, am I talking to Luis or Jose right now?" Vernon asked.
"Luis, Sir."
"Okay, Luis," Vernon paused for a moment, thinking whether it was wise for him to spy on Chloe's activity. He wanted her to come clean, but at this rate and with Chloe acting so sweetly at him, he'd be the first one to fall and beg in front of Chloe.
So he had to check on this man first. If Chloe cheated with a random man for whatever reason, he'd just... erase that man from existence, and the problem would be solved.
But if he was a man with high status... he'd still erase that man. He didn't care about what would happen next.
"I have a job for you," Vernon said. "You need to check the CCTV camera aiming at my penthouse main door. Check if my woman-- Chloe, leaves the penthouse today, and continue following her path with the CCTV to see if she goes somewhere in the apartment building, probably in one of the rooms rented for regular guests."
Luis got nervous instantly. He felt that he was now listening to his boss' marital problem.
But he had to do his job nonetheless.
"Yes, Sir."
"Inform me if you see her entering one room," Vernon said, to which Luis replied with the same answer. "Good. I expect the information as quickly as possible."
Beep.
--
Vernon put his phone on the desk.
Now that he had given the order, he didn't know what to expect.
Part of him wanted to catch Chloe red-handed, so he could make that man vanish out of this world, and Chloe had nowhere else to go except him.
While another part of him didn't want the security department to call him. He wanted to trick his own mind, convincing himself that maybe he was just overreacting.
After all, he believed that Chloe was never a cheater.
If she could stay with Vincent-- that bastard who abused her nonstop for the past ten years, how could she not be able to stay with him?
Nevertheless, his decision stayed the same. He would do anything to make Chloe stay. He refused to let Chloe fall into the arms of other men.
"Even if I have to ruin the lives of so many people in this world, as long as I have you by my side, then I don't care about the rest," Vernon murmured with a glint of danger in his eyes.
He was well aware of his dark thoughts, which might be inherited from his bloodline.
It was also hard to control this crazy urge because he had never experienced it before. This urge only popped into his mind when it was about Chloe.
"I want us to burn together, Chloe," Vernon said. "I will never hurt you. I'd rather hurt myself than ever laying my hands on you."
"But if you decide to hurt me again, then let us burn together. We will drag everyone to hell with us."
Chapter 497
Chloe let out a relieved breath once Vernon left the penthouse carrying the tumbler. It was a sign that he wasn't all that mad to her.
Maybe he was in a bad mood because of work, so he had that naturally bitter face the whole time.
"See? I'm just overthinking," Chloe said as she tried to convince herself. "He hasn't noticed a thing, and that's good. I don't want him to notice Dorothea's presence way too early. I still have to plan out the best way to introduce Dorothea to our small family."
Chloe grabbed her phone on the kitchen counter and texted Dorothea, asking if she was available, and Dorothea replied quickly;
-
Dorothea:
Please come at seven, the door will be slightly open like yesterday.
I also want to tell you about the progress of my plan to disturb Vincent's charity work.
-
"Great!" Chloe cheered. She checked the time and realized that she only needed to wait fifteen minutes before going to the eleventh floor.
Chloe hummed as she made two more banana-apple smoothies for Mackie and Dorothea. She didn't know if Dorothea liked this kind of drink, but Vernon and Mackie had the same taste, so she thought their tastebud must've been inherited by someone in the family.
She was busy cutting the banana and apple with one hand skillfully, when Mackie suddenly came upstair.
She rubbed her eyes and stared at her Mommy, who was busy making smoothies as always, and asked, "Good morning, Mommy...."
"Morning, dear," Chloe turned her head towards her daughter and smiled. "I'm still preparing a banana smoothie for you."
"Mommy, can I eat cereal today?"
"Cereal? Alright then, but not too much, okay? Eating too much cereal is not good," Chloe said. She grabbed a bowl, cereal box, and milk from the fridge to the dinner table.
Mackie was already used to preparing her own cereal and generally would be happier if she was allowed to do so.
Thus, Chloe allowed her daughter to help herself while she poured the banana-apple smoothie into a tumbler.
She also poured the rest into a glass and decided to have that as breakfast.
She sat in front of her daughter. She watched her daughter, who was eating cereal and milk. Though she probably poured too much cereal compared to the milk because she loved the sugary cereal.
Mackie glanced at her Mommy and then at Uncle Vernon's bedroom door that had been opened and asked, "Mommy, where's Uncle?"
"He went to work early," Chloe replied. "He's busy."
"Mm... is he mad?"
"Huh? Mad? Why?"
"I don't know, Mommy," Mackie shrugged. "Uncle looked so scary when I told him that you left for four hours. He was like-- the real Big bad wolf from my school play!"
"Ahahaha... he always looks scary, don't you think?"
"Nu-uh," Mackie shook her head. "Uncle is usually very kind. He might not smile so much, unlike Daddy. But he is very kind when talking about you!"
"Really?"
"Um! Uncle is always happy whenever he talks about you!"
...
'Crap, now I feel guilty for lying to him.'
Chloe already knew that Vernon had feelings for her. He might call it love. However, Chloe thought Vernon's love for an old, ugly, unassuming woman like her was weird.
But if she had to be honest, she also felt the same.
As she lived with Vernon for the past seven months, she realized that Vernon had all the traits that Vincent lacked.
He showed more genuine emotion.
He was tough on the outside but surprisingly very attentive and soft in the inside.
He was full of passion. His touch carried the heat that Vincent lacked. He was the man that Chloe's body was naturally attracted to.
So she'd be lying if she said she didn't have the same feeling.
She was attracted to Vernon, and she found that feeling to be dangerous and unnecessary.
'He might not realize that I lied to him for now. But what'd happen when he found out about me hiding the news about Dorothea once I introduced her to our small family?' Chloe started to get anxious. She realized that she wasn't thinking about the long-term impact.
'Surely, Vernon would be angry and feel betrayed...' Chloe thought. 'But I really can't let Dorothea leave without trying to mend her relationship with Vernon!'
Mackie watched as her Mommy gradually turned anxious for some reason. Though she was still a child, she had seen that expression more often when they lived with Daddy in their real home.
Mommy would always have that expression, and whenever Mackie asked if she was alright, she'd try to smile and say that everything was alright and Mommy was okay.
Toddler Mackie couldn't discern that something was wrong.
But as Mackie grew older and lived with Uncle, she realized that Mommy's anxiety in their old home was not supposed to happen because Mommy was mostly in a good mood when she lived here with Uncle.
Now that she showed her anxiety again, something must be wrong.
"Mommy, is everything okay?" Mackie asked. She scooped a spoonful of cereal and milk while staring at her Mommy.
"Ah-- E--everything is okay, dear. Just finish your cereal, okay?"
...
"Mommy, do you want to go out again?"
"Ah-- uh..."
"It's okay, Mommy. I won't tell Uncle this time!" Mackie said. "I promise!"
"R--Really?" Chloe was surprised by her daughter's initiative. Usually, Mackie would report everything she did for the whole day to her Uncle so her Uncle knew that she had done a great job today as a cop.
"Un!" Mackie nodded. "Mommy said that you're bored yesterday, so you went out for four hours! Mommy is anxious today, maybe you should walk around the apartment again!"
"Mackie..."
"Un, I won't tell Uncle. But Mommy must promise me that you won't be sad or anxious after you return home, okay?"
Chloe got up and hugged her daughter from behind. She kissed her daughter's forehead and murmured, "Oh dear, thank you so much. I promise to bring you with me once everything has been settled."
"Un! I also want to go for a walk!" Mackie said. "I hope my new school will be very big, so I can walk a lot!"
Chapter 498Chloe grabbed the access key and the tumbler in one hand and told her daughter that she could watch TV for now because Chloe would only go out for an hour, so Mackie wouldn't feel so lonely.
Chloe went down the elevator to the eleventh floor and walked to room 1112.
The door was slightly ajar, just like what Dorothea said, so she knocked three times before entering and closed it behind her.
She thought she was being smart and careful because the corridor around this floor was empty right now.
Unfortunately, all of her movements in the CCTV camera from the moment she left the penthouse, entered the elevator, and entered room 1112, which was obviously occupied by a guest.
"Shit…" Luis swallowed his saliva with difficulty as he had just witnessed the woman his boss treated like a wife cheating on him. "Damn, this woman is crazy… She already has everything from Mr. Phoenix Gray but still decides to cheat on him. I don't think she'd be able to score someone better than him."
"Maybe it's just way over her head, thinking she could seduce everyone just because she's beautiful," Luis murmured.
Honestly, he didn't want to inform his boss right now. Because he was scared, this call would be the start of a murder case.
Mr. Phoenix Gray might have a clean record in public, but he was so intimidating, and his eyes were harbored malicious intentions toward everyone around him. So murdering someone might be a possible case for a man like Vernon.
If he knew that his woman cheated on him, either that woman would be dead, that man would be dead, or both.
Nevertheless, Luis was in a dilemma right now.
He kept thinking and thinking until he couldn't handle it anymore and grabbed his phone, "Screw this. I'm just doing my job!"
Thus, he called his boss, and Vernon picked up his call after just one beep.
-
"Do you have something for me?" Vernon asked.
"H—Hello, Boss. Yes, I have a… uh… bad news for you…" Luis said.
Vernon took a deep breath. He clenched his fist until his nail dug into his skin, and blood started trickling down, "It's fine, tell me," he said in a low voice, but it contained so much threat even Luis was scared right now.
"Sir I saw Miss— uh, your woman left the penthouse about fifteen minutes ago, around seven past ten. She used the VIP elevator to the eleventh floor, and walked straight to room 1112."
'Room 1112…' Vernon tried to put that number in his mind, so he wouldn't kill the wrong person after this whole cheating bullshit ended.
"She's carrying a tumbler with her. She knocked on the door three times before entering and closing the door. That's all, Sir."
…
It took Vernon a while to finally answer. He was losing his mind in the office right now.
"Good, keep me informed, call me again when you see her getting out of that room," Vernon instructed.
"Understood, Sir."
Beep.
—
Vernon hung up the call first. He slammed his phone on the desk and looked down. He stared at the empty desk, trying to empty his mind so he would calm down.
Because both his mind and heart were in so much rage that he could kill a person right now.
However, as he kept looking down, he noticed the tumbler that Chloe gave him today sitting at the edge of the desk. There was a banana-apple smoothie inside, which was supposed to be a very special thing that Chloe made only for their small family.
"Heh, turns out you're also giving it to another man, how disgusting," Vernon said.
He tried to ignore the tumbler, but it became too much of a thorn in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the tumbler.
"BULLSHIT! YOU'RE LYING TO ME!" Vernon raised his hand and smashed the tumbler to the floor until the inside spilled out.
He stomped on the tumbler and destroyed it after a few stomps, but he was still unable to curb his anger.
He got angrier each second and knew he wouldn't be able to work today.
He turned to the desk in front of him and kicked it with so much power that the big, heavy desk actually fell down in one kick, "LIAR! YOU'RE A FUCKING LIAR!"
**
Diamond had just arrived in the office when she saw that the light inside the CEO's office had been turned on.
The security guard and receptionist said that Mr. Phoenix Gray came earlier than usual, which wasn't really a surprise for Diamond.
Diamond had already witnessed how much of a workaholic her boss was. It was after living with Chloe that he toned it down a bit. As he was in a constantly good mood, his performance and efficiency at work increased a lot even though he didn't spend as much time in the office these days.
And above all those improvements, Diamond was most grateful for the positive change Chloe gave to her boss. He became less irritable, less temperamental, and could actually hold a conversation with her. Hence, their relationship felt more like a good friend and casual coworker than a tyrannical boss and secretary.
'Maybe I should ask if he wants a coffee,' Diamond thought. She put her bag on the table and walked to the CEO's office door.
She was about to knock when she heard;
"LIAR! YOU'RE A FUCKING LIAR!"
Followed by a loud thump which Diamond guessed must be the desk. Then she heard another loud thump and glass shattering, and everything just turned into chaos after that.
Her boss kept on yelling and cursing like a madman. He kept calling someone a liar, and she knew it must've been another fight with her homegirl, Chloe.
"Ah, damn it," Diamond cursed in a low voice as she returned to her desk. "Everything must've been destroyed inside, and I have to replace everything with brand new stuff."
Diamond massaged her temple as she started imagining all the stuff she had to handle, "What's their problem now? I bet this is just another misunderstanding."
Chapter 499
"What's their problem now? I bet this is just another misunderstanding."
Diamond rolled her eyes. It was obvious that Chloe and Vernon already loved each other at this rate. But their communication skills lacked so much, so there were a lot of unnecessary fights between them.
Diamond listened to her boss' rage, followed by so much furniture getting destroyed. She got even more worried as she thought Vernon would destroy everything inside his office, costing Diamond her weekend and possibly her Christmas and New Year holidays.
After all, the holiday season meant many of the usual craftsmen and distributors selling Mr. Phoenix Gray's stuff were closed. So she had to pre order or get something similar elsewhere, which would take her a month or two.
"Damn it, I have to call Chloe now. I don't want to deal with this crap before December comes," Diamond grabbed her phone and called Chloe.
Usually, Chloe would pick up her call in less than ten seconds. But the phone kept ringing, and Chloe didn't pick it up.
"Huh? What's wrong with her? Is she in the bathroom?" Diamond wondered. She tried to call her again, and Chloe still didn't pick it up.
As Diamond was about to make the third call, the CEO's office door was suddenly slammed open from the inside.
Diamond almost jumped out of fright when she saw her boss standing at the door. His suit was disheveled, and blood dripped from his clenched fists.
He had that heinous aura around him, and then he darted his eyes at Diamond.
"Don't call her," Vernon said. His voice was hoarse, probably after he screamed and roared like a madman a while ago.
Diamond gulped.
Her boss was so scary that she preferred not to be around him right now, "S—Sir, I don't know what happened, but I know for sure that you need Chloe by your side right now. I'm calling her, so she can come here with lyft or uber."
"It's no use. She won't pick up, no matter how many times you try calling her. Because she's busy getting fucked by another man right now," Vernon said. His voice was calm but more like the calm before the storm.
Diamond's eyes widened out of shock, but her first natural reaction was, "That's impossible," Diamond stated boldly. "I know what kind of woman Chloe is, and cheating is wayyyy out of her dictionary. If she's actually a cheater, she'd be cheating on Vincent long ago!"
Vincent scoffed, "Heh, you're stupidly biased. I have the proof already. There's video footage of her leaving my penthouse, and meeting a man. She's in floor 11, room 1112 of Phoenix Tower. She's getting fucked by another man inside my apartment building. Heheh…"
"T—That's not possible!" Diamond kept on denying it. She just thought that it was just ridiculous!
"Sir, I will call Anna, the receptionist in your apartment. I'll ask her to check who's the one living in room 1112!" Diamond said, gallantly protecting her homegirl. "Even if she enters that room, it could be anybody, right? Maybe it's her old friend, or maybe even her mother. Maybe she made up with her mother!"
"Hahah! You're so funny, Diamond. You are defending Chloe as if she's an angel who can't do no wrong," Vernon kept on giggling, scoffing, and laughing, which made everything feel so creepy for Diamond. "No angel would lie to me and fuck another man behind my back."
"Let me prove it to you!" Diamond called the Phoenix Tower's receptionist, and Anna picked it up quickly.
Diamond put it on loudspeaker, so Vernon could listen to it;
—
"Good morning, Phoenix Tower Lobby, this is Anna, may I help you?"
"Anna, this is Diamond, Mr. Phoenix Gray's secretary."
"Yes, Miss," Anna turned serious instantly, not wanting to make a mistake in front of her boss' secretary. "May I help you with something?"
"Yes, tell me who is the one staying in Room 1112, I need the information!" Diamond demanded.
"One sec, Miss."
…
…
There were at least thirty seconds pause until Anna replied, "The room has been occupied by a guest since two days ago, Miss. The guest is staying for one week with a high chance of extending the stay."
"Tell me, who's her name?" Diamond demanded. Her leg kept bouncing under the table as she couldn't withstand being stared at by that kind of psycho stare from her boss.
"Her? Miss, the guest is a man named Jonathan—"
Beep.
—
Diamond quickly hung up the call when she heard the guest was a man. She still couldn't believe that her homegirl was cheating. It was simply not possible!
"See?" Vernon smirked creepily. "She's cheating on me. She's fucking with a man named Jonathan. Heheh, I don't know what's on her mind that she'd do something so stupid, but I guess I'll have to do some cleaning up."
Vernon walked towards the elevator, and Diamond quickly got up and ran towards him.
She stopped right before him, blocking her boss from entering the elevator. She was scared as shit right now, but she had to keep him here, or else something terrible might happen as soon as he left the office.
"Out of my way, Diamond," Vernon said. His voice was calm, but his eyes were so dark and scary that he could kill a person with his gaze.
In fact, he would. Diamond was 100% sure he'd murder that guy named Jonathan.
"Where are you going, Sir?"
"To my apartment, I want to meet that man who dares to fuck my woman," Vernon said. "I'll make sure he'll be taken care of.
Diamond shook her head, "Sir, you're not thinking clearly right now. That man named Jonathan might be Chloe's old friend, or it could be her cousin!"
"She won't need to lie to me if he's just an old friend or her cousin," Vernon said. "You're protecting her because she's your best friend, you're blind, Diamond."
"Sir—"
"Why don't you put yourself in my shoes?"
Chapter 500
"Why don't you put yourself in my shoes?" Vernon said.
"W--What do you mean, Sir?"
...
Vernon paused for a while. He had a moment of clarity. He contemplated telling Diamond about his past and his deepest feelings for Chloe.
Of course, he could shove Diamond to the side and enter that elevator. But he felt that Diamond's bias was unfair.
He was obviously the one getting hurt here. Why would Diamond try to defend a cheater just because Chloe was her best friend?
Thus, he decided to let it all out so she'd understand.
"Imagine yourself born as an unwanted child, your father didn't give a shit about you, your mother despised you, and your Big brother treated you like his pet," Vernon said.
Diamond gasped. It seemed that her boss wanted to open up about his past in front of her, which was taboo to talk about this whole time.
"Your life was bleak and depressing. You were a child starving for love and attention... then a young woman-- ten years older than you, came to your life. She showered you with genuine love and attention that you never had in your life before."
"As you spent the time together, of course, you'd fall in love with her, and you thought you had the chance even with the age gap...."
"Then everything was robbed in front of your eyes. She told your father that she'd rather marry your Big brother because he was better, and you were just a useless piece of shit with no future."
"And she did, she chose your Big brother, married him and shoved you to the side. She was so happy with her new life that she simply forgot about your existence."
"So you left, with all of your heartbreak, you left your home to Europe. Because you thought your presence was unneeded, and the love of your life had abandoned you."
"Your life was filled with nightmares. Days were fleeting, you got drunk, slept with random women, studied hard and then worked your ass off every day. But no matter how successful you were, you still felt empty."
"So you returned to New York, worked here, thinking that you could at least catch a glimpse of her with her lovely family, only to realize that the marriage failed."
"So you thought you'd finally had the chance... to avenge your pain to both of them. Then you realized that she was actually suffering from constant mental and physical abuse."
"So you abandon your plan for a revenge, and take her in, constantly treating her gently so she'd heal from her trauma while hoping that eventually you could be the man that'd treat her right."
"And you thought everything was going smoothly until this random man suddenly entered our life and fucked her while I'm here working my ass off for our future," Vernon scoffed. The more he tried to laugh it off, the scarier he got. "I want to see what kind of man dares to touch my woman. Is he better than me? Or it's just Chloe spurring out of control because she wants to taste another man's dick."
"But the reason doesn't matter in the end, because I will kill that bastard and make sure that Chloe won't be able to do this again in the future," Vernon said coldly.
Diamond listened to everything and was so shocked that she couldn't speak anymore.
Because she actually sympathized with her boss who was about to murder someone soon.
"Step aside, Diamond," Vernon ordered.
"Sir, t--think about this. Please, you... you're going to make a big mistake!"
Vernon looked down at Diamond with a cold gaze, "I know you're her best friend. But she called me a useless-good-for-nothing man in front of my dad and now cheated on me. You'd step aside now if you still have any conscience."
...
Diamond lowered her head. She really wanted to believe that Chloe did no wrong.
But Anna said a male guest was in room 1112, and Vernon claimed he had the video footage of Chloe going inside that room.
It was too hard for her to defend her homegirl, and Vernon was right... if she still had a conscience, she'd step aside.
And so she did...
Diamond stepped to the right, allowing her boss to pass her.
She dared not look back, afraid that she'd change her mind, and tried to stop her boss again.
She heard the elevator door closed with a Ding, and her feet wobbled as she tried to reach the sofa to sit.
Diamond was so shocked that she still didn't know whether she had made the right judgment or not.
"But I can't stop him if what he said is right, Chloe...." Diamond said. She covered her face with her palms. She was confused and frustrated at the same time.
"Chloe, Did I really make the wrong judgment about you? I thought you're my best friend, and I'm usually good at reading someone's personality...." Diamond murmured. "Am I wrong all this time? Are you really that kind of whore?"
"Chloe-- Homegirl-- I... I don't know if I can continue being your friend if his accusation is true...."
**
Chloe entered Dorothea's room and saw the old woman watching random news on the TV.
"Morning, Dorothea," Chloe greeted with a smile, and Dorothea smiled back at her.
"Morning, I thought it'd take you a while to return here," Dorothea said. "After all, you're living with Vernon right now. You have to be careful, you know...."
"Ahaha, relax," Chloe sat next to Dorothea and put the tumbler on the coffee table in front of them. "He hasn't suspected a thing.
"Are you sure? I don't think you're a good liar," Dorothea said. "Vernon is not stupid. He must be perceptive enough to read lies."
"Well, I guess he's just too busy with work. That's why he hasn't noticed a thing," Chloe tried to pacify Dorothea. "Though I do feel guilty for lying, but it can't be helped, since I can't just bring you inside the penthouse and act like we're all good."