Ch. 696..700: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 696-700

Chapter 696

Chloe was relieved that Vernon didn't seem mad, at least not as bad as last night. She didn't want to fight with Vernon, it was mentally exhausting, and it hurt her heart so much whenever she saw him looking so distressed.

So she began to speak gently, "Why don't you go there and kiss your daughter first? I bet Mackie would be happy if you give her a morning kiss and say Merry Christmas to her."

"I will do that later," Vernon replied. He grabbed the hot chocolate cup and sipped it. "She's still busy with her cousins."

"And when will that 'later' happen?" Chloe asked. "You know those boys will be accompanying Chloe for the whole day, right?"

Vernon's body stiffened. He couldn't get mad at Chloe when she was being so gentle like this. So he was forced to reply civilly, "I feel awkward around them. They're not exactly in my family list. My family list consists of you, Mackie, and I."

"Well, you don't need to put them in your family list, just let them enjoy Christmas with Mackie, okay?" Chloe said.

"I did. I allow them to stay with Mackie right now," Vernon said. He glanced at Mackie and the boys, who were busy watching a movie, and they began to relax as they ate the cake. "For your information, I don't hate them. I just don't know what to do around them."

"Chloe, you should know that I'm not exactly the loving type, and I'm not good with kids. I tend to scare them," Vernon admitted. "Mackie is the only little girl I can get close to because she's basically the mini version of me."

'Ah, so he's not hostile to the boys. He's just awkward,' Chloe was so relieved because she thought she'd have to fight Vernon over the boys. She truly didn't want to argue with her beloved man.

'I guess, it's understandable. We can't really change how people act. Vernon is just not good with kids,' Chloe pondered. 'Or maybe he just thought he's not good with kids because he looks very intimidating.'

'Anyway, as long as he is fine with the boys, I guess that's okay.'

Vernon began to eat his cake and then said, "Thank you for not allowing Dorothea to come. I just can't stand her."

Chloe sighed.

She wanted Vernon to know the truth about his mother, whether he liked it or not.

"Well, I've already planned to stop her from coming. After all, I know that you've suffered a lot under her hand when you were young. Your dislike towards her is justified," Chloe said truthfully.

"But she already knows her place. She told the boys that she's not feeling well, and when I visited her room, she told me that she knows you don't like her because of what she did back then, and she doesn't want to ruin your Christmas."

Vernon went silent after that. He didn't know how he should take this news.

Should he be happy that Chloe understood her priority and Dorothea knew her place?

Or should he feel guilty because he stopped an old woman to have a normal Christmas?

Nevertheless, he just couldn't imagine himself in the same room as Dorothea while celebrating something like Christmas. Dorothea literally beat him during Christmas, everything about her was like a nightmare for Vernon.

Chloe noticed the change in Vernon's expression, so she assured, "Don't worry. I'm not forcing you to accept her back into your life. You are my number one, Vernon," she said. "I just want you to know that Dorothea knows her place, so from now on, you won't see her around unless you're the one who called her."

"Hm, thank you, Love," Vernon nodded reluctantly.

Right when Chloe was about to return to the boys, Mackie suddenly walked towards the dining table and greeted her Uncle first. She jumped and hugged her Uncle's arm, "Merry Christmas, Uncle! You are the best Big Bad Wolf in the world!"

Vernon laughed. He picked Mackie up and sat her on his thigh. He kissed her forehead and said, "Merry Christmas, Mackie. You are also the best Little Wolf I have. Don't worry, I have prepared a present for you."

"Really?!" Mackie was surprised. She had never got a proper Christmas present from her Daddy before, so she got excited. "Where is it Uncle? I want to see!"

Vernon smiled, "We will go to your gift at noon."

Mackie tilted her head. She didn't know what that meant. She thought that her gift would be nicely wrapped under the Christmas tree, but apparently not.

Nevertheless, she was excited about it, "Okay, Uncle! I want to see it later!"

Vernon patted her head and glanced at the boys, who were still eating their cakes while watching a TV show. He knew those boys weren't exactly lucky in their lives as well.

Chelsea was a monster, and they lived in poor conditions because Chelsea usually hoarded all the money for herself or gave some to her useless husband.

Besides, Vernon was also partly guilty of those boys. He was the one who ordered someone to carve that ugly scar on Chelsea's face. He liked seeing her in pain, sweet revenge for what she did to Chloe.

But at the same time, his action also indirectly caused Chelsea to go insane and almost murdered those boys.

Thus, swallowing his pride, Vernon added, "You can also take your cousins with us. I also have a gift for them."

"Whos! Uncle is the best! They will be happy!" Mackie hugged her Uncle and kissed his cheek, "This will be the first gift they ever get during Christmas! This will be my first too!"

Mackie then looked at her Mommy, who was sitting right next to Uncle, "Mommy, do we still have a slice of cake in the fridge?"

"We do, dear. I saved it for you. Do you want it now?"

Mackie shook her head, "Um, Aaron told me that Grandma Dorothea can't come because she's not feeling well. Can I bring the cake to her instead? At least she can eat the cake, it will make her feel better!"

Chapter 697

Chloe smiled at her daughter and nodded, "Sure, dear. I'll pack the cake for you, and we can deliver it to your Grandma Dorothea."

Chloe gave Vernon a quick glance and then walked to the fridge to retrieve the cake.

Vernon went silent instantly. His heart felt heavy knowing that a little girl like Mackie was so kind and caring to her sick Grandma while he still couldn't let go of the past.

But at the same time, his mind kept telling him not to forgive Dorothea so easily. She had to suffer for what she did to him back then. Since he couldn't hurt Dorothea physically, at least he should hurt her mentally.

She had to suffer in loneliness, knowing that her only capable son wouldn't ever accept her, and she would die with heartbreak!

Vernon didn't know what to do because his logic and conscience were fighting against each other, trying to dominate Vernon until he made a decision that he thought was right.

But in the end, he just sat there in silence, not knowing what to do.

"This is the cake, dear. Why don't we bring this together with your Grandma?" Chloe offered.

"Un! I want to visit Grandma!" Mackie jumped off Vernon's thigh and said to her Uncle, "We're going to check on Grandma first, Uncle! Go take a bath, you smell awful!"

Chloe and Mackie went to tell the boys to sit there and enjoy their cakes while they delivered the cake to Grandma. Thus, after they left, the room was filled with silence.

Because there were only Vernon and those little boys busied themselves watching TV and tried to ignore Uncle Vernon, who was still dazed at the dining table.

Vernon stared at those boys from the dining table.

Chloe was right. Those boys had no fault against him. It was just himself that disliked kids in general. He just thought that they were noisy, annoying, and deadweight.

Well, things changed after Chloe and Mackie entered his life, of course.

But still, he just disliked kids and wanted nothing to do with them.

So he simply ignored them and went to his bathroom to take a bath.

It took him a while to finish his bath and get ready to drive Mackie to her gift. He combed his hair and went out of the bedroom only to see Mackie joining the boys to circle around the Christmas tree, singing jingle bells with their scratchy voices.

Chloe looked at them with joy. She even clapped her hand and sang along.

Honestly, Vernon didn't understand how Chloe liked this kind of thing. Rather than cute, those kids looked like they were doing a ritual to summon Satan instead of Santa.

Vernon walked towards Chloe and stood right next to her. He waited for Chloe to say something, but she seemed to enjoy entertaining the kids so much that he got ignored.

So he cleared his throat, and the jingle bell ritual to summon Santa was interrupted.

Chloe and the other kids were looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Let's go down to the basement parking lot. We're going to get your gift," Vernon said.

"Whoo! Gift!" Mackie was excited. She didn't know what her Uncle had for a surprise, but she knew it would be great!

"Alright, let me find a jacket for Mackie first," Chloe said as she went downstairs with Mackie to find a jacket to wear since they were going out.

Thus, Vernon was left with the boys again.

The previously happy mood turned awkward instantly, and the younger boys quickly hid behind their oldest brother for protection.

Aaron stood still and stared at the scary Uncle Vernon without fear since he was the oldest, and he had to assure his little brothers that things would be fine.

"Thank you for allowing us to come in, Uncle," Aaron said. "It's really fun to spend Christmas with Boss Mackie and Aunt Chloe. This is our first time having a real Christmas tree in the house as well."

"Um… we like decorating with Boss Mackie!"

"Yes! Cake is good too!"

"Hot chocolate!"

The boys behind Aaron also added to give moral support for their oldest brother.

Vernon kept his mouth shut as he listened to these boys. He didn't know what to say other than give the nod to confirm that everything was fine and those boys didn't need to worry about anything.

But it seemed that the boys were too intimidated by Vernon, who looked down on them with his scary eyes, intimidating height, big muscles, and silence.

He was like a giant that could eat them anytime soon.

Knowing that his brothers were too scared to talk, Aaron said, "Um, since Boss Mackie and Aunt Chloe are going outside, then we will return to our room. Grandma Dorothea must be waiting for us."

"Stay," Vernon said. "You boys are going with us. I also have a gift for you."

"A gift?"

"I got a gift?"

"Um, what's a gift?"

Aaron was unsure of what Uncle Vernon meant. So he asked, "Uncle, are you going to get us a gift?"

"Yes."

"Um… but we don't have money," Aaron said. "Gran told us that we can't get a gift unless we have money, so we never get a gift. Please just let us return to our room."

"…"

The more he talked with these boys, the more pitiful they got. He wanted to pat their heads and said everything would be alright as long as they were under Vernon's protection.

But all he said was, "You guys can't leave until we're finished."

The boys' faces paled instantly. The way Uncle Vernon said it, it sounded like he was trying to imprison those boys forever. He was like a giant, scary troll!

The boys' eyes, except Aaron, became teary, which shocked Vernon because he didn't know how to help a crying child, 'Shit, did I say something wrong?' he wondered.

"Stay right here and don't leave," Vernon said before turning around and going downstairs to find Chloe and Mackie for help.

Chapter 698

Vernon accidentally bumped into Mackie and Chloe as they just finished finding the right jacket for Mackie.

Chloe was surprised when she saw Vernon looking like he was panicking internally, "What's wrong, Vernon?"

"The boys upstairs," Vernon said. "I think I accidentally made them cry."

"You make them cry?!"

"Accidentally," Vernon tried to defend himself. "You know, this is why I don't really like kids. They would throw tantrums over the smallest thing ever."

Chloe was speechless. But she tried to think positively about this. There must be some misunderstanding here, or maybe Vernon accidentally glared at them. Diamond told her once that Vernon was so infamous for his scary look that they stopped any event in the orphanage because Vernon created mass hysteria by looking down at the orphans with his scary eyes.

"Let me check then. I'm sure there must be some misunderstanding," Chloe said. She went up with Mackie, followed by Vernon, who tailed from behind, because he didn't want to make the situation even worse than before.

Chloe walked into the living room and saw the boys hiding behind Aaron. They were all so scared that they began to sob, and Aaron was trying to calm them down to no avail.

"Oh no, what happened?" Chloe asked as she approached them.

Aaron sighed helplessly, "I'm sorry Aunty, but my brothers are so scared of Uncle Vernon. But, he did nothing, really."

"B—But, Uncle told us that we can't leave."

"Um, Uncle is going to eat us!"

"Uncle scary!"

Chloe looked over her shoulder at Vernon, and the latter could only scratch his head, "I just want them to stay with us since they're going to get a gift as well."

Chloe could only sigh after Vernon explained it.

Of course, the boys were scared when he didn't show any kind of gentleness to them.

So she patted their heads one by one and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Vernon won't eat you. He just wants you to stay with us because you boys will get a gift too."

"Yes, just like me!" Mackie said cheerfully. "We will get our Christmas gifts from Uncle!"

"Eh, is that true?"

"Gift?"

"We don't need to pay?"

"Why would you need to pay for a gift?" Chloe said. "Of course all you need to do is to come with us! Now let's go to the basement lot, I'm sure your Uncle doesn't want us to be late!"

Vernon could only nod and led the way to the basement parking lot, where he decided to use the six-seater car instead of the regular four because he brought a lot of kids today.

He stared at Chloe, who was busy taking care of the kids. She was truly a talented child caretaker. She could tell those kids what to do, and they all followed her instructions without question.

'As expected, she is just so good at taking care of kids. It's her talent,' Vernon thought. He was amazed by this talent because not everyone was good with kids, including him. 'I guess there should be no problem if we get another child together after we get married later.'

Chloe was the one who assigned where the boys and Mackie should sit in the car.

Vernon and Chloe were at the front, Aaron and Mackie were in the middle with Tony, the smallest boy sitting between them because he needed a guardian, and Nathan and Mike were at the back.

"Okay, everyone's ready?" Chloe asked.

"READY!"

Chloe smiled at the kids and gently touched Vernon's hand, "Please drive slower than usual. We have kids at the back."

Vernon paused for a moment and nodded, "Okay."

As soon as Vernon drove the car, he heard the chatter from behind. The kids were chatting, giggling, and laughing, which infuriated Vernon.

He didn't like loud voices while he was driving. He wanted to snap at them and tell them to shut the hell up.

But before he did something he'd regret, Chloe quickly placed her hand on his shoulder, "Relax, Love. They are kids, all they do right now is just chatting to one another, they are not doing any harm."

"Ugh…" Vernon could only grunt to show his annoyance, but Chloe was right. It was Vernon who simply couldn't tolerate kids. He wasn't good with them, but Mackie was an exception because she was basically mini-Vernon.

Thus, he could only endure his annoyance until the car stopped in front of a store, "We're here," Vernon announced.

Mackie and the boys darted their eyes to the left and saw a big sign on top of the entrance.

TOYS KINGDOM.

"Toys Kingdom? Do you have a toy for me Uncle?" Mackie asked excitedly. "I want Barbie! I want the one with the horse!"

Vernon smiled. He glanced at Chloe, who was stunned by the gift he had prepared for Mackie and the boys.

"Let's go grab the gifts," Vernon said.

Vernon led the way as they entered the building. A staff that had been waiting greeted him. The staff then opened the door for Vernon and his kids to come in.

Vernon finally stopped as they entered the shop. He turned around and smiled at Mackie, "This is what I've prepared for you, and your cousins, Mackie."

Mackie was excited. She thought that her Uncle already bought something here, "Which one is my gift, Uncle?"

"Which one? You mean everything?" Vernon chuckled. "All of you are free to choose whatever toys you want, but each of you can only bring five kinds of toys home, and the rest will be sent to the orphanage so the other kids could also get toys for themselves, got it?"

"WHOAAA!" Mackie and the boys were amazed by their Uncle. Mackie was the first to hug Vernon's thigh, "Uncle is the best! I love you so much, Uncle!"

Vernon chuckled. He picked Mackie up and carried her on his arm, "Anything for my little Princess. You deserve it for being a good girl."

The boys were staring at Uncle Vernon and Mackie. They also wanted to hug Uncle Vernon but dared not, afraid Uncle might get angry at them.

Chloe sighed when she saw this. She walked behind the boys and gently pushed their backs to approach Uncle Vernon more, "Go hug your Uncle, boys. He's also waiting for your hug as well."

Chapter 699

"Go hug your Uncle, boys. He's also waiting for your hug as well," Chloe said.

The boys were hesitant at first. They looked at their Aunty, who smiled at them and then looked at their Uncle, who stood still like a tall mountain, looking down at them before smiling back at Mackie, kissing her cheek and forehead lovingly like a good father.

The boys, especially Aaron, couldn't help but get a little jealous. They also wanted to have a father figure, a real one. Because none of them really saw Tommy as their father, even though he was the biological one.

Because Tommy did exactly nothing to them, he never treated them lovingly. Most of the time, he ignored the boys and did whatever he wanted to do. It also didn't help that Tommy also never protected them every time they got beaten by their abusive mother.

So when they saw how Uncle Vernon loved Mackie, they also wanted the same.

Aaron was the first one to gather the courage to draw near the tall Uncle Vernon and then hugged his thigh, "Thank you so much for the Christmas gift, Uncle."

After seeing their oldest brother hugging Uncle Vernon's thigh, the rest of the boys quickly joined in and hugged their Uncle's legs because he was so tall compared to them.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Vernon!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Thank youuu!"

Vernon stiffened instantly. He didn't know what to do when surrounded by kids like this. He looked at Chloe, who smiled at him but gave no instruction, which got him even more confused than before.

He then looked at Mackie, who smiled wide at him, "My cousins like you, Uncle!"

Vernon sighed. In the end, he patted their heads one by one and then told them, "Now go and find your toys. Remember, you can only bring five kinds of toys each. The rest will be given to the orphans, understand?

"YES, UNCLE!"

Thus, Mackie and the boys rushed in and began their search. They split into different sections to find the toys they liked.

Chloe approached Vernon and gently hugged his arm, "You've done great, Vernon. I never know that you're planning to give such a wonderful gift for Mackie and the boys, and yet still teach them the limit of what they can get and to share with others in need."

Vernon looked at the kids who were busy searching for what they wanted to bring home, then he gazed down at Chloe, who rested her head on his bicep, "I'm not the best father in the world, Chloe. I'm not good at taking care of children."

"But I learned from you," Vernon said. "You told me many things about Mackie and I observed how you raised her to be a good kid. I realized that you need to teach her many things in life so she wouldn't grow up to be an awful little girl."

"You observed me?" Chloe was surprised. Honestly, she never really paid attention to the method she used to raise Mackie. She just did what she usually does to raise a child. It was also the same method she did when raising Vernon back then.

"Yes," Vernon nodded. "And even though you don't seem to realize it, you are the reason why I didn't turn into the second Vincent. You taught me how to be human."

Chloe looked up, staring at Vernon, who smiled at her with his gentle gaze. She didn't know that she meant a lot to Vernon.

Because back then, all she did was raise Vernon right, so he had a normal childhood despite being surrounded by rich yet deranged people.

"Back then, I truly just wanted to raise you, Vernon. I have no other idea, I swear," Chloe said. She felt guilty whenever she remembered that they had a ten-year gap, and she took care of him when he was young.

It made her feel like a groomer.

"I know," Vernon nodded. "I told you last night. I can feel your sincerity, that's why I fell in love with you, Chloe."

"I'm just simply admiring your talent to raise a kid," Vernon said. "You're the woman I need, Chloe. You're the only woman who can raise me right. You did great raising Mackie despite Vincent's situation, and I know you will do well raising our children in the future."

Vernon leaned down and kissed Chloe on the lips. Chloe was stunned at first, but she soon circled her arms around Vernon's neck and reciprocated the deep kiss, ignoring the kids, who were still busy finding the toys they wanted.

**

It took the kids at least an hour until they found five toys they wanted to bring home each. Thus, Vernon told the staff to put their toys in five separate bags and asked, "Okay, the rest of the toys in that shop will be donated to the orphanage. Let's go home now."

"Okay!" The kids said in unison. They were so happy with their toys, especially the boys, since they rarely had toys to play with. Chloe checked on Mackie and Aaron specifically because those two were the ones who suffered the most during the series of traumatic and tragic events surrounding them.

She was relieved to see Mackie and Aaron looking so happy. She liked seeing them acting like a real kid rather than trying to be an adult because it reminded her so much of herself.

She never had a chance to be a child. She was robbed of a childhood she should have, so she tried so hard to raise Vernon, Mackie, the boys, and her future children with Vernon.

Seeing them acting like a child made her happy. It made her feel accomplished.

They drove back to the apartment and then returned to the penthouse, where Vernon told Chloe not to cook again and then ordered pizza for everyone for dinner.

They spent their time together like a big family until it was eight in the evening, and Chloe brought the boys back into their room.

Chapter 700

Dorothea opened the door and saw the boys with their bright faces, carrying a bag full of toys each, "Oh my, where did you boys get the toys?" She asked. Though she already guessed where they got those.

Aaron was the first one to reply, "It's Uncle! Uncle brought us to a toy shop, and we're free to take five toys! He is the best!"

"Yes! I like my toys!"

"Toys! Toys!"

"I want to play with my robot!"

Dorothea laughed heartily, "Alright, come inside and wash yourself, boys, then you can play with your toys, okay?"

"Okay, Grandma!" The boys replied in unison. They entered their room through the connecting door and began to wash themselves with a hot shower.

Dorothea and Chloe were still at the door, staring at each other with a smile on their faces, "Thank you for persuading Vernon to bring them as well, Chloe. I know it's supposed to be Mackie's only, right?"

"Initially, yes," Chloe replied. "But it's not me who persuaded Vernon to bring the boys with us. It's on Vernon's own initiative. He's not good with kids, but he's trying to be better at it."

"As he should! He'll be a father of your child after Mackie, of course he has to be good at it!" Dorothea crossed her arms. "I will scold him if he turns out just like Vincent or Vaughn!"

Chloe chuckled, "I think he'll be the most amazing father. He just needs time to learn how to be one."

"That's good, at least I have one son that's actually a decent human," Dorothea said. "Though, he grows up normal because of you, not because of me, hahah!"

Dorothea tried to mask her sadness with a laugh, but Chloe knew that she must've been heartbroken, "Oh Dorothea, you did great as well."

"It's fine, Chloe, no need to sugarcoat it," Dorothea replied. "I know my fault, that's why I'm actually glad that at least one of my sons doesn't turn out evil. That's why I'm thankful for you, Chloe."

Dorothea hugged Chloe and then released it before Chloe could say anything, "Anyway, I will take care of the boys in the shower, making sure they don't make a mess. You should return to your penthouse."

Chloe's smile faded, but she nodded and tried to play it off, "See you tomorrow, Dorothea."

"See you tomorrow, Chloe."

Dorothea closed the door and stood in silence for a while.

She felt terrible about herself because she actually felt jealous of Chloe just now.

'I know it's all my fault, and I'm paying for my mistake in the past,' Dorothea thought. 'But I can't lie. I'm so jealous of Chloe. Everything about her seems so perfect, and everyone around her loves her so much.'

'Why can't I be loved? Do I actually matter to anyone in this world?'

That horrible question popped into Dorothea's mind, and she quickly shook her head to snap it out.

'No, I can't be jealous of Chloe,' Dorothea told herself. 'We're different. I made a lot of mistakes in the past. I beat my own son to unleash my frustration, that's why he doesn't want to meet me.'

'I could be a better person back then. Just look at Chloe who, doesn't get angry at Mackie and beat her just because she was frustrated with Vincent,' Dorothea began to lament stuff that happened in the past. She tried hard to get better each day, but today was depressing because she spent Christmas Day alone.

Dorothea went to check on the kids, and after making sure they were doing well, she prepared their clothes and returned to the bedroom.

She sighed and sat at the corner of her bed. The loneliness was eating her from the inside. She was unsure what to do to stop feeling lonely right now.

Dorothea wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes, then told herself, "I don't know what to do. Why am I like this? Why can't I be happy to see Vernon, Chloe, Mackie, and the boys being happy?"

Deep down, Dorothea knew what could make her happy. She would be more than happy if she was included in their small family. She'd be glad even if everybody ignored her.

She was old, and she wanted nothing but to be happy with a family.

"I get it, it's my fault, and nothing will change the fact that I fucked up really bad, especially how horrible I was to Vernon," Dorothea said while wiping her tears. "But how am I supposed to get forgiveness if he doesn't even want to see my face?"

Despite all the sadness in her, Dorothea refused to return to that life full of drugs and alcohol just to numb herself. She had gotten all the things she wanted thanks to Chloe's effort.

She wasn't this sad usually.

It was just because it was Christmas, and she spent it alone. So she felt like the loneliest person on earth.

Dorothea sobbed alone in her room when she suddenly heard a message notification from her phone.

She thought it was from Chloe, but then she saw a number that hadn't been registered in her contact.

Thus, Dorothea read it because she got curious.

—

Merry Christmas, Dorothea.

- Vernon.

—

Dorothea's eyes widened. She thought she read it wrong. She quickly grabbed her reading glasses to ensure she didn't make a mistake, even though it was just three words with a name at the bottom.

But she wasn't mistaken.

It was Vernon who texted him!

Dorothea's hands trembled. She almost lost her grip because she didn't know how to react upon knowing that her son, the son she abused, was kind enough to text her.

Dorothea's eyes began to pool with tears again until she couldn't hold her cries anymore.

She was crying, but it was a cry of joy.

"I'm not completely hopeless. At least, there is still a chance for me to get Vernon's forgiveness and have my own happiness before I die."