Ch. 776..780: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 776-780
Chapter 776 Chapter 776
"A proof?" The judge was yet again caught off guard by Chloe's statement. "What proof do you have, Mrs. Gray? Did you record your husband beating you?"
"No, this building's CCTV recorded everything," Chloe said. She glanced at her lawyer, and the lawyer nodded in response.
The lawyer handed a flash disk to the bailiff, and the latter used the computer to project the video for everyone to see.
It was a CCTV recording, and they could see Vincent and Chloe Gray sitting at a table, facing each other.
Even though the CCTV couldn't record their conversation, they could see the gesture that Chloe and Vincent made, and they saw that Vincent looked like a rabid dog ready to snap at Chloe at any time.
After the argument broke out, Chloe Gray decided to leave Vincent alone, and everyone, including the judge, could see Vincent, who took a long step to stand right behind Chloe.
He raised his fist, ready to punch Chloe in the head. That strong punch would probably knock her out or, even worse, cause an internal injury.
Thankfully, a man stormed into the room and rushed to catch Vincent before he could hit Chloe.
The man locked Vincent in place, and not long after that, another man came in to help the young man who protected Chloe.
The judge hummed and asked, "Who is this man, Mrs. Gray?"
"That is my—brother-in-law, Vernon Phoenix Gray," Chloe turned around to point at Vernon. She was about to introduce Vernon as her lover but knew it would only worsen her situation, so she called him her brother-in-law.
Which wasn't wrong.
Though, Vernon wouldn't be her in-law anymore after this trial ended.
"The brother-in-law is on your side?" The judge asked.
Chloe opened her mouth, but before she could reply, Vincent suddenly interrupted.
"Brother-in-law? Heh, she is having an affair with my brother," Vincent sneered.
Chloe's lips thinned, and the judge was displeased with the interruption.
"This is not your time to speak yet, Mr. Vincent Gray."
Vincent zipped his mouth but glared at Chloe, angry at her.
The judge returned her gaze to Chloe and asked, "Is that true, Mrs. Gray? You're having an affair with your brother-in-law?"
Chloe looked over her shoulder to get assurance from Vernon, and Vernon replied with a nod.
Thus, she replied, "You may call it an affair, Your Honor. But I got together with him after I ran away from my husband. Vincent has been abusing me for ten years, isolating me until I have no friends, job, and nobody to support me except my brother-in-law. And we naturally get together after some time."
Vincent finally had a smirk after thinking that Chloe had screwed herself up. She shouldn't have admitted her relationship with Vernon because that meant the judge would be on his side now.
He got confident. After so much proof against him, he could finally say Chloe was just as bad as him.
The judge went silent for a moment, staring at Chloe, who showed no sign of nervousness, and then nodded, "You may sit down, Mrs. Gray."
Chloe returned to her seat, and it was time for Vincent next.
"Mr. Vincent Gray, you are not accompanied by any lawyer, I see," the judge mentioned.
"I don't need a lawyer, Your Honor," Vincent said as he stood before the judge. "I can defend myself, and let me tell you, that woman right there, is the most undisciplined, unbridled woman you'll ever see on earth."
"Care to explain that, Mr. Gray?" the judge asked.
Vincent nodded confidently, "I do admit that I cheated. But she has not been aesthetically pleasing for the past ten years. I tried to tolerate her, but she was just too much for me to like. So I decided to cheat."
The judge's lips twitched. She somehow already guessed the true characteristics of this man.
He might not realize it, but he was about to make the biggest mistake in his life, and the judge wouldn't stop him from it.
"But you hit her, Mr. Gray. We even have that CCTV footage played just now," the judge said.
"That's because she taunted me over her relationship with my brother. They are playing behind my back. They screwed my business over, making me angry, Your Honor."
"And that allows you to hit her?"
Vincent knew if he said yes, the judge would call him abusive. So he replied, "It's in the fit of rage, Your Honor. I would NOT do that regularly. It's because my wife has been taunting me so much, and I have had enough of her cheating. That's why I lost control over myself."
"But it shouldn't matter, right? My brother stopped me right before I could do anything. They are in this together to make me look bad!" Vincent stated as he tried to clear his name. "Your Honor, you should understand that I'm just a man, and just like a regular man, I will get violent when I'm angry."
The judge closed her eyes briefly and sucked deep breaths, "Thank you, Mr. Gray. You may return to your seat."
Vincent was confident. He smirked at Chloe, who had been staring at him during his testimony.
She didn't know if the judge's decision would go according to her plan. But she had tried her best, and she said what needed to be said.
What was left was the judge's decision.
The judge read the pleas from Chloe.
She didn't want a divorce settlement.
She didn't need child support for their daughter.
And all she wanted was full custody of her daughter and for the judge to erase visitation rights for Vincent due to his unstable mood and abusive behavior.
It took her a while to review the documents, and then she nodded after making her own decision.
She lifted her head and stared at Vincent and Chloe.
"Mr. Vincent Gray. Mrs. Chloe Gray, please come to the front and stand side by side. I have come to my decision regarding this divorce trial."
Chapter 777 Chapter 777: The Divorce Verdict
"Mr. Vincent Gray. Mrs. Chloe Gray, please come to the front and stand side by side. I have come to my decision regarding this divorce trial."
Chloe and Vincent looked at each other silently and then walked to the podium directly facing the judge.
The judge reviewed her decision for the last time before staring at the soon-to-be-divorced couple.
She wouldn't lie that Vincent and Chloe Gray looked good standing side by side. But at the same time, she could also see the hatred emanating from Vincent.
The judge had been handling so many divorce cases in her career that she could see the craziness in his eyes. Chloe Gray wasn't lying when she said that he was abusive.
'And so I will give them what they want.'
The judge cleared her throat and declared, "After a thorough review of the divorce case between Vincent Gray and Chloe Gray, motivated by the abuse and neglect from Vincent Gray to his wife, Chloe Gray, and his daughter, Mackenize Gray."
"On top of that, we have the video evidence of Vincent Gray attempting to assault his wife after getting taunted."
Vincent smirked when the judge mentioned his attempted assault.
He glanced at Chloe, who looked very serious as she stared at the judge, waiting for the verdict.
Vincent had to admit that Chloe had become gorgeous after leaving him for a year. She had returned to her healthy weight and regained the same beauty she had ten years ago.
'Ah, this only makes me want you more,' Vincent sighed. 'You are so beautiful, and now I want you in my life. I want you to be my wife once more.'
'Just wait and see, Chloe. Even if we get divorced, I will still get visitation right,' Vincent thought. 'Why? Because the judge recognized that you often taunted me until I lost control. Everything that I did is absolutely justified.'
'And once I get visitation right, it's not hard for me to influence our innocent daughter to hate you for divorcing me,' Vincent couldn't hide his malicious smile. He had a long plan on how to steal Mackie's heart until she trusted her Daddy completely.
He would eventually tell Mackie to run away and live with him, thus forcing Chloe to return home. After all, Mackie was the reason she left.
'And Mackie will also be the reason she returns to our mansion.'
Meanwhile, Chloe rubbed her palms nervously. She silently prayed that the judge could give her the divorce she wanted and also forbade Vincent from visitation rights.
She knew what was in Vincent's mind.
It was too dangerous to let him meet with Mackie when he was still the same monster from one year ago.
"Therefore, I, Judge Melinda Parr, grant the divorce for Vincent and Chloe Gray. Mr. Vincent Gray does not need to pay for a child's support, and no divorce settlement is necessary. This is all the request of Mrs. Chloe Gray as the plaintiff."
"Mackenzie Rose Gray is eight years old, and thus the full custody is given to Chloe Gray as the mother."
"On top of that…" the judge stared at Vincent, who seemed to have guessed everything. He looked eerily calm and confident. Vincent also had a smile that could only be described as malicious.
"I also grant Mrs. Chloe Gray's request to deny visitation rights for Mr. Vincent Gray. Therefore, Mackenzie is not obligated to visit her father. She is free to cut contact with her father as well."
"This is the final verdict of this divorce case."
Vincent was still on cloud nine until the judge suddenly denied his visitation right. His eyes widened, but before he could say a thing, the judge raised her gavel and banged on the wooden surface three times.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Chloe was so relieved and happy that she began to sob.
She didn't even know how to express herself right now.
Meanwhile, Vincent took a while to process everything until he protested, "Wait, this is not fair!" He yelled to the judge.
The judge wasn't even surprised by his protest. He wasn't the first to protest after the divorce verdict, and the judge was willing to debate this crazed maniac who beat his wife.
"And what do you think is unfair, Mr. Gray?" the judge asked.
Vincent gritted his teeth. He pointed at Chloe with his elbow and said. "This is not right! How come this bitch gets all the good things, and I get nothing?"
"Your ex-wife doesn't ask for divorce settlement and child support. You are free to walk out of the courtroom without losing a single dime. It is very fair," the judge replied.
"I'd rather pay those than lose my visitation right! I want to see my daughter!" Vincent insisted. "Why am I not allowed to see my daughter anyway? Is it because this bitch looks pitiful? This is why I don't agree that a woman like you can be a judge. You whores can't use your fucking brain!"
The guards were about to escort Vincent out of the courtroom, but the judge stopped them. She wanted to talk with this man first.
"Mr. Vincent Gray, you testified that your ex-wife taunted you. That's why you lost control before the trial started and attempted to assault her. You also said that you would get violent when angry," the judge mentioned. "Do you think a violent and uncontrollable man is allowed around children?"
"But I never hurt my daughter!" Vincent denied. "I've never even yelled at her! I only beat and yell at Chloe!"
"Why? Because she is an adult, and your daughter is a child?" The judge asked. "Then what will happen once your daughter is a teenager? Will you start beating her by then? Vincent Gray, you have a twisted and disturbing way of degrading women. Just like what you told me just now, we are whores that can't use our brains."
"Do you think that kind of man will appreciate and love his daughter? I doubt that."
The judge ended their argument with a small piece of advice;
"You should be thankful to your ex-wife because she is saving your daughter from a monster like you."
Chapter 778 Chapter 778
The judge's last advice made Vincent feel like thunder had struck down upon him.
She got up from her seat and walked out of the courtroom as she had no more time to listen to the bullshit spouted by that crazy misogynist.
"Wait! Your Honor—Judge—WAIT!" Vincent wanted to chase the judge because he still wanted to fight for visitation rights. He had to find a way to trap Chloe back into his arms in any way possible!
Unfortunately, right before he could reach the judge, the officers quickly caught his arms, and thus the judge left the courtroom, cementing Vincent's fate as he would never be able to get Chloe back.
Vincent began to yell out of frustration at the judge who had left, "YOU FUCKING CUNT! HOW DARE YOU RUIN MY LIFE LIKE THIS?! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Vincent's voice echoed inside the courtroom, everyone was shocked by his curses, but nobody dared to do anything as they saw Vincent as a dangerous madman right now.
Vincent realized he was done for, but the rage accumulated in his heart had yet to die out.
He turned his head and glared at Chloe, still wiping her tears with her sleeve.
All the pain and suffering she experienced for ten years was finally over. She could finally live a good life without hiding. She was finally free from the monster.
She raised her head as she felt the glare that pierced through her body, then she flinched when she saw the murderous aura coming from Vincent.
She took a step back out of reflex as Vincent glared at her, and then his eyes went down to check on her belly.
He seemed to have guessed that Chloe must've been pregnant with that bastard's child. So if he couldn't kill Chloe, Vernon, or Mackenzie, the least he could do was avenge his pain to that baby.
"LET ME GO! UGH! LET ME GO!" Vincent began to struggle like a madman and regained monstrous strength for a while. He struggled so much that the two officers had difficulty handling him.
"Vincent Gray! Stay still!" One of them yelled to no avail.
Vincent broke free from the officers' restraint and rushed towards Chloe. Since his hand was still tied, he rushed like a raging bull, ready to headbutt Chloe's baby bump.
"WATCH OUT!"
Chloe gasped when she heard someone screaming at her. She wasn't fast enough to dodge, so she turned around instead, dedicated to saving her baby, even if she had to break her back.
Vincent almost reached Chloe when someone stepped in and punched him in the temple.
SLAM!
"ARRGH!"
The punch was so powerful that Vincent was slammed to the ground until he instantly lost consciousness.
Everyone in the courtroom fell into deafening silence. They were still trying to process what just happened.
Vernon's chest heaved as he dashed, jumped straight to the podium, and punched Vincent's head before he could touch Chloe.
He looked at Vincent, who had lost consciousness, and then rushed to hug his beloved, "Chloe!"
Chloe opened her eyes when she could feel the familiar embrace of her man. She looked up and saw Vernon's worried face, "Are you alright?"
Chloe stared at Vernon's eyes full for at least a whole minute before she nodded, "Please take me out of here. I can't even look at him anymore."
Vernon peeked at Vincent's condition. After getting hit hard in the head, he was unconscious, and the officers were trying to carry him out of the courtroom.
Vernon knew he might have to deal with some paperwork for this, but that didn't matter. Chloe and their baby were more important than just a few hassles.
"Okay, let's go home. I will let Diamond handle the rest," Vernon said.
Chloe tried to walk, but her knees wobbled. She was still so shocked that she had lost her strength, so Vernon quickly helped by carrying her in his arms.
Everyone watched as Chloe and Vernon walked out of the courtroom.
Vernon thought he had handled the reporter's problem, so they wouldn't bother Chloe after the trial ended. They weren't allowed to enter the courtroom, but they had been waiting outside the court just to get a slice of the scandalous trial between Chloe and Vincent Gray.
Chloe was caught off guard when the blitz of the camera blinded her. She quickly buried her face into Vernon's chest, but Vernon didn't even seem surprised by the reporters.
"Mr. Phoenix Gray, can you tell us what happened inside the courtroom?"
"Mr. Phoenix Gray, is it true that you had an affair with Mrs. Chloe when she was still with Vincent Gray?"
"How about the divorce verdict, Sir? Can you share with us about the final verdict?"
Vernon had guessed that Vincent must be the one who invited these reporters. He probably thought that he would get the visitation right and thus painted Chloe as an evil woman who tried to stop him from seeing his daughter.
'And it backfires,' Vernon thought. 'Because I will be the one who stirs the public opinion now.'
"The trial went well. Vincent Gray and Chloe Gray have been granted a divorce. Vincent Gray doesn't need to pay for child support, and there is no divorce settlement. This is requested by Chloe herself."
"The custody of their child naturally falls into Chloe's hand, but the court has denied Vincent visitation rights. He no longer has the right to contact his daughter until she is eighteen."
The reporters were all shocked by the revelation. Visitation right was mandatory after a divorce, but if someone got denied visitation rights, that meant he or she had a problem that might harm the child.
Vernon grinned, knowing that the reporters would eventually find their own way to make a sensational gossip about the denied visitation right.
Thus, they came for their final and most important question, "Mr. Phoenix Gray, what is your relationship with the woman in your arms? Did you have an affair with Mrs. Chloe Gray beforehand?"
Chapter 779 Chapter 779
Vernon was about to answer, but Chloe interrupted, "It's not an affair."
The reporter's attention shifted toward the lady lying in Mr. Phoenix Gray's arms. Chloe silently clenched Vernon's suit as she was scared of facing these hyenas.
But she realized nobody but herself could answer this.
She was the woman entangled by these brothers, so she had to clarify before the misunderstanding became too much and might also affect Vernon's job.
She stared at Vernon, silently urging him to put her down.
Vernon gave her a soft smile and asked, "Just talk. I will carry you until we go home. You've suffered too much today."
Chloe was embarrassed, but Vernon was right.
She was so shocked to get attacked by Vincent that her knees became weak.
Thus, she braced herself and looked at the reporters who had shoved their mic to her face.
"Mrs. Chloe Gray, did you have an affair with Mr. Phoenix Gray before you got a divorce?" One reporter asked.
"Just like what I said before, it's not an affair," Chloe clarified. "I ran away from my ex-husband after I found out that he was sleeping with another woman during our daughter's birthday. I can tolerate him betraying me, but I will never tolerate him betraying our daughter."
"He refused to sign the divorce paper, but I want to run away from him with my daughter because he has been increasingly abusive towards me. I'm afraid he'd do the same to my daughter if we stay."
"He refused to give us any money after I left and started terrorizing me so I'd give up on the divorce. I struggled to find a job until Vernon gave me one," Chloe said truthfully. She stared at Vernon, wanting his agreement to share it, and he nodded. "He is the most amazing man I've ever seen in my life. He is responsible and also loving. We had a rocky start due to some misunderstanding, but we are together now after we understood each other."
"So if you ask me if we had an affair, my answer is no. Simply because the moment I walked away from Vincent, I realized that I have to be free from his shadow, and I found my light in him."
The reporters were a bit confused about how they should tackle this problem.
They couldn't simply say that Chloe and Vernon had an affair because Chloe said she had already left Vincent before she started a relationship with Vernon, it was her ex-husband who terrorized her and refused to sign the divorce paper, and knowing what kind of power Vincent held before, it was quite understandable that Vincent would do everything to stop the divorce process.
The reporters were left speechless, and Vernon took this opportunity to leave, "Please excuse us. We have to go now. My soon-to-be wife is still very shocked because her ex-husband almost assaulted her in the courtroom just now."
The reporters were shocked when Mr. Phoenix Gray claimed Chloe as his 'soon-to-be wife'; it was a direct claim that they were about to get married soon.
They wanted to interview them more, but Vernon pushed himself out of the crowd by carrying Chloe and left the court building.
"You did well," Vernon praised while he walked to their car. "I was about to say whether it's an affair or not. It doesn't matter because I will love you for the rest of my life as your husband and father of our children. But you really know how to stir those reporters."
"I'm not trying to stir them. I'm just speaking the truth," Chloe said. "The moment I served him the divorce paper, I steeled my will to divorce him. I want nothing but to leave, but we both know how powerful Vincent was. It took us a lot of pain to finally get the divorce."
"And you finally got yours," Vernon said. "You are free, my love."
"We. We are free," Chloe corrected.
Vernon smiled and kissed her forehead before carefully putting her into the passenger seat. He walked around the car to the driver's seat and said, "Yes, we are free, and you should expect a proposal soon."
Chloe's cheeks warmed up. She felt shy whenever Vernon brought up the proposal because she felt their wedding was so close yet far away.
She didn't want to wish or ponder about it because it would only make her anxious. She just wished Vernon would propose to her soon because the baby in her belly kept growing, and she couldn't hide her baby bump anymore.
Though, she planned not to hide it anyway.
She wanted her guests to know she was pregnant with Vernon's child during the wedding. It felt right for her. It was like an announcement to the whole world that she finally had a family that truly treasured her.
"Well then, Diamond, Meyer, and my lawyer will handle the divorce administration. But worry not. It has been settled. Mackie doesn't need to see Vincent until she is eighteen, and by that time, it's up to her if she wants to see him or not," Vernon said.
He checked his watch and said, "Why don't we have lunch before picking up Mackie from her school? Then I can book the theater we used to watch her stage play together. I'm sure Mackie wants to watch a movie, right? She told me a few days ago that she wants to watch Moana."
"She does. I actually planned to watch it with her once you got your break," Chloe said. "But it's an old movie. Let's just watch it in our house."
"I can always tell the theater owner to play it for us. Come on, Love, let her enjoy her Moana in the cinema. I'm sure she'd like it," Vernon said, and Chloe couldn't help to sigh. She honestly admired Vernon and how attentive he was.
He remembered many small things about his family despite his busy work.
"Alright, but don't give her too much soda."
"Hehe, I won't. You know Mackie and I are bad with soda."
Chapter 780 Chapter 780
A week had passed since the divorce trial between Chloe and Vincent Gray.
The news, both the formal and informal ones, talked about it because it was such a big shock that the loveable billionaire was actually a monster who repeatedly cheated, mentally and physically abused his wife, neglected his daughter, imprisoning and alienating his wife until she had no friends.
On top of that, there was video proof showing him attacking Chloe before and after the trial, cementing his reputation as a wife-beater who also happened to be mentally deranged.
The internet was also flooded with the same news, many YouTubers and Tiktok creators covered the topic, and some memes depicted Vincent Gray as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
After all, he was once a very successful and well-loved billionaire for his fun and cool personality.
But that wasn't what pissed Vincent the most.
He sat in the same master bedroom, still in the same mansion, eating the same stale breakfast made by one of the maids or by Khloe. It didn't matter anyway. All of them tasted the same, bland and soulless.
It felt like prison food instead of a homemade breakfast.
He didn't get arrested after the failed attempt to attack Chloe because it was still a failed attempt, and thus he only had to pay a fine.
Truthfully, Vincent didn't lack money, even now.
After Vernon purchased the Gray company, his prosperity was guaranteed for the rest of his life. He didn't even need to work as long as he didn't have any ridiculous spending.
Which wasn't hard for him because he already lost his willpower to live.
"What's the point of having money when I can't use it to make myself happy?" Vincent told himself. "This doesn't matter. Everything doesn't matter when I can't be happy…"
Vincent had tried many ways for the past week to make himself happy.
He had liked to dress nicely before, so he bought a new set of custom-made suit.
But then he remembered Chloe, who always prepared the best suit style to give him the charming edge over other businessmen.
He liked golfing with his business partners and the ladies before, but when he tried to golf alone, the only thing he remembered was Chloe.
He vividly remembered how Chloe was so skittish when Vincent brought her on a golf date when they were still in high school.
She never tried golf before, and it was awkward.
But once she was able to do it, she was so happy that she hugged Vincent tightly to express her joy.
'That innocent beauty…' Vincent recalled.
He liked being surrounded by young women before, so he tried to call five hot girls to come and join him in bed, only to kick them all after five minutes.
Why? Because he felt this master bedroom wasn't supposed to be touched by anyone except Vincent and his wife, Chloe.
"Ex-wife…" Vincent murmured. "But I still want to call her MY wife. I can't let go."
He tried many things, but each of them had memories of Chloe.
As if Chloe had become part of his life, and now that she was truly gone, he realized he couldn't relive any of his moments without thinking about Chloe's sweet smile.
Every time he remembered Chloe, he felt that his heart was being stabbed, and he wanted to cry, thinking about the one that got away.
"Ah, what's the use of crying now? Chloe is not mine anymore. She is with a bastard who ruined my life," Vincent lamented.
He had been watching the news to spend his day, listening to every news about him. They all called him a monster, a wolf in sheep's clothing, and an abuser.
Truthfully, Vincent felt nothing about them. He wasn't even upset, knowing that he was indeed a monster.
He had known about his monstrosity for a long time. He just thought that Chloe would be able to endure him, so they could live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
But what actually pissed him off was the coverage of Chloe and Vernon's relationship.
Vincent had set up a few reporters in front of the court. He planned to walk out of the courtroom first and put on a sad face, telling the media that he and Chloe got a divorce, but he still got visitation rights.
He would show great remorse in front of the camera, showing that he was just a broken man who felt the world crashing down on him.
But what happened was that Chloe and Vernon used those reporters as their way to announce their relationship. Chloe even defended her relationship with Vernon in front of the media, causing a stir and a divide.
People were divided on whether to call their affair an infidelity or not. But most people, especially women, praised Chloe for her courage to walk out of a toxic marriage and end up with a much better man.
—
"I've to say that I like how Miss Chloe Gray dares to walk away after realizing Vincent neglected their children!"
"I know, right? That's what a mother does! You must realize your child's safety is the most important, so you must do anything, even sacrificing your marriage if that's the cost of saving your child's innocence!"
"Besides, Vernon Phoenix Gray sounds like a good man who steps up. Chloe is definitely a woman who prioritizes her daughter the most, so our Mr. Phoenix Gray must've stolen the daughter's heart first before stealing the mother's."
—
The two female hosts giggled together as it was obvious that they were supporting Chloe and Vernon's relationship. It was such a hot topic, but generally, this relationship only boosted Vernon's image even more.
Because now everyone thought that he was a man of virtue. A man who could heal a broken woman until she regained her confidence and was able to love again after leaving her abusive husband.
Vincent gritted his teeth and cursed, "BULLSHIT! THAT MAN IS A FUCKING MONSTER JUST LIKE ME! WE ARE BROTHERS!"