176 Chapter 176

"Why is she so different?" Vernon fretted. "Why can't she just simply fall for me, like the rest of those women? Am I lacking something?"

"I don't want to show her my true feelings. I don't want her to see me as weak, isn't this the correct thing to do?" Vernon asked himself.

"If I showed too much of those fragile emotions, she would exploit me, playing me around until I begged for her mercy."

'But… scaring her didn't work either….'

Vernon was reflecting on his mistake. He knew that he had messed up.

But he truly wanted to know what happened between Chloe and Vincent, so he could help.

But he was just… a little impatient…

He was always like this whenever he didn't get what he wanted. He would be impatient, often resulting in him using intimidation or fear. It always worked, of course, at least for the past ten years when he lived in Europe.

Vernon's mind was filled with Chloe as he worried about her. This was the first time she ever had enough courage to face him, so the trauma must've been excruciating.

,m 'But what can I do to make her open up?'

Vernon sighed and got up from the floor.

He wanted to just sleep on the sofa to relax like last night. But he remembered Chloe's words, telling him to wash his face and brush his teeth first.

"Urgh, why do I still have to do those? I'm in a somber mood right now," Vernon complained.

He changed to simply using his boxer, washing his face, and brushing his teeth, just like what Chloe told him to do.

Vernon lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling as he tried to imagine what kind of bad experience his Big brother had inflicted on her.

He could only think of one thing…

Vincent fuck around outside with random women and gave Chloe all the money she needed to have fun. It wasn't a normal family, and they were probably out of love for each other.

But at least both of them could live their lives to the fullest, not giving a single fuck about being loyal whatsoever.

It was bad, but it was normal for the Gray family.

'There must be something else… something else that changes Chloe so much…' Vernon pondered, but he couldn't find any answer to his own assumption because Chloe simply refused to tell.

Although he barely got anything from her, he knew one thing for sure;

"She has not been happy for ten years straight," Vernon murmured. He didn't really know what kind of terrible experience Chloe had experienced for ten years, but it was definitely traumatic enough for her to try to bury it.

"I have to confirm it nonetheless. If she refuses to tell me, then I have to find out about her secret myself," Vernon murmured. He was determined to discover what kind of experience his sister-in-law experienced during ten years of his absence.

Because clearly, she suffered way more than she could handle.

"Now, what should I do if my Big brother actually abused her? Should I let him off and forget about it?" Vernon asked himself. His gaze darkened, and his eyes glinted maliciously.

A smirk grew on his lips, and he scoffed, "Of course not. I'm already planning to destroy his business empire as a revenge for looking down at me. But if it's proven that he abused her until she is traumatized… then I have no more pity."

"No more playing nice because of blood sibling bullshit. I will rest until I see his head on the floor."

Vernon finally closed his eyes after he was satisfied with his resolute will. He would think about an idea on how to crack the secret open, and he already got one target whom he would force to speak out, or she would get fired.

…

…

Vernon opened his eyes suddenly. He just realized that he had forgotten about something;

"Shit, I forgot to apologize," Vernon cursed his carelessness. "Then, how am I supposed to say sorry now? Of course it will be awkward if I say sorry tomorrow morning!"

Thus, Vernon spent the rest of his night trying to find a good way to apologize without sounding too awkward and hurting his pride.

**

[Monday Morning.]

Chloe woke up the next morning and did her morning routine in a daze. She couldn't believe what she said to Vernon last night.

She was brave enough to face him. Despite all the odds, the urge to bottle up her trauma was stronger than her fear of him.

She wasn't sure if it was a good thing because she knew she wouldn't be able to bottle the trauma forever.

But she did this because she didn't want another man that might exploit her at her lowest. She was already scared when near unknown men, let alone opening up to them.

"It's okay, Chloe. Hopefully, Vernon understands your situation and stops asking about it. It's okay to play pretend, right? Just a bit, so Mackie's mental health would be protected."

She went upstairs and started cooking breakfast early in the morning. Naturally, Mackie and Vernon went out of their bedroom, ready to eat breakfast, before they prepared themselves for school and work.

Vernon and Mackie sat at the dining table as Chloe served their breakfast.

"Okay, breakfasts done. I will prepare the shoes for both of you. I cleaned them yesterday," Chloe said.

"Chloe," Vernon suddenly called her. Her body froze for a few seconds. She turned around and set up a sweet smile;

"Yes, Sir?"

'Sir…'

"Nothing, you can go now," Vernon said.

"Okay, thank you."

Vernon was at a loss as he kept staring at Chloe. She intentionally distanced herself, giving Vernon no chance to apologize for what he did last night.

'',

Mackie was busy eating her breakfast when she noticed Uncle Vernon didn't touch his plate at all, "Uncle, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. You should finish your food, by the way," Vernon said.

"Un!" Mackie finished her breakfast and burped a bit.

She leaned on the chair and then checked on her Uncle again. She was actually curious about something;

"Uncle, when will you meet Daddy?"