263 Chapter 263

? Vernon had just finished the meeting at late noon. He lifted his sleeve to check the time and then texted Shailene for the second treatment.

—

To: Shailene Walsh

Yo, are you free tonight? I want us to meet because I hadn't told you anything last night.

I'll pay, don't worry.

—

He got a reply five minutes later;

—

'This chapter is updated by N(o)V(e)lB(i)n.',

From: Shailene Walsh

I just finished a session with my main client, that widow I talked about last night.

You can come to my apartment anytime after dusk. I'll be waiting.

And I don't need your money, for fuck sake!

—

Vernon sighed. Of course, he had to offer money. Because other than that, he had nothing in his arsenal to compensate for all the hassle Shailene had to go through to help him.

Vernon always thought that his worth was determined by the amount of money he could get. So when a woman said she didn't need his money, he got visibly confused and flustered.

'Just like when I realize that Chloe doesn't use my black card to buy anything extravagant…' Vernon thought. 'I thought all women love money, don't they?'

Vernon somewhat understood when Shailene said she didn't need money. She was born into an elite family that ensured she would be wealthy until her death.

But Chloe came from a middle-class family— almost lower class. Now she got the chance to experience all the luxury stuff she wanted, but she didn't seem interested in anything luxurious Vernon offered with that black card in her hand.

'If this is because of a trauma and abuse, I wonder what kind of abuse Chloe got until she didn't even want to use a lot of money for herself….'

'Big brother, why are you doing this to her in the first place? I really thought she would be happy with you….'

Ding!

Vernon heard another notification on his phone. He thought it was Shailene, but Vernon got nervous as he read the sender's name;

—

From: Chloe Gray

'The latest_epi_sodes are on_the Nov elB i n website.',

Vernon, do you want something to eat for dinner?

Mackie just got a high grade on her exam, so I'm planning to throw a little celebratory dinner at home.

—

Vernon gulped.

Of course, he wanted to join Chloe and Mackie. He started thinking about all the food Chloe had made for her and wondered if he could eat his favorite banana cake too.

But he had already promised Shailene, and he didn't know if Shailene would be available tomorrow.

'Focus on your priority, Vernon. This is for Big sis Chloe as well, so you will understand what she feels and what you can do to help her.'

Thus, Vernon reluctantly replied;

—

To: Chloe Gray

I have a meeting until late at night, so I'll eat outside.

No need to wait for me.

—

Vernon pressed send and put his phone on silent mode because he didn't want to read another text from Chloe.

"Urgh, stay with your priority! Vernon, PRIORITY!" Vernon yelled as he tried to toughen his resolution.

**

Chloe read the text from Vernon and giggled, "He must be meeting that woman again. Gee, he looks like a teenage boy trying to impress his first love."

Mackie sat on the chair while staring at her Mommy, who was giggling when checking the phone, "Mommy, did you see something funny?"

"Ah— no, dear. I was just happy for your Uncle Vernon," Chloe replied.

"Happy?"

"Yeah, he's searching for an aunt!"

"Aunt!" Mackie's eyes widened in fear when she heard 'aunt' coming from her Mommy.

She shook her head out of disbelief and said, "Mommy, don't let Uncle get an aunt! Aunt is bad! They are bad!"

Chloe rushed to her daughter and gave a warm hug to comfort panicking Mackie.

She forgot that Mackie had a deep trauma when she got kidnapped by one of her aunts from the Gray family. There were also many aunts with sharp tongues who mocked Chloe and her whenever they had a Gray family gathering.

"Mommy, I will tell Uncle not to get an Aunt!" Mackie said determinedly.

"W—Well, you shouldn't do that yourself. I will be the one who told him, okay?"

"Why not? I will make sure Uncle listens to me!"

"No-no," Chloe kept denying, afraid that Vernon might find Mackie annoying if she dared to pester about his love life. "Mommy is an adult, and this is adult talk. Your Uncle will listen to me more, so leave it to me, okay?"

"Um… okay then…." Mackie nodded weakly. She really disliked all her aunts because they were so mean to her and her Mommy.

"But if Big Bad Uncle got an aunt, that means we have to return to Daddy! I don't want to live with an aunt!"

"O—Okay, okay, now calm down, dear. It's not good to get worked up over it."

"Mommy, promise Mackie that we will return to Daddy if Uncle gets an aunt! You haven't promised!"

"Okay then, pinky promise, we will return to—" Chloe paused for a second. It was so difficult for her to let these words out. But she had to because she needed to calm her daughter down. "—your Daddy if Uncle Vernon got an aunt, okay?"

"Un… thank you, Mommy…." Mackie buried her face in her Mommy's chest, searching for safety that she could only get from her Mommy. "I don't want you to get hurt. Aunties mocked you, but you don't allow me to fight them…."

Chloe stayed silent.

She thought Mackie would forget about all the hurtful words those women had said to her since she was a toddler.

But it seemed that bad memories made during childhood would always stay in your mind until you were an adult.

'Ah, I guess we will have to move out sooner or later. Mackie is scared of aunt, and Vernon must be disturbed by our presence in his house once he brought his girlfriend here.'

'',

'I just hope that woman will be kind to us, so we can visit Vernon sometimes. Maybe for Christmas and thanksgiving.'