Chapter 386 386

"Wait, hold the door!" Vernon yelled as he rushed to catch up with Chloe and Mackie, who were already standing in the elevator.

Chloe held the door for Vernon, and Vernon dashed in to join them.

The elevator door closed, and they went down together.

Vernon looked at Mackie, who was holding Mommy's hand. She smiled at him and asked, "Uncle, why are you in a hurry? Are you going to be late too?"

....

Again, Vernon swallowed his pride. For the first time in his life, he wanted to give a little girl something that would make her happy.

He clenched his fist and said, "I'm sorry I can't come to your play."

Vernon glanced at Chloe, who looked back at him helplessly.

He knew that Chloe was reasonable this time. He couldn't come even if he wanted to because the risk of encountering Vincent was too big, and it would harm everyone since Vincent was very unpredictable.

But he still wanted to compensate.

"It's okay, Uncle. I'm used to it!" Mackie said happily, though Vernon knew the little girl was sad deep inside her heart.

She kept her smile because she got used to being disappointed by her absent father, but Vernon refused to be absent in Chloe and Mackie's life.

"I may not be able to come and watch you. But I will ask your Mommy to stream it for me, so I can watch it while I'm at work," Vernon said.

Mackie wasn't allowed to fully browse the internet yet, so she didn't know what her Uncle meant. She looked at her Mommy, asking for an explanation, and Chloe replied, "That means he can watch you, but through the phone."

"Whoa! That's cool!" Mackie cheered instantly. "Then, I will do my best, Uncle! You must cheer for me when I'm playing, okay?"

"Yes, I will," Vernon nodded firmly. "Also, we will celebrate your successful play later. A good performance deserves a good reward."

"Whoa! Celebration! Will there be cakes? Lots of cakes?!"

Just like Vernon, Mackie also had a sweet tooth. Her Mommy limited her sugar intake, but she would always crave it and would eat everything sweet that was given to her.

"Oh, yes, we will eat lots of cakes!"

"Wow! Uncle is the best!" Mackie opened her arm and hugged Uncle's thighs. "I've never celebrated anything before! Uncle, please make it fun for Mackie, okay?"

"S--Sure! Don't worry. I will make sure everything is perfect for our small ferocious wolf!"

"Yayyy!"

Mackie's infectious happy energy slowly seeped into Vernon's skin, getting him excited as he saw how happy Mackie was.

His heart was filled with warmth. He never realized that taking care of an annoying little kid could give him so much joy like this.

Meanwhile, Chloe was watching in silence the whole time. She didn't know what to say because she was also stunned by Vernon's initiative.

She didn't know if it was a good idea. Because Mackie was used to having no celebration whatsoever in her life.

Even on her birthday, all she did was blow out the candle and eat the birthday cake that Chloe had made from scratch.

Mackie usually got three gifts, one from Granny, one from Mommy, and one from Daddy.

Though usually, Chloe was the one who bought Vincent's gift since he was always busy fucking with whatever new woman he found.

Other than that... Mackie never got any celebration in her life, not even when she aced in all classes or participated in an event held by the school.

They didn't even have a proper Christmas because she couldn't buy a big Christmas tree for them, so she bought a small one and decorated it with a few lamps.

She would celebrate it alone with Mackie because Vincent always went on a ski trip with his new bitches, having sex high up in the mountain.

Chloe wanted to celebrate those, but Vincent strictly watched her spending. She couldn't even go with Mackie to the nearest diner without being questioned or humiliated later.

Vincent's reason would always be.

-

"She's a girl, she doesn't need all those celebrations, or else she would grow up spoiled," Vincent said. "Don't you see my mother? That's what happened when you spoiled a woman too much. But I guess you won't understand, since you're also a spoiled woman."

-

Chloe started panicking, afraid that Vernon's celebration might go overboard and set up a new standard for Mackie.

A standard that she would never be able to fulfill once she left with Mackie to another state and lived frugally there.

'I have to talk with him. I have to make sure that he will only do small celebrations, something that I can follow later when we leave,' Chloe thought.

Chloe took a deep breath as she was about to ruin the joyous mood between Vernon and Mackie.

"Vernon, we--"

Ding!

Chloe was interrupted when the elevator stopped in the parking lot. The door was opened, and Vernon gently separated himself from Mackie, "Go do your best, Mackie. I'll go to work now, don't worry about the celebration. I will make it great!"

"Go do your best too, Uncle!" Mackie waved her small hands at Vernon, who rushed to his car.

Chloe stared at Vernon and then at her daughter.

She observed her expression and realized that Mackie was thrilled this time.

Chloe had no idea when her daughter learned how to fake her expression, but she realized that Mackie would always keep up with her smile despite being disappointed with her Daddy numerous times.

It pained Chloe to see that sadness in her daughter's eyes, but she was just as hopeless when they lived with Vincent.

But now...

'Should I stop Vernon from preparing a celebration for Mackie?' Chloe fretted. 'I... I don't want Mackie to have such high expectations for her future celebrations, especially since we will live frugally sooner or later. I would rather put that money towards her education.'

'But I am a mother. What mother doesn't want her daughter to be happy?'