"No," Vernon replied curtly before Chloe could speak more about this problem. "We won't bring those boys into our house, Chloe."

Chloe was speechless. She hadn't even asked about it yet, but Vernon already had the answer.

"I know what you have in mind, Chloe," Vernon added. "I know that you think you can give those four boys--your nephews a sanctuary in our house. But you will soon realize that having too many children is a very difficult thing to do. I don't want you to get stressed out because you have to take care of five children at once."

Vernon remembered how Dorothea ignored him since she was already busy caring for Vincent. Everyone in the Gray mansion always saw him as a secondary thing. They couldn't care less because they already had their true Young Master.

Vernon didn't want Mackie and their children to feel like they lacked motherly love because Chloe was too busy caring for her nephews.

"But I can't let them get abused by Chelsea!" Chloe stayed on her ground. Just imagining those boys getting hurt by Chelsea repeatedly was enough to make her heart ache. "Vernon, please, I--"

"No." Vernon crossed his arms as he frowned deeper. "We still have so many things to do right now. We're not yet to take down Vincent. Don't let your emotions take control of you, Chloe. It'll only bring us trouble."

Chloe finally zipped her mouth once she realized that Vernon was up to no negotiation right now. No matter how hard she tried to convince him, he just wouldn't budge.

So she could only lower her head, feeling conflicted about what to do.

Vernon sighed, "I did this for us, Chloe. I know that you have a good intention to protect those boys. But you should also know that we simply can't afford those four boys, and this is not about money, this is about your time and safety."

"You and Mackie are still in hiding from Vincent, adopting those boys would only make it easy for Vincent to find you," Vernon tried to repeatedly give Chloe an explanation that she could take. "This is also about time, do you actually have time to handle four boys plus Mackie at once?"

Chloe wanted to say she could take care of four boys and Mackie. She had done it many times in the past because Chelsea would always throw all of her boys at Chloe whenever Chloe came in for a visit.

But she got what Vernon wanted to say.

Mackie's safety was the most important. Adopting the boys would only expose them.

But still...

'Is this it? I can't do anything in the end because the situation is just not favorable?' Chloe wondered.

Again, it was easy for Vernon to read what was in Chloe's mind, and truthfully, he also felt guilty for putting Chelsea's son's life in jeopardy.

Though he would ruin Tommy and Chelsea's lives gleefully, he took no joy in hurting the kids.

Vernon approached Chloe, who was still sitting on the stool. He stood behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist, "I know your heart is in the right place, Chloe. It's also one of the qualities that I love about you."

Chloe nodded. She had good intentions but was powerless because of the circumstances.

"I'm sorry that I can't do much for now, but I promise to do something for those boys. Maybe we can put them in a foster home with adopted parents?" Vernon suggested. "I will pay the parents professionally, you can have control over the boys' education too. But you don't need to be their caretaker 24/7."

Chloe nodded again. It was a good suggestion though she still wished she could directly become their mother to replace Chelsea's inability to do so.

"Alright, it's settled then. But you should know it will take a while for those boys to be released from Chelsea," Vernon informed. "We should have a sign of heavy abuse or Chelsea's unstable mental health to move the boys to a foster home."

"Luckily, we don't need to do much for that," Vernon said. "Everyone on the internet is already appalled by Chelsea's bold claim that she is going to be Vincent Gray's future wife. Everyone went wild because of that."

"Ah, that part...." Chloe remembered vividly how Chelsea looked so proud with her own claim, as if marrying Vincent was a big achievement for all women on earth. "I don't know how she becomes so obsessed with Vincent. I bet Vincent did something that affected her mind."

"Most likely," Vernon agreed. "Now we just need to wait until Vincent does something. I'm pretty sure things will get really bad between those two."

...

Chloe gave a quick nod which put Vernon in a better mood. He gave her a little kiss on the head before releasing her, "Well, I'm going to take a bath and work again. You're free to come to my room tonight if you want to."

Vernon winked at Chloe, signaling he was ready for another fingering session. Maybe they could do three fingers tonight. It would at least take four deep fingers for Chloe to be ready for the real thing.

However, contrary to his expectation, Chloe shook her head this time, saying, "I'm not in the mood, sorry, Vernon."

"... okay then, you should rest," Vernon said calmly, though he couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Yeah, I'll go to my room instead."

Chloe got up from the stool and walked away from Vernon.

Chloe returned to her room downstairs. She threw herself on the bed, closing her eyes as her heart grew restless.

Vernon was right, they couldn't do anything for now, and they should just wait until Vincent did something horrible to Chelsea, so Chelsea would eventually snap, then the boys would be put in a foster home.

"But no matter how many times I heard it, I just can't get used to that plan. It sounds very evil," Chloe murmured. "Is it wrong for me to feel pity for Chelsea, Judith, and especially the boys?"