"You should thank me for being so kind and patient, Chloe," Vincent said as he slowly caressed her cheek in the photo. She was a bit ugly in this picture since she had gained plenty of weight after giving birth to Mackie.
But she was still tolerable for Vincent until she piled up at least ten more kilos. She became unbearably disgusting for him to fuck.
"You are truly a troublesome woman, but you should've realized that you're the only special woman in my life," Vincent said. "Maybe I can be harsh when treating you, but this is all for your own good. You're a woman, therefore, you're prone to be a cheating bitch. I'm just putting you in place."
"If I am truly cruel to you, then I will quickly flip the entire New York just to find you, and then beat the shit out of you until you're dead. Do you not see how much tolerance I give to you?" Vincent sighed. "You're marrying Mr. Vincent Gray, Chloe, you should be able to bear with the problem since you get all the benefits of being Mrs. Gray."
Vincent opened the drawer and put the framed photo inside. He checked his phone and got another text from that female Joker.
-
From: Chelsea
You're making me so nervous right now. I hope the surprise is worth it!
-
Vincent chuckled when he read it, "Oh, don't worry, the surprise will be worth it for all the troubles you've given me."
"I thought I could use you to make Chloe return, or expose her whereabouts somehow. But you seem to be more of a trouble than your worth. So let's just get this over with."
Vincent got up and grabbed his car key.
He drove his car to the nearest jewelry store. He bought a diamond ring that was the cheapest, not because he couldn't afford the most beautiful and expensive one. But because he thought Chelsea wasn't worth that much.
In fact, he wanted to just buy a faux diamond ring at the side of the street, but that was too much of a hassle for him. So he purchased the cheapest diamond ring in this random jewelry store and got it complete with a ring box befitting a proposal.
Vincent sat in his car, staring at the diamond ring in his hand. He chuckled as he found it amusing, "Chloe's wedding ring is a hundred times more expensive than this one, but she just left it in a drawer in the master bedroom before she left."
"Which is funny, because she could just sell that wedding ring and she won't be short of cash for a long time, probably for a lifetime if she can live a modest life," Vincent said. "But I don't think you'll ever find a vendor that wants to buy it. It's way too expensive for anyone to afford."
Vincent always thought that Chloe was an idiot.
All women were idiots in his eyes, but Chloe was a special kind.
She was so adamant about leaving him, but she had no plan. She just left with Mackie with no money.
"Well, that doesn't matter. Since she got herself a benefactor, an old rich man who is probably well-connected with the White House. I should praise her for being an effective whore," Vincent tried to laugh it off. But there was a brewing rage inside his heart.
No matter how much he tried to make it casual and acted as if he didn't care, he still couldn't shake off this rage whenever he imagined Chloe under another man except him.
Could you call it love? Perhaps.
But that didn't matter much for Vincent.
All he knew was that he had to get Chloe back and punish her for daring to run away.
Vincent clenched the ring in his hand, squeezing it inside his fist as he tried to curb his anger, "You will see, Chloe. You may be able to evade me. But your family can't. I will make sure to destroy everyone you love, so you will learn not to fight back against your own husband. You damned woman."
Thus, Vincent drove to the park where he was supposed to meet that stupid female Joker. He had everything planned and was certain that a stupid woman would fall for it.
**
Meanwhile, Judith and Aaron had just returned from grocery shopping. They took a cab on their way back because it was too cold, and Judith's body wouldn't survive such cold temperatures.
Aaron tried to drag the grocery upstairs because he didn't want his Gran to carry too much weight.
"Thank you for your help, Aaron," Judith said as she saw Aaron trying to remove her shoe because her back hurt when she crouched.
"Um, you don't need to cook if you're tired, Gran…." Aaron said.
"No, no, I'm fine with cooking. Your brothers must be starving as well," Judith said.
She opened the door and was greeted by the three boys eagerly waiting for them.
"Welcome back, Gran! Big bro!"
They quickly helped their Big brothers to carry the heavy grocery bag to the kitchen while Aaron slowly guided his Gran to the kitchen.
Judith didn't actually need help once she was home. She needed his guide on the road because her eyesight wasn't good anymore, especially at night.
She looked down at her oldest grandson and sighed pitifully, 'I'm sorry that you have to experience terrible things at such a young age, Aaron….'
Judith first drank a glass of warm water because of the cold outside and then started cooking for her grandsons.
Aaron helped her to prepare the plates, et cetera, while the three boys were watching TV.
Judith was busy in the kitchen cooking late dinner around nine-thirty when she heard the boys in the living room ask in a loud voice, "Mommy, where are you going? Stay with us, Gran is cooking dinner!"
Judith turned around and saw Chelsea wearing stuff as if she was ready for a night out.
"Where are you going, Chelsea?" Judith asked.