Chapter 635 635

Chloe woke up feeling stuffy the next morning as if she had been hugged by a bear the whole night.

"Umh…" Chloe felt ticklish on her nape because someone was blowing warm air from his nose, so she looked over her shoulder and saw Vernon sleeping comfortably. He was mumbling something and hugged her deeper into his embrace, not letting go even though Chloe tried to wiggle her body out of his bear hug.

Vernon frowned when Chloe moved too much. He grumbled and then squinted his eyes open. He saw that Chloe had been tossing and turning so much inside his embrace that now they were facing each other instead of the spooning position Vernon did when he went to sleep with her.

Vernon smiled and kissed Chloe on the head, "Morning, sweetheart."

Chloe stared at Vernon for a long time. She was unsure if something had happened after last night when he stormed out of the penthouse. But he seemed to be a lot calmer and in a better mood.

"Vernon, I'm sorry," Chloe said in a low voice.

"Hm? Did you do something wrong?" Vernon asked. He looked genuinely confused by her apology.

"Um, about last night," Chloe mentioned. She observed Vernon's expression to ensure she didn't offend him. "I'm sorry for making you upset last night. I'll try to find a way to take care of the boys without your help…."

Vernon closed his eyes again, seemingly uninterested in the story's topic, "I took care of that problem already. Let's just sleep again, okay? It's a holiday."

"But there is no holiday for you…."

"It's Mackie's holiday, right? Then let me sleep more since we don't need to prepare breakfast for her, I'll go to the office around ten," Vernon said. "I want to sleep more with you by my side."

Chloe's eyes widened. She had a lot of questions in mind, mainly wanting to know if Vernon did something to the boys, such as kicking them out in the middle of the night.

But then she realized Vernon might be harsh and strict sometimes, but he wasn't evil. He wouldn't kick four defenseless boys in the middle of New York night. It was too dangerous.

At least, that was the assurance she needed for now.

She saw that Vernon had already fallen into deep sleep again. After days of nonstop working, he must've been so tired, so she decided not to disturb his sleep and snuggled with him for the holiday morning. After all, Mackie must be sleeping comfortably in her bed today.

Chloe woke up again around nine-thirty in the morning. But it seemed that Vernon was too tired to wake up.

So she carefully pushed his body away and sneaked out of the bedroom. She washed her face in the bathroom outside and then started cooking breakfast for her small family.

She was in a great mood today, knowing she could finally use her hands to care for her family again.

Chloe cooked pancakes in the morning. She also prepared herbal tea for Vernon and hot chocolate for Mackie. She put three plates with four stacks of pancakes on the dining table and then packed two boxes full of hot pancakes for the boys and Dorothea downstairs.

Right after she finished packing the pancakes, her daughter came up the stairs and greeted her, "Good morning, Mommy! First day of winter break! I'm so happy!"

Chloe smiled at her daughter, who was as energetic as always, "Morning, dear. You should eat your pancake while it's hot. I will also make you a hot chocolate since it's very cold outside," Chloe said. She put all the food boxes inside a wheeled container and added, "Mommy will go to the tenth floor, okay?"

Mackie tilted her head, "What's wrong, Mommy? Why are you bringing that box? Do you need my help?"

"Ah, well, Mommy wants to send food for your Grandma," Chloe said. She didn't mention the boys yet because she wanted to make it a better surprise for Mackie when they were in a better condition.

"Grandma still can't eat with us?" Mackie pouted. "Then let's go down, Mommy. I want to eat with Grandma too!"

"Oh, you shouldn't, dear. Who will accompany your Uncle for breakfast?"

"Does Uncle need me to have breakfast with him?" Mackie asked.

"Of course! He will be lonely eating breakfast without you. So you should stay here, okay?"

Mackie huffed, "Okay then. Come back sooner, Mommy, or I will eat your pancake too!" Mackie threatened, and Chloe only chuckled in response.

She went out while pulling the wheeled container and went down to the tenth floor, where the boys and Dorothea were staying. She knocked on Dorothea's door first since she usually woke up early.

But there was no answer.

Chloe frowned, "Huh, that's unusual."

She knocked on the door a few more times, but there was no answer.

"What's wrong with her? Maybe she's sick? It's winter after all, it's not good for her fragile body…." Chloe assumed. But somehow, she couldn't shake off this bad feeling in her heart.

She was anxious that maybe Vernon had had enough of this whole thing and kicked Dorothea out of the apartment.

"Oh no, don't tell me that he also—" Chloe dared not to continue her sentence. She rushed to the next door and knocked on it harder.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Boys, open the door!"

…

There was nothing but silence. Chloe began to panic. She knocked a few more times, and even harder this time.

Knock! Knock! Knock!!

"Boys! Answer me!"

…

"Oh no, did Vernon actually kick both the boys and Dorothea last night?!" Chloe was trying hard to stay positive, but whenever she remembered about her poor nephews that just went through a traumatic event and also her frail mother-in-law, she couldn't help being anxious.

"N–No, Vernon is not that evil," Chloe assureed herself. Thus, she took her phone from her pocket and called Vernon.

The call was connected after a few beeps, and she heard the voice of Vernon munching his pancake. He didn't seem to be in the same distress as Chloe was experiencing right now.