Chapter 699 699



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"Go hug your Uncle, boys. He's also waiting for your hug as well," Chloe said.

The boys were hesitant at first. They looked at their Aunty, who smiled at them and then looked at their Uncle, who stood still like a tall mountain, looking down at them before smiling back at Mackie, kissing her cheek and forehead lovingly like a good father.

The boys, especially Aaron, couldn't help but get a little jealous. They also wanted to have a father figure, a real one. Because none of them really saw Tommy as their father, even though he was the biological one.

Because Tommy did exactly nothing to them, he never treated them lovingly. Most of the time, he ignored the boys and did whatever he wanted to do. It also didn't help that Tommy also never protected them every time they got beaten by their abusive mother. 

So when they saw how Uncle Vernon loved Mackie, they also wanted the same. 

Aaron was the first one to gather the courage to draw near the tall Uncle Vernon and then hugged his thigh, "Thank you so much for the Christmas gift, Uncle."

After seeing their oldest brother hugging Uncle Vernon's thigh, the rest of the boys quickly joined in and hugged their Uncle's legs because he was so tall compared to them.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Vernon!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Thank youuu!"

Vernon stiffened instantly. He didn't know what to do when surrounded by kids like this. He looked at Chloe, who smiled at him but gave no instruction, which got him even more confused than before.

He then looked at Mackie, who smiled wide at him, "My cousins like you, Uncle!"

Vernon sighed. In the end, he patted their heads one by one and then told them, "Now go and find your toys. Remember, you can only bring five kinds of toys each. The rest will be given to the orphans, understand?

"YES, UNCLE!"

Thus, Mackie and the boys rushed in and began their search. They split into different sections to find the toys they liked.

Chloe approached Vernon and gently hugged his arm, "You've done great, Vernon. I never know that you're planning to give such a wonderful gift for Mackie and the boys, and yet still teach them the limit of what they can get and to share with others in need."

Vernon looked at the kids who were busy searching for what they wanted to bring home, then he gazed down at Chloe, who rested her head on his bicep, "I'm not the best father in the world, Chloe. I'm not good at taking care of children."

"But I learned from you," Vernon said. "You told me many things about Mackie and I observed how you raised her to be a good kid. I realized that you need to teach her many things in life so she wouldn't grow up to be an awful little girl."

"You observed me?" Chloe was surprised. Honestly, she never really paid attention to the method she used to raise Mackie. She just did what she usually does to raise a child. It was also the same method she did when raising Vernon back then. 

"Yes," Vernon nodded. "And even though you don't seem to realize it, you are the reason why I didn't turn into the second Vincent. You taught me how to be human."

Chloe looked up, staring at Vernon, who smiled at her with his gentle gaze. She didn't know that she meant a lot to Vernon.

Because back then, all she did was raise Vernon right, so he had a normal childhood despite being surrounded by rich yet deranged people. 

"Back then, I truly just wanted to raise you, Vernon. I have no other idea, I swear," Chloe said. She felt guilty whenever she remembered that they had a ten-year gap, and she took care of him when he was young.

It made her feel like a groomer. 

"I know," Vernon nodded. "I told you last night. I can feel your sincerity, that's why I fell in love with you, Chloe."

"I'm just simply admiring your talent to raise a kid," Vernon said. "You're the woman I need, Chloe. You're the only woman who can raise me right. You did great raising Mackie despite Vincent's situation, and I know you will do well raising our children in the future."

Vernon leaned down and kissed Chloe on the lips. Chloe was stunned at first, but she soon circled her arms around Vernon's neck and reciprocated the deep kiss, ignoring the kids, who were still busy finding the toys they wanted.

**

It took the kids at least an hour until they found five toys they wanted to bring home each. Thus, Vernon told the staff to put their toys in five separate bags and asked, "Okay, the rest of the toys in that shop will be donated to the orphanage. Let's go home now."

"Okay!" The kids said in unison. They were so happy with their toys, especially the boys, since they rarely had toys to play with. Chloe checked on Mackie and Aaron specifically because those two were the ones who suffered the most during the series of traumatic and tragic events surrounding them.

She was relieved to see Mackie and Aaron looking so happy. She liked seeing them acting like a real kid rather than trying to be an adult because it reminded her so much of herself. 

She never had a chance to be a child. She was robbed of a childhood she should have, so she tried so hard to raise Vernon, Mackie, the boys, and her future children with Vernon.

Seeing them acting like a child made her happy. It made her feel accomplished.

They drove back to the apartment and then returned to the penthouse, where Vernon told Chloe not to cook again and then ordered pizza for everyone for dinner. 

They spent their time together like a big family until it was eight in the evening, and Chloe brought the boys back into their room.