Chapter 728 728



—

"I see, so you want to stay with him," Vernon smirked as he got what he wanted. With this, he didn't need to worry about finding another way to trap his Big Brother permanently. "Then I will support you in your endeavor. You will be Mrs. Khloe Gray soon."

"Great! I will help you in any way, Boss!" Priscilla said. "But what about my future with Vincent? Can you support me financially as well? Because you said that you want to make him poor as dirt."

"Don't worry, as long as you can keep him in check, then I will keep supporting your life with him. You will live decently in New York, you won't be hungry," Vernon replied. "This is a salary for taking care of my useless brother."

"Then I have no more doubt, Boss!" Priscilla said excitedly. "I will live comfortably with him, and I will devote my life to taking care of him!"

"Good, and I will live comfortably with Chloe. Isn't that fair for both of us?" Vernon said. "We get what we want, that's why we have to work together."

"Indeed, though it makes me feel so guilty for all the shitty things I did to Chloe back then…" Priscilla confessed. "I just… I just thought that I could get Vincent's validation as long as I keep hurting her. But I still got ditched in the end. I should've just hurt Vincent instead."

"You're right, Boss. In order to get what we want, we have to seize them. A man like Vincent will never be mine if I keep following what he wants," Priscilla said.

"Yes, that's just the true nature of a man like him. Keep him confused and depressed, so he won't try to fight back," Vernon instructed.

"Got it, Sir. Oh, I will hang up now, I still have a schedule to pacify him. He's been deluding himself by calling me his wife, it's actually pretty fun and fulfilling to be Khloe Gray."

"Good, I expect more information from you later."

Beep.

—

Vernon hung up the call after that. He was satisfied with Priscilla's work.

"As expected, rather than eliminating that crazy bitch, it's better to use her to do something she loves," Vernon murmured. "With this, I will keep my brother in check for the rest of his life. He will be my obedient dog, just like what he did to me back when I was young."

Vernon knew he was very cruel for subjecting his Big brother to this kind of torture, especially when he was heartbroken.

But Vernon saw this as karma.

Vincent was controlling him like a dog when he was young, and back then, Vernon thought that his life was unwanted and the only one who tolerated him was his Big Bro.

Until he met with Big Sis Chloe and realized that Vincent's love was not right, he didn't show the same gentleness that Chloe showed, and Little Vernon could sense the sincerity in Chloe, but he couldn't sense it from his brother.

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't be a good dog for you, Big bro. But maybe you can be a good dog for me instead, heheh."

**

Chloe told Meyer, her usual driver, and bodyguard, to stop the car as they reached Mackie's school.

She was sitting at the front today because two kids were sitting at the back. She turned her neck at them and smiled, "Okay, first day at school after winter break. Are you two ready?"

"Ready!" Mackie said cheerfully. She was always excited to go to school because she was naturally an extrovert who liked to socialize with other kids.

But the boy sitting next to her didn't seem to be excited. He nodded once but then lowered his head.

"Aaron?" Chloe called his name.

"R—Ready, Aunty…" Aaron replied with a low voice as he got hesitant.

He saw the school and realized this place must be filled with so many rich kids, and he was scared that he'd be bullied there.

He went to a public school and a cheap preschool because that was all his mother could afford. 

But even in that place, he was still bullied because he was too poor to mingle with most of them.

He didn't bring his lunch because his Mom was too busy, but he also couldn't buy anything at the cafeteria because Chelsea didn't give him money.

So he had been skipping lunch since he was in preschool, making him scrawny for a kid his age. 

Chloe understood his nervousness really well. After all, she came from a similar background to him, though Judith was at least a bit more sensible than Chelsea by leaving her with money if she was too busy at work or preparing an easy peanut butter and jelly lunch.

So she glanced at Mackie and said, "Dear, can you go to your class first? I need to talk with your cousin for a moment."

"Un!" Mackie nodded. She patted Aaron's shoulder and assured him, "Don't worry, just tell me if someone dares to bully you. I will fight them!"

"Thanks, Boss…"

Chloe waited until her daughter left the car and headed to the school entrance.

Aaron was still sitting in the backseat. He lowered his head even deeper as he felt ashamed, "I'm sorry, Aunty. This is my first day at school, and I disappoint you."

Chloe smiled, "You don't disappoint me at all, Aaron. What you feel is normal. Back when I was your age, I also had the same fear. Your late Granny was a single mom working two jobs to support her daughters, so we didn't have much money back then.

"I was also a scrawny kid when I was your age, because we couldn't eat healthy meals regularly. Something like meat was scarce for us because it was too expensive."

"I didn't have many toys, a good lunch, and I didn't have a story overseas, or even a trip to the local attraction to tell. I couldn't even follow my friends to go to the arcade, or buy a delicious treat for myself because I didn't have money," Chloe felt a little sad thinking about her past. But that past was also the reason why she could be so strong right now.

"But that didn't stop me from befriending my friends back then," Chloe said. "Because as long as you keep your head up with a big smile, they will think that you are confident and strong."

"Keep my head up…" Aaron murmured. All this time, Chelsea taught him to keep his head down because if he dared to rebel just a little, he would be beaten until he was bruised all over.

"Mhm, sometimes we have to be the one who approaches other kids first, so we can befriend them," Chloe said. "So go inside that school, keep your head up, show a big smile, and be kind to others. Talk to them, and I believe you will have a lot of friends at school."

…

Aaron gulped nervously, but he nodded after getting advice from his Aunt.

Unlike his mother, who always bullied him so he couldn't even talk to her properly, Aunt Chloe was gentle, and her advice made him feel better.

"I—I will try," Aaron said. "I won't disappoint you, Aunty."

Chloe smiled at Aaron and said, "Then go and make me proud. Remember what I said to you before?"

"Um, I shouldn't think about anything else other than studying. I must study hard, so I can make you proud," Aaron recalled what his Aunt had said before when he got the news that he would enroll in the same school as Boss Mackie.

"Yup, make friends, and study hard. You will be a great person when you get older," Chloe said.

"And I can take care of my brothers, right?"

"Yes, if you become a great person in the future, you can take care of your brothers," Chloe said. "So go now, don't be late on your first day at school."

Aaron nodded, "Thank you so much, Aunty."

He then hopped out of the car and walked into the school entrance.

Chloe sighed as she stared at Aaron's back.

Meyer, who had been observing the whole time, finally commented, "You are very good with kids, Ma'am. No wonder Mr. Phoenix Gray loves you."

Chloe chuckled, "I know you might find this a little too traditional. But I've always wanted to be a housewife with a lot of kids. I love taking care of kids in general, and I like to make sure that they grow up happily."

"I can see that. Miss Mackie is a very energetic and confident girl. You educated her well."

"Hahah, well, that one is because she inherited Vernon's gene," Chloe giggled. "Don't tell this to your coworker, okay? Let me share a little secret."

Meyer nodded, "I promise, Ma'am."

Chloe smiled and said, "If you ever wonder about your scary boss' behavior when he was a kid, then you just see my daughter. Aside from her gender and appearance, Vernon and Mackie are exact copies of each other. They have similar intelligence, taste, hobby, behavior, and even similar ways of throwing tantrums."

"That's why I keep thinking about him when I take care of my daughter."