45 Chapter 45

Vernon flipped the receipt and found a note written on the back of the receipt.

—

? Vernon, this is the receipt of my spending. Please subtract my salary in exchange.

Thank you for letting me use your card.

Ps: I bought you food from the restaurant for your dinner.

— Chloe.

—

"Nonsense," Vernon crumpled the paper and threw it in the trash can. He was already in a bad mood, and just reading that made him even more annoyed.

"She still tries to say about salary this and that, even subtracting salary. Does she think I can't give her all that my brother can? Fuck, so annoying."

Clearly, she was being so frugal and modest because she wanted to insult him. Vernon thought, "Just because I'm not as rich as my brother, you think of me so lowly? Tch, I bet you never did this to your rich husband, huh?"

Vernon couldn't think of any other reason for her doing this other than just humiliating him.

Obviously, Vernon gave that black card for her to use. So she could have the same life quality as she got with Vincent.

But she refused the black card for personal use and insisted on getting a salary from him.

"Fine, I will give her what she wants. I've prepared a contract to shock her on Monday," Vernon had a smirk on his face. He already imagined the shock and helplessness on Chloe's face once she realized what kind of contract would he give her. It would be a fun little revenge from Vernon to Chloe.

"It's just a small price for looking down on me," Vernon said.

He was a little hungry and curious about what Chloe had bought. So he opened the lid and found a roasted chicken that had been heated not long ago.

It looked tempting, and the smell was pleasant, but Vernon was a picky eater. So he doubted he would like this restaurant food.

"It was bought by my sister-in-law. I think it will be good," Vernon pinched the chicken and pulled a strip of meat. He opened his mouth and ate the chicken meat.

He munched it three times before spitting it out, "Fuck, that's nasty!"

**

Chloe got up on Sunday morning. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and tied her hair to a bun. As she opened the next bedroom door, she checked on Mackenzie, who was still sleeping soundly.

She closed the door silently, not wanting to wake the little angel.

Chloe went up to Vernon's penthouse to cook for breakfast and cleaned a little bit before the housekeeper came in the late noon.

She did everything on autopilot because this was what she often did in her home daily.

Chloe made five stacks of fluffy pancakes for Vernon first and would make one for Mackie later once she woke up. After she was done making it, she knocked on Vernon's door a few times;

Knock. Knock.

Knock. Knock.

"Hmm? What?" Vernon answered from inside.

"Vernon, breakfast is ready. I made you a pancake. You can eat it while it's still warm," Chloe said in a gentle voice, just to ensure that Vernon knew she had done her job.

Chloe busied herself by cleaning and then went to Vernon's laundry room to wash his suits and formal shirts.

'

Vernon got up a moment later when he heard the sound of the washing machine. He yawned a few times before washing his face and then opened his bedroom door to the dining table.

He saw a stack of fluffy pancakes on the table with a few syrup bottles.

'',

Honestly, Vernon rarely ate this kind of sugary, starchy thing for breakfast. He would just drink a smoothie before his morning exercise.

But the smell of the pancakes reminded him of that time when Chloe cooked pancakes for him. He still liked it despite knowing it wasn't good if he ate too much.

So, he sat and poured maple syrup and a few dried berries. He started eating in silence while listening to the low sound of the washing machine from the laundry room.

'Feels like living inside a small family,' Vernon thought.

**

Mackie woke up quite late today because when she slid the curtain, the sun was already rising.

"Um… Mommy?" Mackie knew that her Mommy must've woke up earlier to prepare for breakfast. Mackie walked with her small feet to the bathroom and stepped on the small stool, washing her face and brushing her teeth before searching for her Mommy in the living room.

"Mommy?"

…

"Where is Mommy?" Mackie asked herself. She continued searching until she stood near the spiral staircase leading to the upper floor.

Mackie asked her Mommy about the stair and if she could play upstairs. But her Mommy forbade her, saying it's someone else's house, not ours.

But she also saw her Mommy climbing upstairs a few times. Thus, Mackie thought that the neighbor upstairs must have been a good person!

She heard the noise of the washing machine upstairs, so she thought her Mommy must've been doing laundry with their neighbor.

"Whaa! Mackie never had any neighbors before. I want to see it too!" Mackie said in full spirit. Since they lived in a mansion, the distance between one house to another was so far that it wasn't even possible for her to play with her neighbor.

Heck, even Mackie didn't know the family's name on the mansion beside hers!

Mackie wanted to help her Mommy and see the new neighbor, so she climbed the spiral staircase slowly until she reached the last staircase.

She could see the view of a clean kitchen, but nobody was there.

However, Mackie clearly heard the washing machine near the kitchen, "Mommy!"

Mackie called her mommy and walked toward the laundry room. However, she didn't realize the presence of someone else sitting at the dining table or far from the kitchen, looking at her while frowning.

"Stop right there, kid," Vernon said. Mackie halted her tiny steps, and she turned around slowly.

"What are you doing here?"