Chapter 697 697



Chloe smiled at her daughter and nodded, "Sure, dear. I'll pack the cake for you, and we can deliver it to your Grandma Dorothea."

Chloe gave Vernon a quick glance and then walked to the fridge to retrieve the cake. 

Vernon went silent instantly. His heart felt heavy knowing that a little girl like Mackie was so kind and caring to her sick Grandma while he still couldn't let go of the past.

But at the same time, his mind kept telling him not to forgive Dorothea so easily. She had to suffer for what she did to him back then. Since he couldn't hurt Dorothea physically, at least he should hurt her mentally. 

She had to suffer in loneliness, knowing that her only capable son wouldn't ever accept her, and she would die with heartbreak!

Vernon didn't know what to do because his logic and conscience were fighting against each other, trying to dominate Vernon until he made a decision that he thought was right. 

But in the end, he just sat there in silence, not knowing what to do.

"This is the cake, dear. Why don't we bring this together with your Grandma?" Chloe offered.

"Un! I want to visit Grandma!" Mackie jumped off Vernon's thigh and said to her Uncle, "We're going to check on Grandma first, Uncle! Go take a bath, you smell awful!"

Chloe and Mackie went to tell the boys to sit there and enjoy their cakes while they delivered the cake to Grandma. Thus, after they left, the room was filled with silence.

Because there were only Vernon and those little boys busied themselves watching TV and tried to ignore Uncle Vernon, who was still dazed at the dining table.

Vernon stared at those boys from the dining table.

Chloe was right. Those boys had no fault against him. It was just himself that disliked kids in general. He just thought that they were noisy, annoying, and deadweight.

Well, things changed after Chloe and Mackie entered his life, of course.

But still, he just disliked kids and wanted nothing to do with them.

So he simply ignored them and went to his bathroom to take a bath.

It took him a while to finish his bath and get ready to drive Mackie to her gift. He combed his hair and went out of the bedroom only to see Mackie joining the boys to circle around the Christmas tree, singing jingle bells with their scratchy voices.

Chloe looked at them with joy. She even clapped her hand and sang along. 

Honestly, Vernon didn't understand how Chloe liked this kind of thing. Rather than cute, those kids looked like they were doing a ritual to summon Satan instead of Santa. 

Vernon walked towards Chloe and stood right next to her. He waited for Chloe to say something, but she seemed to enjoy entertaining the kids so much that he got ignored.

So he cleared his throat, and the jingle bell ritual to summon Santa was interrupted. 

Chloe and the other kids were looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Let's go down to the basement parking lot. We're going to get your gift," Vernon said. 

"Whoo! Gift!" Mackie was excited. She didn't know what her Uncle had for a surprise, but she knew it would be great!

"Alright, let me find a jacket for Mackie first," Chloe said as she went downstairs with Mackie to find a jacket to wear since they were going out. 

Thus, Vernon was left with the boys again. 

The previously happy mood turned awkward instantly, and the younger boys quickly hid behind their oldest brother for protection. 

Aaron stood still and stared at the scary Uncle Vernon without fear since he was the oldest, and he had to assure his little brothers that things would be fine.

"Thank you for allowing us to come in, Uncle," Aaron said. "It's really fun to spend Christmas with Boss Mackie and Aunt Chloe. This is our first time having a real Christmas tree in the house as well."

"Um… we like decorating with Boss Mackie!"

"Yes! Cake is good too!"

"Hot chocolate!"

The boys behind Aaron also added to give moral support for their oldest brother. 

Vernon kept his mouth shut as he listened to these boys. He didn't know what to say other than give the nod to confirm that everything was fine and those boys didn't need to worry about anything.

But it seemed that the boys were too intimidated by Vernon, who looked down on them with his scary eyes, intimidating height, big muscles, and silence.

He was like a giant that could eat them anytime soon.

Knowing that his brothers were too scared to talk, Aaron said, "Um, since Boss Mackie and Aunt Chloe are going outside, then we will return to our room. Grandma Dorothea must be waiting for us."

"Stay," Vernon said. "You boys are going with us. I also have a gift for you."

"A gift?"

"I got a gift?"

"Um, what's a gift?"

Aaron was unsure of what Uncle Vernon meant. So he asked, "Uncle, are you going to get us a gift?"

"Yes."

"Um… but we don't have money," Aaron said. "Gran told us that we can't get a gift unless we have money, so we never get a gift. Please just let us return to our room."

"…"

The more he talked with these boys, the more pitiful they got. He wanted to pat their heads and said everything would be alright as long as they were under Vernon's protection.

But all he said was, "You guys can't leave until we're finished."

The boys' faces paled instantly. The way Uncle Vernon said it, it sounded like he was trying to imprison those boys forever. He was like a giant, scary troll!

The boys' eyes, except Aaron, became teary, which shocked Vernon because he didn't know how to help a crying child, 'Shit, did I say something wrong?' he wondered.

"Stay right here and don't leave," Vernon said before turning around and going downstairs to find Chloe and Mackie for help.