Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother

"Um… okay then…" Mackie was a little lost now. She wanted to protect her Mommy from all harm. But Mommy said she'd be alright, and she seemed to be sure about it.

Besides, she was staying with Uncle, and Mackie believed that Uncle would never hurt Mommy, unlike Daddy…

Thus, the little girl decided to just believe in her Uncle and went downstairs to play with her toys again to pass the time.

Vernon's eyes followed Mackie until he was assured that Mackie was downstairs and wouldn't hear the shit that was about to go down between them.

Vernon pulled Chloe to enter his bedroom and forced Chloe to sit on the bed as he closed the door behind him. He flipped the switch so the bedroom was brightly lit.

Vernon leaned on the door, crossing his arms in front of his chest, while Chloe sat at the edge of the bed.

They stared at each other, but none of them wanted to speak. The mood was just too terrible right now.

Vernon clicked his tongue annoyedly. He didn't know that Chloe could be upset like this. He was so used to the ever-tolerant and meek Chloe that this came out as a surprise, and not a good one.

"How long will you keep getting upset about this?" Vernon finally opened his mouth. "You know, I should be the one who's upset right now. Even if you're not cheating, you're still talking to my enemy behind my back!"

"… Dorothea is not our enemy, Vernon," Chloe said. Her voice was calm, and there was no trace of fear in her. She stared at Vernon with unwavering faith.

"I don't know what's going on inside your thick skull," Vernon's gaze peered at his beloved. "Didn't I tell you that she's abusive towards me as well? She beat me when I was a kid. She hit me with her beer bottle plenty of times, and shoved and kicked me as well. She has never been a good mother— heck, other than giving birth to me, she has done nothing else!"

"Chloe, you know how I feel, right? You've experienced the same thing after marrying that bastard, and I want nothing but to destroy his life so I can protect you! Why can't you do the same for me?" Vernon asked. "I don't need you to destroy Dorothea, but I want you to at least stop talking to her!"

"Why do you need to be the one who sacrificed everything for you? Why can't you do the same for me!?"

…

Vernon thought that Chloe's silence was a sign of defeat. She'd eventually turn meek and stop arguing with him, which would be great. Because he truly had no more energy to be patient with Chloe right now.

However, Chloe kept on staring at him. She looked calm as if Vernon's intimidation didn't work on her at all.

She suddenly stood up and walked towards Vernon.

Vernon frowned but said nothing as Chloe stood in front of him. She looked up, and her sweet doe eyes were filled with determination.

"I certainly acknowledge all the abuse that Dorothea did to you when you were a kid," Chloe said. "And I will not defend her for that. She did wrong, so wrong in fact, that it's justified for you to hate her forever."

"Then, if you've acknowledged her shitty behavior, why would you still want to defend her? You're not making sense, Chloe!" Vernon yelled. "Do you even care about me?!"

"Oh, I care about you," Chloe said. "So much so that I'm willing to sacrifice myself back to Vincent as long as you're safe, in case you fail to destroy him."

"But you should know that I'm also a mother, and I'm defending Dorothea not for her shitty actions. I'm defending her for you," Chloe said firmly.

Vernon's heartbeat skipped for a second. He didn't understand why, but Chloe's words made him somewhat unsure.

"Dorothea is a shitty woman, I know that, and she deserves all the pain in the world. She deserves your hatred, I know that as well," Chloe said. "But I want to give you peace of mind, Vernon. You may think that kicking Dorothea out of your life forever will give you a peace of mind, but I know that deep down, you will never feel satisfied until your problem with Dorothea has been solved."

"Yeah, I won't be happy until I can kill that dying bitch for ruining my childhood!"

"… Does revenge satisfy you?" Chloe asked. "If I've ever done something wrong to you, will you ruin my life so you'll be satisfied?"

Vernon's body stiffened instantly. He gulped as he stared at Chloe. He got nervous and tried to dodge Chloe's piercing eyes subconsciously. 𝑓𝒓𝚎e𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯𝘰𝐯𝒆𝑙.c𝚘m

"I never have that kind of idea about you," Vernon said. "Believe me, Chloe. I never have any kind of bad thoughts about you."

Of course, he was lying. He took her in initially to ruin her life, just like how she ruined his. He wanted to humiliate her just like how he felt humiliated and discarded.

However, his idea changed once he realized that Chloe was a victim and suffered more abuse than most people could bear and that he still had feelings for her.

His heart loved Chloe more than it hated her.

"Oh, I believe in you," Chloe nodded. "That's why I also believe that you're capable of forgiveness— or at least tolerance."

"I know that she hurt you badly, and I will never justify what she did," Chloe said. "But I want you to try, just for this one person. Try to tolerate her presence and see what will happen next. I want to give you a peace of mind. I want you to know there is something else to look for other than revenge."

…

"Dorothea is already suffering from the constant guilt. You don't even need to kill her, she'll die out of heartbreak and depression sooner or later," Chloe added. "I don't know if I'm qualified to say this, Vernon, but I… I don't want you to be filled with hatred. Vernon, you are a man with heart, you can forgive."