Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother

Vernon could feel Chloe's body trembling, yet she continued staring at him despite her fears. He slowly released his hand on her shoulder, afraid that he might accidentally hurt her for real.

After all, he just wanted to scare and intimidate her, thinking it would finally let her open up.

It was also the method he did for almost everything. Intimidation 99% always worked in real-life situations when dealing with people around him.

But Chloe's reaction completely caught him off guard. He didn't expect her to retaliate and became so daring. Daring enough to call him a monster, similar to his Big brother.

Which confused Vernon…

'I—I want to win against my Big brother. But I don't want to be a monster….'

'No, I'm not a monster. At least, not in front of her….'

Vernon stared at Chloe, who was still trembling. She still tried her best not to cry in front of him, even though she must be in pain holding her tears.

He soon realized that his regular approach might not be the best. He retreated to give her space, but he was still kneeling in front of her, who sat on the sofa. He felt awkward and guilty at the same time. He didn't expect his action would lead to such a reaction from his sister-in-law.

"You can cry if you want…." Vernon said. His tone was a lot more gentle. He was careful because he didn't want to accidentally scare Chloe even worse than this.

"No, I won't cry," Chloe said. "Because if I did, that means I show how weak I am in front of you, Vernon."

"I just want to know about the problem between you and my Big brother…." Vernon tried to voice out his reason, not wanting this to be a long misunderstanding between them. "I can help."

"Vernon, when you've experienced a terrible life for ten years straight, you try to keep them deep in your heart. You try to hide them as you find it shameful, and saddening," Chloe said. "I'm not going to trauma-dump what I experienced to you."

"Besides… we are not close enough, Vernon."

"Not close enough?" Vernon's eyes widened. He already thought they were very close these days.

He never allows anyone to talk with him eye-to-eye like this.

Nor did he ever allow anyone to be a part of his life.

He also never allowed any other woman to fill his heart.

"But I thought we're close enough. You live with me already," Vernon said, trying hard not to raise his voice.

"You hired me as a maid and your personal prostitute. You want to try how does it feel to fuck your own sister-in-law," Chloe stated, opening all the harsh words and actions that Vernon did to degrade her. "You see me as an item to satisfy your curiosity, and I am willingly doing it because I want to leave this city with my daughter. That is all, Vernon Phoenix Gray."

Vernon zipped his lips. He didn't know what to answer because all she said was true.

Though, he didn't do it to satiate his curiosity. He did it because he wanted to give her a taste of revenge. After all, Chloe blatantly said that he was disgusting.

Now he wanted to turn her into a disgusting, disgraced woman.

'But, am I satisfied now? She is already so disgraced. From Mrs. Gray, the new Mistress of Gray family, to a mere maid and my personal—'

Vernon lowered his head ashamedly.

True, he was angry at her and still angry for what she said to him back then. But he realized that revenge against Chloe wasn't as sweet as he expected.

"Please, don't ask me about this again. It's something that I keep tight for myself, it's too painful," Chloe got up from the sofa and looked down at Vernon, who still knelt and lowered his head like a kid that had been punished.

"Vernon, please play along with Mackie. I'm begging you, at least until my divorce is finalized," Chloe said.

"You can't lie to her forever," Vernon argued.

He disliked how his sister-in-law kept lying to her daughter and covering for Vincent. It always peeved him out.

"I won't lie to her forever. I just need time," Chloe said firmly.

Vernon wanted to call her out for being an idiot because he thought Mackie should've known the truth as soon as possible.

But Vernon didn't even know the truth because Chloe refused to speak.

"Please forget what I said tonight, Vernon. I dare to raise my voice against you because I don't want to be bullied forever. I'm exhausted…."

Chloe walked away from the living room until she stopped before going downstairs. She turned her head around to check on Vernon and reminded him, "Don't forget to at least wash your face and brush your teeth before sleep. You didn't do it the previous night, it's not good for your gum health, you know."

Chloe went downstairs, and Vernon deflated right on the spot. He sat weakly on the floor, trying to process what had just happened.

"I did it again. I made her cry yesterday, and I did it again tonight," Vernon blamed himself for not learning from his mistake.

But he always thought intimidation was how to get people to do stuff for you. He always did that, and it always worked, especially when you bore the Gray surname.

Though, he had never tried it on other women because none of those women objected to his request. They were too much in love with just one sweet word or two, maybe an unforgettable wild night for them to make them do him a favor.

It was easy.

But he couldn't do that to Chloe because he couldn't pretend in front of her. He couldn't just say that he

"Why is she so different?" Vernon fretted. "Why can't she just simply fall for me, like the rest of those women? Am I lacking something?"