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Vernon was surprised by how this kid handled his intimidation and harsh truth. He thought the boy would cry and throw a tantrum like no other. Vernon would have a reason to kick them out in the pretense that Chloe shouldn't keep four unrestrained and uneducated boys that would only give her a headache.

But this boy…

"But um… can we stay tonight, Uncle?" Aaron asked politely. "My brothers are very tired. I don't want to wake them up right now…."

Vernon glanced at those three boys who slept together on the bed. They looked very exhausted, based on Chloe's story about Chelsea's insanity and her mother's murder. It was pretty obvious these boys had it very rough tonight.

Vernon gritted his teeth as he realized that he had grown a little sympathy for these boys, especially the oldest ones. He must've been the one suffering the most, yet he still acted strong for his brothers.

'Fuck, now I feel like an asshole for wanting to kick them out,' Vernon cursed himself. 'Maybe I shouldn't let Chloe put too much of her idea inside my mind, now I become too weak minded and weak hearted.'

"U—Uncle?" Aaron called him. "Can we stay for tonight?"

Honestly, Aaron already realized that he wouldn't be able to stay with Aunt the moment he saw this scary man in front of him. He didn't look happy. In fact, he looked very angry when he saw them.

Aaron learned early that they weren't really wanted by anyone in this world. Their father often neglected them, and their mother despised them—even wanted to kill them.

The only ones caring for them were Gran and Aunt Chloe.

But now that Aunt Chloe was with this scary man, Aaron had lost hope. He just wished he could somehow protect his brothers.

Vernon clicked his tongue and scolded, "Why are you still up at this hour? It's almost two. Go sleep with your brothers!"

Aaron's heart jumped when he got scolded. He looked up and saw the man looking away from him. But Aaron was very happy because this meant he could at least spend the night here with his brothers.

"Yes! Thank you, Uncle!"

Aaron turned around and quickly joined his little brothers on the bed. He tucked the blanket and hugged Nathan, who was the nearest to him.

Vernon stared at those boys for a while and then left the room.

He closed the door and leaned on it for a while, trying to calm his aching heart.

He was angry at himself for being so softhearted. The previous him wouldn't even think twice about kicking these boys out.

For him, his goal was only Chloe.

He didn't hesitate to throw Mackie away if she became too much of a problem for him. He didn't care if Chloe would be sad or scared of him because all he needed was her by his side, even if that meant he needed to chain her.

But she changed him over time.

Just like what she did to him when he was a kid, Chloe slowly made him a better person, gentler, and a lot calmer when handling difficult stuff.

Now he didn't even have the heart to kick these boys out, thanks to Chloe's influence on him.

"You don't know how much you matter to me, Chloe…." Vernon murmured. "You're truly the woman that I need. Sometimes I'm annoyed that you keep using your emotions. But now, I can't even let go of my emotions.."

Vernon finally calmed down after some time. He glanced at the door next to him and then checked the time. Then he scoffed, "Two in the morning, that old woman must be wide awake by now."

"Damn, I can't believe I have to ask for her help. But she's the only one that can help me right now," Vernon said. He walked to the next room and then knocked on the door.

Knock. Knock.

There was no answer from the other side. So Vernon knocked again and said, "This is Vernon, open the door."

Then, in less than ten seconds, the door was opened.

Dorothea was in her pajamas, peeking from the slightly opened door, and asked, "Yes, Vernon?"

Vernon peered at the old woman. As expected, he still didn't have any good opinion of her. Every time he saw her, there were only bad memories flashed in his mind, making him resent her even more.

But he also wanted to know if this woman had truly changed. Chloe was so adamant, claiming that Dorothea wasn't the same abusive woman. She realized her wrongdoing and tried to make it up.

'But she wasn't the one suffering under Dorothea's hand. I did,' Vernon thought.

"Let me in, I want to talk with you," Vernon said.

Dorothea hesitated for a second. She was scared that she might have done something to offend Vernon. She didn't want to get kicked out just when she thought her life finally had some light in it.

"I won't kick you out if you do something for me," Vernon said again, giving assurance because he realized that Dorothea was scared of that reason.

Dorothea finally gave in and opened the door wide for her son.

Vernon entered the room and was a tad surprised by how tidy Dorothea had become. She basically lived in this suite these days, but Vernon specifically told the janitor not to clean this place because he didn't want another person he needed to watch over it. He had to minimize any possibility of Dorothea getting discovered, which meant he had to minimize her contact with anyone else.

So he expected her room to be dirty and smelly.

Surprisingly, the room was clean, and it smelled nice, "Did you ask Chloe to clean your room?" Vernon asked sarcastically. He couldn't believe that Dorothea would clean her own room.

A woman like Dorothea wouldn't even touch the dirt on her shirt, let alone clean dirty places like the toilet.

Dorothea smiled. She sat on the couch and replied, "I did it myself. Chloe is too busy taking care of you and Mackie."